Government falls short on its promise to build roads

February 29, 2008

 The government has fallen short on its promise to build roads in 2007-08. The Economic Survey revealed that while the flagship Golden Quadrilateral connecting the four metros was 96% complete at this time, only 21% of the north-east and south-west corridors were finished till November 2007. This means the end-2009 completion target for the project is unlikely to be met. The port-connectivity projects, which envisage linking major ports with national highways, are also way behind schedule.

Work under the National Highways Development Project (NHDP)-III has also fared terribly with only 274 km completed by November 2007. The project envisages four and six-laning of 12,109 km of highways on the build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis. While the first phase covering 4,815 km was expected to be completed by end-2009, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which spearheads the construction and upgradation, finished only 5.69% of the target.

The NHDP-III is estimated to cost Rs 80,626 crore and 30 contracts covering more than 1,900 km have been given out so far with another 3,000 km to be awarded during the current financial year.

Lackadaisical implementation notwithstanding, highway connectivity among Indian cities, however, remains a priority. The Survey has stressed the need to connect all cities by national highways in the medium term.

Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

State government refuses to reveal land rates for Ganga Expressway

February 29, 2008

Lucknow, February 28 The state government today refused to inform the assembly the rates of compensation for land acquisition in the Ganga Expressway project.Parliamentary Affairs Minister Lalji Verma maintained that compensation will be according to the agreement between the farmers and developers.But he refused to clarify if the price offered will be the circle rate, market rate or a mutually negotiated rate.The government also refused to reply why the farmers in Agra — whose land is being acquired for the Taj Expressway Project — were being forced by the administration to accept a compensation of Rs 2-3 lakh per hectare, when the market rate was over Rs 40 lakh per hectare.Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, RLD member Dharm Singh alleged that the farmers were brutally beaten up by the police PAC when they went to meet the divisional commissioner to lodge their protest on February 24. He also alleged that the farmers are being pressurised by the local administration and police to accept the cheques.Denying any incident of lathicharge on farmers in Agra, Verma, however, did not comment on the compensation rate.Earlier, the minister had assured the assembly that work on the ambitious Rs 40,000 crore Ballia-Greater Noida Ganga Expressway will start only after getting the No Objection Certificates from different departments — environment, pollution board, forest and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).He said the developer had been directed by the government to get the NOCs before commencing work. “The condition is there in the agreement made with the developer,” he added.The minister also contradicted the Opposition claim that over 21 lakh trees will be felled for the project. “There is no question of cutting down a large number of trees. Besides, the mega project will free over 3.40 lakh hectares of land from the grip of floods,” he underlined.Answering a question on industrial development in the state, the minister said between March 2004 and March 2007, investment amounting to Rs 5555.30 crore has been flowed in.Without giving details, he said 347 big and medium industrial units had been set up in that period.Asked how the government will meet the target of Rs 5 lakh crore investment in the next 5 yrs, he said bad law and order in the past was the chief reason behind the dismal progress of investment. Source:  http://www.expressindia.com

LEAD ROLE OF GOVERNMENT FOR INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT TO CONTINUE

February 28, 2008

Economic Survey 2007-08

PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

***

Lead role of Government for Infrastructure Development to Continue  

New Delhi, Phalguna   08,   1929

                     February  28,   2008

 

Recognizing the importance of development of adequate infrastructure for sustaining the growth momentum and to ensure inclusiveness of the growth process, the Government will continue to play a lead role in infrastructure development during the Eleventh Plan. The Economic Survey 2007-08 tabled in Parliament today, states that accompanying the recent moderation in industrial growth, the growth performance of some segments of the infrastructure such as power generation and movement of railway freight and also the production of universal intermediates like steel, cement and petroleum have shown a subdued performance during April-December 2007-08 as compared to the corresponding period last year. In the power sector, though the plan capacity addition is unlikely to be achieved, the growth in capacity in the current year is distinctly higher than in the previous years.  The movement of cargo handled by major ports and air cargo has showed improved performance as compared to the corresponding period last year.  The highly competitive telecom sector has maintained its phenomenal growth, the Survey adds.

            With the rapid growth of economy in the recent years, the importance and urgency of removing infrastructure constraints have increased. The Government has made an effort to facilitate the entry of private enterprise into this sector through changes in the legal framework.  The Survey mentions that the role of private sector participation has also been facilitated by technological change that allows unbundling of infrastructure so that the public and the private sectors can take up the components according to their capacities.

            The Survey states that the recent moderation in the growth in the industrial sector has raised concerns in some quarters about sustainability of high growth of the sector.  To deal with the situation emerging from the slow down of some export oriented sectors of relatively low import intensity including textiles, handicrafts, leather etc. the Survey states that the Government took certain measures to tide over the situation in short run.  It emphasises  that, over the medium term, there is  little choice but to improve productivity even if there are issues pertaining to the exchange rate of currencies of competing countries.

 During the Eleventh Five Year Plan, the power sector is expected to grow at 9.5 per cent per annum.  The Survey mentions that a capacity addition of 78,577 MW has been proposed for the plan period to fulfill the objective of the National Electricity Policy 2005.  A number of projects envisaged for the Eleventh Plan have made steady progress and most of these are in a position to be commissioned well within the Plan period. It is expected that the total capacity addition during the current financial year would be 10,821.8 MW with thermal, hydro and nuclear accounting for 8,015 MW, 2,587 MW and 220 MW respectively.  The Survey also mentioned that for development of coal based Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPPs) each with a capacity of 4,000 MW or above, project specific shell companies have been set up as wholly owned subsidiaries of the Power Finance Corporation Limited to facilitate tie up of inputs and clearances.  The bidding process in respect of Sasan, Mundra and Krishnapatnam UMPPs have been completed. For the development of hydro power potential, the Survey also states that a task force has been constituted under the Chairmanship of Minister of Power.  The task force shall examine and resolve issues relating to hydro power development.  To achieve the goal of electrifying all unelectrified villages and hamlets and providing access to the electricity to all households as envisaged under the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidhyutikaran Yojana (RGGYY), the Government has approved its continuation during the Eleventh Five Year Plan period. With an initial outlay of Rs. 28,000 crore, about 1.15 lakh unelectrified villages and 2.34 crore rural BPL households have been envisaged to be covered in Phase-1 of the scheme. 

     The Survey states that improved resource management, through increased wagon load, faster turn around time and a more rational pricing policy has led to a perceptible improvement in the performance of the Railways during 2005-06 and 2006-07. During April-November 2007, the total revenue earning freight traffic grew at 8.2 per cent as compared to 9.9 per cent in the corresponding period of the last year.  The Survey mentions that the Indian railways have been taking certain pro-active initiatives in the area of tariff and fare fixations and commercial practices.  There has been conscious thrust on bringing in transparency, simplification and making rail tariff competitive to attract more traffic.

            In Road sector, the Survey states that 7,962 kilometers of National Highways under National Highways Development Project (NHDP) with the bulk of 5,629 kilometers lying on Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) was completed till 30th November, 2007.  About 7,744 kilometers of National Highways are under construction.  Nearly 96 per cent works on GQ have been completed by November 2007 and North-South and East-West Corridors are expected to be completed by December this year.  The upgradation of 12,109 kilometers has been approved by the Government under NHDP Phase-III at an estimated cost of Rs. 80,626 crore.  In addition to the above mentioned approved projects, the Survey mentions that there is a proposal for two-laning for 20,000 kilometers of National Highways under NHDP Phase-IV.  The Government has also approved six-laning of 6,500 kilometer of National Highways under NHDP Phase-V at a cost of Rs. 41,210 crore.  The Government has also approved the construction of 1,000 kilometers of express ways at a cost of Rs. 16, 680 crore under NHDP Phase-VI and construction of ring roads and service roads at the same cost under NHDP Phase -VII.  For the North-Eastern region, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has set up a high power

inter-ministerial Committee to appraise and coordinate individual sub-projects under Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for the region.  An investment of Rs. 3,14,152 crore has been envisaged for the roads and bridges sector during the Eleventh Five Year Plan.

            Regarding Civil Aviation Sector, the Survey states that with the liberalization of Indian skies, the airlines market in India have witnessed several new players which has made it necessary for the players to build on their competitive strength.  The Government has also decided to merge the two national carriers i.e. Indian Airlines Limited and Air India Limited into a new 100 per cent Government of India owned company.  The move was aimed at building a strong and sustainable business entity.    As per this arrangement, the National Aviation Company of India Limited was incorporated.  The Survey further adds that the number of domestic and international air passengers (combined) has almost doubled between 2004 and 2007.  Cargo traffic has increased by more than 45 per cent between 2003-04 and 2006-07.

            During April-October 2007, the cargo handled by major ports registered growth of 13.9 per cent against 9.5 per cent in the corresponding seven months of last year.  The Survey states that there was an impressive growth of 13.9 per cent per annum in container traffic during the Five Year ending 2006-07.

 The telecom sector continued to register significant growth during the year and has emerged as one of the key sector responsible for India’s resurgent economic growth.  With more than 270 million connections, India’s telecommunication network is the third largest in the world and the second largest among the emerging economies of the Asia.  This has been possible due to the supportive Government policies coupled with private sector initiatives.  The tele-density has also increased 12.7 per cent in March 2006 to 23.9 per cent in December 2007.  Rural tele-density has increased to 7.9 per cent at the end of November 2007.  The total FDI equity inflows in the telecom sector from August 1991 up to July 2007 have been Rs. 20,718 crore which is 8.1 per cent of the total FDI equity inflows into India during the period.  Giving the future scenario, the Survey states that it is proposed to achieve rural tele-density of 25 per cent by means of 200 million rural connections at the end of Eleventh Five Year Plan.  It is also envisages that internet and broadband subscribers will increase to 40 million and 20 million respectively by 2010.  It is also envisaged in the Eleventh Plan to provide broadband for all secondary and higher secondary schools, all public health care centres and all gram panchayats. 

            Regarding Urban infrastructure, the Survey states that with the launching of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) in 2005-06, the reform process of urban local bodies has begun.  There is now a better appreciation at the state level of the importance of developing and sustaining the infrastructure through appropriate user charges.  While sanctioning the projects, efforts are made to ensure public-private participation in the areas where it is feasible.  An amount of Rs. 2,805 crore has been provided for the year 2007-08 for the Sub-Mission on Urban Infrastructure and Governance.  279 projects have been sanctioned at an approved cost of Rs. 25,287.08 crore for 51 cities out of the listed 63 Mission cities across 26 States till January 1, 2008. 

While sanctioning these projects, highest priority has been accorded to sectors that directly benefit common man and urban poor namely, water supply, sanitation and storm water drainage.  90 projects are expected to be completed by December this year.  A total investment of Rs. 3, 35,350 crore have been envisaged by the Mission city for the development of urban services.

            Outlining the investment requirement for the infrastructure during Eleventh Five Year Plan period, the Survey states that to achieve the target rate of growth of 9 per cent for the Plan period, an increase of investment from around 5 per cent of GDP in 2006-07 to 9 per cent of GDP by the end of the Plan period is envisaged.  The investment in physical infrastructure alone has been estimated to be about Rs. 2,002 thousand crore (at 2006-07 prices).   Such a large magnitude of investment during the Plan period would need to be financed through non-debt and debt resources of the order of Rs. 1, 064 thousand crore and Rs. 996 thousand crore respectively. Keeping in view the need for financing infrastructure, the Ministry of Finance constituted a Committee in December 2006 to under the Chairmanship of Shri Deepak Parekh to identify the constraints and suggest measures for financing infrastructure.  The Committee in its report submitted in last year has stated that there are macro-economic and institutional constraints in financing infrastructure.  To maximize the role of public-private partnerships (PPPs), the Department of Economic Affairs has taken several major initiatives in the matters concerning PPPs including policy, schemes, programmes and capacity buildings.  While encouraging PPPs constraints have been identified and several initiatives have been taken by the Government to create enabling framework for PPPs by addressing issues relating to policy and regulatory environment.  To address the financing need of PPPs projects, various steps have been taken such as setting up of the India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL) to provide long tenor debt to infrastructure projects and launching of a Scheme for financial support to PPPs in infrastructure to provide Viability Gap Funding to PPPs projects.

            The challenges in implementing the infrastructure projects are immense.  The Survey states that there is need to develop appropriate mechanism for financing infrastructure, especially the development of a domestic debt market is overarching.  It is also important to ensure synergy in the efforts being made to develop different types of infrastructure through effective coordination between different agencies.  “These challenges are serious, but they are by no means insurmountable”, the Survey adds.

Source: pib.nic.in

TWO-LANING OF NHS ACROSS THE COUNTRY

February 28, 2008

There is no proposal of two-laning of all single-lane NHs across the country on BOT basis, which are not covered under approved phases of NHDP. However, NHDP-Phase-IV, involving upgradation of NHs to two-lane standards with paved shoulders primarily on BOT basis, is yet to be approved by the Government.

The Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12) endorsed by the National Development Council (NDC) during its meeting held on 19.12.2007 recommended that the targets for stretches other than NHDP have to be prioritised according to their importance to the national economy so that the available resources are not spread thinly among competing projects. The major targets for non-NHDP components include:

i. Accelerated efforts to bring NHs network to a minimum of two-lane standard within the next ten years and four-laning small segments of non-NHDP stretches.

ii. Removing existing deficiencies, like inadequate capacity, insufficient pavement thickness, etc. in the road network by strengthening the National Highway network/improving riding quality.

The condition of the National Highways (NHs) is monitored on regular basis. Further, the development and maintenance of NHs is a continuous process to keep them in traffic worthy conditions and are taken up as per the availability of funds, traffic intensity and inter-se priority.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, Shri K.H. Muniyappa in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.

Source: pib.nic.in

From April, pay toll tax to use NH 25

February 24, 2008

Lucknow, February 24 Planning to take the Lucknow-Kanpur highway? Get ready to pay for a smooth driving experience. The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is all set to introduce toll tax for the 48-km Lucknow-Unnao stretch on NH 25 by April this year. It will set up a toll tax booth just before Nawabganj.

NHAI officials said the recommendation in this regard has already been sent to the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways and a notification is expected within a month.

The toll tax may be charged at reduced rates initially, they added.

“A toll plaza is generally set up at an interval of 70-80 km on the highway. But a railway overbridge in Unnao on Lucknow-Kanpur stretch is yet to be completed. So, the toll may be reduced proportionately,” said M K Jain, Project Director of NHAI.

The proposed site (near Nawabganj) for the toll plaza suggests that commuters coming from Lucknow to Unnao and Kanpur will have to pay the tax.

“Similarly, the people coming from Kanpur to Lucknow will also have to pay the toll. But, people travelling from Lucknow to Banthara or from Kanpur to Unnao would be saved from the tax,” an official said.

The proposed toll site, however, may be changed after the ROB in Unnao is completed.

While cars, jeeps and vans will have to pay a tax of around Rs 25, trucks and buses will be charged around Rs 95.

“The toll tax is calculated for 12 am to 11.59 pm for one-side trip. If a commuter has to return on the same day, he will have to shell out about one-and-a-half times of the toll rate,” a NHAI official said.

“For daily commuters, the NHAI can issue monthly passes,” he added.

According to NHAI norms, VIPs, defence vehicles, police vehicles, fire-fighting vehicles, ambulances, funeral vans, posts and telegraphs department vehicles will not have pay toll tax.

This will be the second highway after NH 2 in the state on which toll tax will be introduced.

“According to government policy, NHAI will set up toll plaza as soon a particular highway stretch is completed. And these are going to stay, so that NHAI could carry out maintenance and upgradation works effectively,” another official said.

Source: expressindia.com

Nagpur Sical Gupta road terminal project launched

February 24, 2008

Country’s leading provider of integrated multi-modal logistics solutions for bulk and containerized cargo and offshorfe logistics, Sical logistics on Sunday launched Nagpur Sical Gupta road terminal at Multi Modal International Hub Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN).

Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy, Vilas Muttemwar and State BJP President Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation stone of Rs 119.3 crore project. Chairman of Chennai-based Sical, Ashwin Muthiah and Chairman of Gupta Group of Industries, Padmesh Gupta were present on the occasion.

Speaking to reporters Muthiah and Gupta said a special purpose vehicle, Nagpur Sical Gupta Road Terminal (NSGRT), comprising Sical with 51 per cent stake, Maharashtra Airport Development Company 26 per cent and Gupta Coal with 23 per cent stake, will build, operate and manage the road terminal.

Sical MD and Group CEO, Sudhir Rangnekar said road terminal will stretch across 60 hectares of area and have parking facilities for 1150 vehicles including multi axle vehicles and cold storage. It would be completed by January 2009, he added.

NSGRT was formed in April 2007 and agreements were signed in August 2007. Rangekar said Sical was handling 22 mn tonnes of BUL and 5,00,000 teu (twenty euqal units) of containerized cargo.

Sical’s delivery network includes walk-in-berth at Chennai for ships carrying bulk cargo, a container terminal at Tuticorin.

Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

NHAI awards projects worth Rs 109.12 bn

February 23, 2008

The National Highways Authority of India (Q, N,C,F)* (NHAI) awarded 5 projects, worth Rs 109.12 billion, of six-laning of highways under the National Highway Development Programme Phase-V (NHDP-V), reports Business Standard.

NHAI awarded projects to infrastructure developers, including Larsen & Toubro, Emirates Trading, IRB, Isolux Corsan, and Soma Enterprises among others. These 882 kilometres of sections for six-laning of highways are under the Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) and North-South Corridor. Under the NHDP-V, 6,500 km of existing four-laned national highways (NHs) have to converted into six-lane highways through a build-operate-transfer (BoT) basis. Of the total length, 5,700 km is on GQ and 800 km on other sections.

The five awarded projects include 43.4 km on the Chennai-Tada stretch on NH-5, 225.6 km on the Gurgaon-Kotputli-Jaipur stretch on NH-8, 239 km on the Surat-Dahisar stretch on NH-8, 291 km on the Panipat-Jalandhar stretch on NH-1.

These are the first batch of projects which have been awarded on a new model concession agreement (MCA) approved by the Committee of Infrastructure recently. The new agreement will work on revenue-sharing model where the private developers will share 17% – 48% of their toll-revenue with the NHAI within 180 days of signing the agreement. Under the old agreement, the NHAI projects were awarded on the bidding parameter of positive or negative grants.

Source: myiris.com

Wilbur Smith appointed consultant for 4-laning

February 23, 2008

PANJIM, FEB 23 — The Bangalore-based Wilbur Smith Associates has been appointed consultant to prepare a feasibility report on the much talked about 4-laning of the National Highway-17 from Patradevi to Polem, to be undertaken by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

Wilbur Smith Associates Private Limited (WSAPL) — an affiliate of Wilbur Smith Associates Inc, USA — is a full service professional consulting firm engaged in the planning and designing of public infrastructure and transportation facilities.
According to a source in the Public Works Department once the highway becomes ready it will help reduce the traffic congestion and the number of accidents on this 139-km stretch.

He said NHAI will acquire 60 meters of land one both side of the existing highway.
The project is the part of the project undertaken by NHAI to upgrade NH-17 from Panvel to Kochin into a 4-lane.
However, the source said, the stretch between Mapusa and Margao will be a 6-lane as this area has the maximum traffic flow.

The source further said that the project would see several new bridges at Colvale, Mandovi, Zuari, Talpem and Galgibag while a multiple fly-over at the KTC circle at Panjim, the source said.

The department has already acquired 30-metre width of land on both sides of the highway from Patradevi to Porvorim Bazar and the problem appears to be between Porvorim Bazar and the Mandovi Bridge. Therefore a few flyovers on the road have also been suggested.

When pointed out that the stretch from Porvorim to Mandovi already has a four lane, the source replied, that the entire stretch has to be re-done as it does not have service lane, breakdown lane etc.
“Steps have been taken to expedite the implementation of these projects and the actual work is likely to start in 2010 as the forest clearances consume lot of time,” he said.

If everything goes well, the source said, the entire project should be complete by 2013-14. The project is expected to cost around Rs 1,200 crore, The project will be undertaken under built, operate and transfer basis and the PWD National Highways division will take all the government department concerned into confidence and a plan will be developed before going ahead with the project, the source said.

Source: oheraldo.in

L&T, IRB among 5 to bag Rs 11k cr road projects

February 23, 2008

NEW DELHI: L &T-ECC, Emirates Trading Agency-KMC Construction, IRB Infrastructure Developers-Deutsche Bank, IJM Corporation-IDFC Ltd and Isolux Corsan Concessions-Soma Enterprise have bagged five national highway projects worth Rs 10,912 crore.

The projects, part of the fifth phase of National Highway Development Project (NHDP), are the first one to be under the new model concession agreement.

Secretary (road transport and highways) Brahm Dutt said this at a media briefing on Friday.

Under NHDP V, a total of 6,500 km of existing four-laned national highway have to be widened to six lane through build operate and transfer basis.

Two projects aggregating to 148 km had earlier been awarded based on the old concession agreement.

In the earlier awarded two projects, grants used to be the bidding criteria and NHAI got an upfront negative grant of Rs 975 crore.

Under the new MCA, the concept of grant has been changed to revenue share model.
On the Delhi-Jaipur section of national highway eight, the wining consortium of Emirates Trading Agency and KMC Construction has quoted 48.06% as the revenue share for NHAI.

IRB Infrastructure in tie-up with Deutsche Bank quoted 38% for Surat-Dahisar section on national highway 8. For Chennai-Tada on NH 5 and Panipat-Jalandhar on NH 1, L&T-ECC have quoted 17.07% and Isolux Corsan, have quoted 20.14% as revenue share that the government will get out of tolling revenue.

“All the revenue share will start right from the appointed date within 180 days of signing of the agreement.

In only one case, where the traffic is low, the share of revenue will start at 2% after nearly four and half years,” said Dutt. Isolux Corsan-Soma Enterprise quoted the 2% revenue share for the Panipat-Jalandhar section.

As the existing highways are already under tolling by NHAI, toll collection by the private entrepreneurs will be integrated with the existing tolling infrastructure though there will not be any increase the tolling rates.

The five consortia will be required to furnish an additional performance security, the toll will be credited to an escrow sub-account, drawal from which is linked to the achievement of project milestones.

Source: dnaindia.com

Reliance Energy is top bidder for Mumbai trans-harbour link project

February 20, 2008

A consortium led by Anil Ambani group company Reliance Energy Ltd (REL) has emerged top bidder for the Rs6,000 crore Mumbai trans-harbour link project.Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) today opened financial bids for the 25-km six-lane project. However, no confirmation could be obtained from either MSRDC or REL.

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries group was also in the race for the project to build a trans-habour link between Sewri in Mumbai and Nava-Sheva across the creek in Navi Mumbai.

Sources said the REL-Hyundai combine quoted a lower concession period for the build-operate-transfer (BOT) project of nine years and 11 months as against 75 years quoted by the Mukesh Ambani-controlled Sea King Infrastructure.

Phase-I of the project will comprise a six-lane dual carriageway linking Nhava to Sewri and Phase-II, which is expected to be added in 2015 -18, will consist of a double track rail link that will run parallel to the road link on the north side.

The Rs6,000 crore project is slated for completion in five years. The REL-led consortium can charge Rs250 per heavy vehicle and Rs120 for cars and light commercial vehicles as toll charges.

Source: domain-b.com

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