Browse ››
Home › Archive: March 2014
Metro Infrasys Pvt. Ltd. with its head office based in New Delhi is an innovative provider of IT enabled Electronic Systems for Modern Infrastructure, with an impressive track record, in collaborations with top concession companies and Infrastructure Developers in India. At Metro Infrasys, we are driven by the philosophy of dynamic engineering based on reliability. Metro Infrasys provides the best available customized solution in the field of Highway Systems , Urban Traffic and Transport Systems and Security Systems.
Mr. Sachin Bhatia ; engineer by qualification has worked in more than 20 Tolling Projects comprising of more than 300 lanes for the last 10 years.
The implementation of the first major ETC System at India’s largest and world’s 4th largest Delhi Gurgaon Toll Plaza on NH-8 is one of his achievements.
Always on look out to develop new technologies for making the projects more innovative and advanced. He has recently launched a new system called FIAOS (Fraud and Internal Audit Online System) for checking the performance of the operator and AVC and also for checking any Closed Lane Violation.
With congestion growing to unmanageable levels , the initiative as per the Press Release from the Ministry of Urban Transportation is right step in the direction.
However in view of the political resistance that is expected against the same, it may be an idea to follow how it is done in the Italian Cities. In Italy, the government implements a restricted access in old city areas wherein using technology the local residents are only allowed in the Old Cities areas. The main concept is that while it is an access restriction, and if someone other than the original owners vehicle accesses the are there is a Penalty which work like a congestion charge, without really calling it a congestion charge. Also the access could be restricted during certain times of the day , depending upon the need for decongestion.
General Description of the Technical Solution and general Operation methodology
Every Vehicle (limited to a maximum number of vehicles per resident) which below to an owners living in the area is granted the access by issuing them a tag. The tag is mapped to the number plate of the vehicle as well. Any vehicle which does not have the tag is considered a violator, and the number plate of the get recorded and a photos is taken of the same.
The system logs into the State Registration database and accesses the records of the registration of the violating vehicle are accessed and a penalty is send to the address of the violator.
The system allows multiple points /modes of the payment and if the vehicle owner does not pay within a stipulated period it the vehicle is blacklisted as offender and impounded.
Press Release of Congestion Charges
The Ministry of Urban Development (MUD), with the objective of reduction of congestion traffic during peak hours, has written to the chief secretaries of states to introduce ‘congestion charge’ in cities.
The concept of congestion charge, although relatively unknown in India, has been effectively implemented in cities like London, New York, Milan and Singapore. Levying of this charge would mean that vehicles driven into congested areas of a city would have to pay an entry fee or heavy parking charges. The congestion charge would deter people from taking private vehicles to congested areas of cities and encourage them to use public transport. This would result in lesser number of vehicles on roads.
The letter written by MUD secretary Sudhir Krishna states: “Now-a-days mobility in our cities, either big or medium, is a huge challenge due to congestion during peak hours, which is mainly due to excessive use of private vehicles. There is a need to resolve the congestion issues urgently for improving mobility of the people.”
The problem of congestion may be partly resolved by adopting Transport Demand Management (TDM) strategies to ensure that the economic development of our cities is decoupled from excessive motorization by encouraging investments in sustainable transports like public transport, cycling and walking, the letter read.
Due to the demographic, business and archaeological compulsions in certain areas in the cities, de-congesting is a tough process, Krishna added in the letter.
The letter was sent along with case studies of London and Singapore, which show impressive results.
With the levying of the charge, traffic in Central London went down by about 21 per cent and the traffic speed went up by about 10 per cent.
The MUD’s letter suggested a manual permit/ coupon system, as was done in Singapore, when it first introduced congestion pricing. London uses automatic number plate recognition cameras at entry sites around the core areas of the city to record the vehicles. Those incurring the charge then pay it online, through mobiles or at specific stores and those failing to pay the charge get fined, the MUD said.
There is a need to discourage use of private vehicles in the core areas of cities so that people can reach offices, workplaces and business centers in time.
This can be achieved by proper TDM and consequent levying of congestion charges on the vehicles entering the specified zone. The congestion pricing is premised on a basic concept — “charge a price in order to allocate a scarce resource to its most valuable use” the letter read.
Dipak Kumar Dash TNN
New Delhi: Now road users can check whether a toll plaza is operating legally and how much they should pay at each toll plaza. National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has launched a portal a mobile-based application that will help commuters locate all toll plazas on a stretch and charges payable for each category of vehicle – car, jeep, truck or bus.
Suppose one plans to travel between Delhi and Mumbai, he just needs to enter names of the origin and destination to get details of all toll plazas.
A government official said the website – www.nhaitis.org – is already functional and information related to 255 toll plazas has been uploaded in the system. Details of other 30 plazas will be uploaded in the next two weeks, sources said.
“Commuters can also access updated information about concessions available for local and frequent users on any toll plaza so that the toll operators can’t fleece them. They can get details of the facilities available near a toll plaza, contact numbers for emergency services, local police station and nearest hospital,” said an official.
To make the information accessible while on the move, the highway authority said that people can also get all these details simply by sending an SMS. All that they need is to download an application (app) on their android smartphones. The app will provide details of all toll plazas within 100 km range.
Overcharging, misbehaviour by toll operators and long wait at toll plazas are some of the major irritants for road-users. Moreover, though it’s mandatory that a big hoarding at every plaza must display the applicable toll charges for each type of vehicle, private developers often fail to put them up. The new IT initiative is likely to address these concerns.
Source-http://epaper.timesofindia.com/
Team ITW Wishes its ,Promoters , Subscribers and Visitors a Very Happy Colourful and safe Holi !!!
Press Trust of India | Chandigarh
A sum of Rs 1,141 crore would be spent on the four-laning of Ambala-Kaithal section of the National Highway 65 connecting Haryana with Rajasthan.
This was said by Haryana Transport Minister Aftab Ahmad while replying to a question raised by MLA Ram Pal Majra during the ongoing budget session of the state assembly here today.
He said the four-laning of the Ambala-Kaithal section of NH-65 would be done as a BoT project.
The bids for the project will open on March 27, 2014 with a construction period of 30 months.
The scope of work includes three railway over bridges, three flyovers, six underpasses, five bypasses at Ambala, Matheri, Ismailabad, Pehowa and Kaithal, he added.
Source-http://www.business-standard.com/
Work to upgrade and expand a section of Highway 91, which shapes part of a transport project linking Cambodia with Viet Nam, got underway in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho yesterday.
The section, running through the provinces of Kien Giang and An Giang, will be 11metres wide and 28 kilometres long with two vehicle lanes when it is completed in 22 months.
The Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) project worth nearly VND1.6 trillion (roughly US$75.2 million) was expected to shorten travel distance for goods and passengers between Can Tho, An Giang and Kien Giang, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Dao Anh Dung said.
Director of the Sonadezi Industrial Zone Development Company Do Thi Thu Hang said as an investor, her company pledged to do its utmost to ensure the progress as well as the quality of the project.
As the largest city in the granary-labelled delta, Can Tho has set a goal of becoming an industrial hub in the region by 2015, with industry accounting for 46.9 percent of its local economy.
The city has trade relationships with over 80 countries and territories from across the world. Besides traditional markets in Japan, the US and the EU, the city has also expanded its export markets to the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe.
Source-http://english.vietnamnet.vn/
Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under BOT
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Development of NH bypass from Kazhakuttom to Karode
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has granted approval for a compensation package for acquiring land from Kottukal village for the development of the 43.62-km NH-66 bypass from Kazhakuttom to Karode on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border.
The NHAI decision comes at a time when the NHAI has invited a Request for Proposal (RFP) for converting a 26-km stretch of the NH-66 bypass from Kazhakuttam to Mukkola into a four-lane road.
The NHAI’s invitation for the RFP was following the delay in handing over land for the 17.62-km stretch of the road up to Karode.
Official sources said the NHAI orders were issued on Thursday on the basis of the report given by the Competent Authority Land Acquisition (CALA).
A sum of Rs.78.60 crore would be given by the NHAI as compensation to the landowners in the Kottukal village.
Official sources said the authority would come out with an approval for the other four villages in the 17.62 km stretch once the CALA submitted the report.
The order issued by the DGM (LA & Coord), NHAI, Prag Ghosh said the compensation rates were indicated by the State on the basis of the sales statistics for similar adjoining land as on the date of publication of the statutory 3A notification on March 22, 2012, and July 13, 2013.
The rates fixed by the NHAI were Rs.8,464/sq m for dry land with PWD road access, Rs.7,618/sq m for dry land with Panchayat road access, Rs.6,671/sq m for dry land without road access, and Rs.5,925/sq m for wet land.
The local project director of the NHAI was also asked to ensure that the land was transferred into the NHAI’s possession and simultaneously mutated in the name of the government after the compensation money was deposited with the CALA.
Tharoor’s intervention
Describing it as an important day for the people, Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor said it would bring relief to the people who were suffering for more than four decades.
With this, Mr. Tharoor said the final step for reaching the actual payments to the beneficiaries had been completed. “After receiving the payments, the land owners could go in appeal for additional compensation under various arbitration processes”, he added.
BOT project
The Public-Private Partnership Appraisal Committee of the Union government has given nod for the first 26 km of the project to be taken up on a public-private partnership mode at a cost of Rs.577.95 crore.
The entire 43.62 km stretch will cost Rs.1,170 crore.
The 43.62-km stretch from Kazhakuttam to Karode is part of the 212-km NH-66 (old NH-47) bypass project of the NHAI from Thuravur that began in 1974. It is part of the National Highway Development Project Phase III.
The 22-km first phase, from Kazhakuttom junction to Kovalam junction, was converted into a two-lane 15 years ago. Land has been acquired for a four-lane stretch and to the extent of 45 metres along the bypass on the Kazhakuttam-Chakka-Eenchakkal-Kovalam stretch.
Source- http://www.thehindu.com/
By C Shivakumar – CHENNAI
Work going on at Spurtank Road, in the city on Monday | Albin Mathew
The much delayed Chennai Port-Maduravoyal elevated corridor project may be completed in another 30 months as the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) resumed the work on Monday.
The work to clear way for the vehicles to ply in the area along the Cooum river has been started on Spur Tank Road, NHAI Chief General Manager (Technical), Tamil Nadu and Kerala, Chinna Reddy, told Express.
It may be recalled that following a High Court order on February 20, 2014, Reddy has stated that the work would start within three months. “But with the manpower and machinery at our disposal, the work has started with immediate effect after consultations,” Reddy said, adding, he expected to finish the project in the next 30 months.
Initially, NHAI is looking at laying the foundation along the Cooum. “One ground of land was cleared and the work began at around 11 am,” said an official at the site.
The construction of pile caps along the river stretch has been a bone of contention between the State government and the NHAI. The project hit a roadblock on March 2012 after the Water Resources Department issued a ‘stop work’ notice saying the alignment of the corridor along the banks of the Cooum had deviated from the original plan.
The biggest challenge for the NHAI is to get the slums vacated on the stretch. “There are a number of places where the slums have to be evicted by the State and the land has to be handed over to the NHAI,” said Reddy.
Other Projects
Reddy said the State government was yet to constitute land acquisition units for the 262-km Bangalore-Chennai Expressway that will run through Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. He said other states have already set up the units.
He also said Rs 1,000 crore road improvement project in 300 kilometres across the State would be taken up under Engineering Procurement and Construction scheme after there were no takers for Build Operate Transfer (BOT) process.
The project would be carried out in the stretch linking Madurai, Rameswaram, Karaikudi, Thanjavur and Chidambaram.
Source-http://www.newindianexpress.com/
India Infoline News Service/
The company has also executed concession agreement with NHAI for another BOT project
IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd (“IRB”), one of the largest BOT road developers in India, announced that it has commenced construction on Goa/Karnataka Border to Kundapur BOT Project. The company has also executed concession agreement with NHAI for another BOT project viz. Four Laning of Solapur to Yedeshi section of NH-211.
Goa/Karnataka Border to Kundapur BOT Project is being implemented by the wholly-owned subsidiary of the company viz. IRB Westcoast Tollway Pvt. Ltd. This SPV has now received an Appointed Date in terms of the Concession Agreement executed with NHAI. The project involves four laning of NH17 from Km 93.700 to Km 283.300 in the State of Karnataka. The project cost of the company is approximately Rs. 2,639 crores and the concession period is 28 years. Construction period for the project is 910 days. IRB has sought Rs. 536 crores as viability gap funding from NHAI. The SPV has already achieved financial closure and tied up project finance of Rs. 1,406 crores from a consortium of public sector banks.
IRB has also informed that it’s another wholly-owned subsidiary viz. Solapur Yedeshi Tollway Pvt. Ltd. has executed concession agreement with NHAI for the project of four laning of Solapur to Yedeshi section of NH-211 in Maharashtra. The estimated project cost is approximately Rs. 1,500 crores. IRB has sought Rs. 189 crores as viability gap funding from NHAI for the project. Concession period is 29 years for the project and construction period is 910 days.
Source -http://www.indiainfoline.com
Timsy Jaipuria | New Delhi |
SUMMARY -After a gap of over a year, the government is set to award a highway project in the build
After a gap of over a year, the government is set to award a highway project in the build, operate and transfer (BOT) category in what marks its effort to revive the public-private partnership (PPP) model in the sector. According to sources, the first PPP project of this fiscal in highways will soon be awarded to Mumbai-based IRB Infrastructure Developers for widening a 98.72-km stretch between Solapur and Yedeshi in Maharashtra to four lanes.
However, the project, estimated to cost R972 crore, would be supported by viability gap funding (VGF) of 19% by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). Many stranded PPP projects in the sector were awarded on promises of high premium payments to the authority. “Given the poor response to the BOT projects these days, IRB’s proposal appeared to be better than what the NHAI had expected,” said a senior government official, asking not to be named.
Inability to meet toll revenue targets had forced investors like GMR, GVK and Ashoka Buildcon to quit their PPP projects in the highways sector and caused delays in other projects. Termination of projects awarded on the promise of high premiums to NHAI by the most prominent investors has resulted in renegotiation of premiums worth R98,000 crore payable over 20-30 years. Policymakers have since shifted focus to the conventional engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) projects, and not one new PPP project has been awarded in the sector this fiscal.
The details of the premium recast will be as per the Rangarajan panel’s recommendations, which is expected soon.
The number of new PPP projects awarded in the sector peaked in 2011-12 at 6,491 km and has since come down to 1,116 km in 2012-13.
In September this year, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had given its approval for widening the Solapur-Yedshi section of National Highway 211 in Maharashtra under the National Highways Development Project (NHDP) Phase IV on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer pattern.
While no new PPP project has been awarded this fiscal, one project was re-awarded — six-laning of the 122.88-km Barwa-Adda-Panagarh section of NH2 to IL&FS Transportation Networks in May.
Both the road ministry and NHAI have attributed the sluggish investor interest in PPP projects to not only the economic slowdown and resultant difficulty in meeting toll collection targets but also several loopholes in the model concession agreement. Developers had been vocal about financial stress, non-availability of land and uncertainty over securing environmental clearances as among various reasons behind not showing interest in bidding. Similarly, the government had also decided not to launch any bid without having all statutory clearances in place. This, according to senior officials, was the reason behind the poor awarding scenario in the current fiscal.
After the Solapur-Yedshi stretch, the government is likely to bring out another bid for a four laning project in Rajasthan, which is at a nascent stage. If this project also takes off, it will be the second project awarded on PPP mode in the current fiscal.
NHAI has a modest target to award 125 km on BOT mode this fiscal, while the target for EPC projects is set at 1,875 km. The ministry has revised its target for total awards by all agencies from 9,000 km last year to 5,600 km this year, including the 2,000 km to be awarded by NHAI.
IRB undertakes development of various infrastructure projects in the road sector through several special purpose vehicles. The company, along with its subsidiaries, has constructed, operated and maintained around 8,000 lane km of road length so far. The aggregate size of all its BOT projects (completed and under execution) is around Rs. 17,055 crore.
Source- http://www.financialexpress.com/
Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under BOT, NHAI
Rajendra B Aklekar
From 1.36 lakh passengers in first week, the figure has come down to 92,771.
Mumbai monorail, which began its first rides last month with great fanfare, is seeing fewer passengers because of poor feeder services, both public and private.
More than 1.36 lakh commuters travelled by monorail in its first week, February 2 to February 8. But the number has gradually decreased in the past few weeks, with the latest figures – for the week February 23-March 1 – pegging ridership at 92,771. (See box.)
Transport officials say the drop is not an indication of the popularity of monorail, which runs from Chembur to Wadala. They say more people travelled by the transit system in its initial weeks as they were curious to know how the country’s first monorail worked.
Commuters, however, say that a month after the launch, there are not enough feeder bus services from Wadala. The Wadala monorail station, in fact, is in a remote location where it’s difficult to find a cab.
“It is called the Wadala Mono Station, but it’s actually near the Chunabhatti-Kurla junction of the Eastern Express Highway,” said monorail user Aniket Joshi, who is considering to stop travelling in the air-conditioned four coach rakes.
Transport experts say that most monorail users from Chembur buy return tickets as “no one wants to get down at Wadala”.
Mirror visited monorail stations on Monday and found that Chembur saw the highest density of passengers. At stations like Mysore Colony and Bharat Petroleum, there were hardly any commuters waiting to board the monorail.
BEST had planned to start bus services near monorail stations, but so far it has not announced any. “It’s been only a month. We are trying to get an idea of the ridership before we start new services,” BEST spokesperson AS Tamboli said. “Initially, a lot of people took joyrides on monorail. Once we get an idea of the passenger density, we will start feeder bus services.”
Commuters say the BEST bus on route number 60, which runs between Kurla railway station (East) and Anik depot in Sion, could be easily extended to Wadala monorail station. “This will make life easier for monorail users,” said Rajni Welkar.
MMRDA commissioner Urvinder Pal Singh Madan said that the ridership had not fallen, but stabilised. “It will increase significantly once we the entire 20-km monorail stretch is completed,” he said.
Mumbai Monorail currently operates on the 8.8-km stretch from Chembur to Wadala and will extended to Jacob Circle by March 2015.
Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Monorail
Next Page »
