‘Continuous rule changes hit highway award schedule’

April 2, 2010

The roads and highways sector needs many more government initiatives, Virendra Mhaiskar, chairman and managing director of IRB Infrastructure Developers, tells Sanjay Jog. Edited excerpts:

The (Union) Ministry of Roads and Highways plans to award 18,581 km of road projects in 2010-11. Do you expect hectic bidding?
Yes, we do.

Another 33,130 km of NHAI (National Highways Authority of India) projects are yet to be awarded. How fast can this be done?
It may be possible to award these over 12 -18 months. However, environmental clearance to these projects may be an impediment. What needs to be done now is to concentrate on the actual award process, without bringing further regulatory changes. The continuous regulatory changes have badly affected the award schedule.

IRB has bagged all projects on tolls, with average grant at 36 per cent of the project cost (maximum permissible is 40 per cent).
IRB will continue to focus on toll-based BOT projects. However, we are not averse to bidding for annuity-based BOT projects. Depending on the viability of the projects, we will bid.

And, the challenges in project implementation?
The key challenge now appears to be getting environment clearance. We fear delays on this account. The Panaji to Goa-Karnataka border project, for which bids were opened in mid-June last year and for which LOA was issued in January this year, is yet to receive environment clearance. On our part, we are on the verge of achieving financial closure for the project.

Any comment on the government’s recent initiatives in this regard?
The recent initiatives are welcome and will go a long way in bringing investor confidence.

How will the norms to restrict players with more than three projects without financial closure from new bids be helpful?
Although the norms appear very strict, it will surely help to bring out the serious bidders and the non-serious ones. It will avoid hoarding of projects and result in improved implementation.

There have been delays in award of projects by NHAI. Will the recent reforms see action?
The recent reforms have surely resulted in improving the appetite to bid for the projects. However, execution capability in the country is finite and its building up will take some time. These capabilities, we believe, cannot be imported.

To complement the National Highways Development Programme, the government proposes to develop the Expressway Authority of India for implementation of expressway projects of 18,637 km, for completion in phases till 2022. What’s your opinion?
Work surely needs to start on the expressway programme. However, whether this needs a separate expressway authority is a question. It has the potential to create further red-tapism, because of multiplicity and connectivity issues concerning highways.

As a developer, what further initiatives are needed to make project implementation hassle-free?
State support is very important. The minister has been keen to have all the states signing the state support agreement for faster implementation of projects. But, some progressive states are yet to sign.

Do developers face problems in availability of finance for toll or annuity projects? There has been increasing opposition on toll recovery. How could this be tackled?
The liquidity in the market as of now is sound. However, the RBI will have a tough job on hand in the coming year, ensuring availability of liquidity for infra projects and managing the government borrowing programme. If a mechanism is devised by the government which would allow pension funds and insurance funds to participate in the debt programme for infra projects, this would take considerable pressure off the banking system.

On toll recovery, we have not seen any opposition where the facility is well-maintained and saving on operating cost to the user is visible. However, there is an intention of the government to go ahead and toll two-lane roads. This may trigger toll opposition, as these roads would offer very little cost-saving to the user.

What are IRB’s expansion plans?
We intend to concentrate on our core competence of highway development and will concentrate on growing our portfolio of 5,100 lane-kms. We will also concentrate on improving our execution capabilities.

Source: business-standard.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under BOT, Expressway, Highway, Infrastructure, NHAI, Tolling

NHAI nod to toll hike for Gurgaon e-way

April 1, 2010

NEW DELHI: From Thursday, commuters using the 27.7 km Delhi-Gurgaon expressway will have to pay Rs 4 more for each trip. The user charge for crossing the 32-lane toll plaza on the Delhi-Gurgaon border will increase by Rs 2, and there will be a similar hike for users crossing the Kherki Dhaula toll plaza. The hike will be steeper for heavy vehicles.

The expressway has three toll plazas and the two major plazas — the 32-lane plaza and the Kherki Dhaula plaza — process around 1.9 lakh vehicles a day.

The revised toll rate, which has been finalized by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), will be notified on Wednesday, said senior officials. On Tuesday, the authority notified the revision of toll rates for 23 four-laned national highway (NH) stretches owned by the government. Sources said that under ideal conditions, revised toll rates should be notified at least a week before they come into effect so that users have prior knowledge of the increase.

In the case of the four-laned NHs, the revised toll fee for 2010-11 has been fixed at 76 paise per km, whereas a commuter using the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway ends up paying Rs 1.6 per km (Rs 45 for a total of 27.7 km). Car users will pay Rs 20 at the 32-lane plaza and Rs 25 at the Kherki Dhaula plaza. Similarly, at the IGI plaza the toll will go up from the current Rs 12 to Rs 13 per trip.

NHAI sources said the toll rate for the two categories of roads is different. ‘‘The expressway is a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT-toll) project and its base toll charge has been fixed on the crossing of every toll plaza, not on a per km basis as is the case with other stretches. People pay more for better facilities and driving comfort,’’ an official said. He added the base toll charge was fixed to make the project financially viable.

Commuters who use the expressway daily, however, disagreed with NHAI’s claim that users pay more for better facilities.

‘‘We pay more for the expressway’s comfort but one can find two and three-wheelers crowding the main carriageway, increasing the risk of accidents. Why can’t the NHAI and the developer fix the problem?’’ asked General Satbir Singh, who often travels to Gurgaon.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Expressway, Highway, NHAI, Tolling

Sadbhav Engineering Secures Road Project in Karnataka from NHAI

February 15, 2010

Sadbhav Engineering Ltd has announced that the Consortium led by the Company has been awarded the project “4 laning of Bijapur – Hungund Section of NH-13 from km 102.000 to km 202.000 in the state of Karnataka on Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (“DBFOT”), Toll basis under NHDP Phase-III (Package No. NHDP-III/BOT/KNT/05)” from The General Manager (Tech), National Highways Authority of India (Ministry of Road Transport and Highways) G-5&6, Sector-10, Dwarka, New Delhi-l10075 in the name of Joint Venture known as ‘SEL-MCL Consortium’ in the ratio of 77:23 respectively.

The proposed total cost of development of the said project stands at Rs. 1225.00 Crores. The Concession Period of the project is 20 (twenty) years including construction period of 910 Nine Hundred and Ten) days from the “Appointed Date”.

The stock was trading at Rs.1245, up by Rs.37.25 or 3.08%. The stock hit an intraday high of Rs.1294.80 and low of Rs.1215.

The total traded quantity was 5230 compared to 2 week average of 1222.

Source: Equity Bulls

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under BOT, Expressway, Highway, NHAI

By 2022, govt to lay 18,637km of expressways

December 3, 2009

NEW DELHI: The government has drawn up an ambitious target to lay 18,637km network of brand new expressways by 2022. These high-speed, access-controlled roads will be of the four-lane and six-lane variety with 3,530 km to come up in the next three years.

The highways ministry is ready with a Master Plan for the National Expressway Network. The new target of expressway length was projected after receiving observations from 11 states including Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. Earlier, the final draft report prepared by the highways ministry had proposed to develop 17,661 km of expressway network.

The expressways network will not be an upgraded national highway network but will be developed entirely as greenfield projects. These will preferably be built with three-metre high embankments and will have service roads along the stretches where there is a need. Officials said there was an urgent need to develop expressways network as road transport would remain the mainstay for sustaining the economic momentum of the country.

“The existing arterial network cannot meet the latent and the emerging demands for connectivity and accessibility while ensuring the desired level of safety,” said a senior ministry official.

As per estimates, the construction cost per km would be Rs 14 crore in case of 4-lane and Rs 20 crore in case of 6-lane expressways excluding land acquisition and other expenses. A recent presentation made before the top brass of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the ministry also mentioned that while majority of identified stretches would be built on build-operate-transfer (BOT) mode, stretches which were unviable could be developed on annuity basis.

The Master Plan document has also phased the expressway development programme for 2012, 2017 and 2022 and this has been done on the basis of financial viability, relative traffic intensity along various corridor segments, network comprehensiveness, connectivity warrants and relative economic potential of each proposed project.

The ministry is already in the process of preparing a draft for creation of a National Expressways Authority of India (NEAI) on the lines of NHAI and the highway regulator has also got an exclusive wing for the expressway as a stop-gap arrangement.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under BOT, Expressway, Highway, NHAI, NHDP

No state consent, NHAI goes ahead with four-laning of highway section

December 3, 2009

Without taking the state government on board, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has already decided to go ahead with the four-laning of the 80-km Muzaffarnagar-Hardwar section of the Delhi-Dehradun corridor.

The state government has not yet given its consent to the State Support Agreement for a 21-km stretch, which falls within the state. The rest falls in Uttarakhand.

The bids for the project were invited in September and had to be opened on October 9. But the Highway Authority had later thought of abandoning the project as the state government had refused to sign the State Support Agreement. They have now decided to go ahead with the project.

“The 9 bids received for this project were opened on Wednesday. A contractor for the project will be finalised within a week,” said M K Jain, Project Director.

“The state government has not sent any letter of consent on the State Support Agreement. But the Highway Authority is going ahead with the project,” added Jain.

According to him, the four-laning of the highway will start from June next year. About 70-hectare would be required for 21-km stretch in the state.

“Land has been earmarked. A proposal has been sent to the authorities for approval on notification of land acquisition. The notification will be issued within a week,” said Jain.

The Muzaffaragar-Hardwar section will be four-laned on built, operate and transfer (BOT) basis under the National Highways Development Project (phase-III). The project will cost Rs 900 crore. The Detailed Project Report has also been prepared.

The state government had refused to sign the State Support Agreement as it wants to develop an expressway along the Upper Ganga Canal from Noida to Hardwar which will also open a passage for Uttarakhand from UP and Delhi. Jain said if the State Support Agreement was signed, the state government had to assure that no alternative expressway — Upper Ganga Canal Expressway — would be developed parallel to Highway Authority’s highway, leading to a competition.

“Since the agreement has not been signed, the state government is free to develop its own expressway,” said Jain.

The eight-lane Upper Ganga Canal expressway, popularly known as Hindon Expressway, will stretch from Noida to Hardwar through Muzaffarnagar and Roorkee. Mumbai-based firm called Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited (IL&FS) is conducting the feasibility study of the project and are likely to submit the report by next month.

Source: expressindia.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under BOT, Expressway, Highway, NHAI, Projects

Hazaribagh road clears Cabinet bump

August 6, 2009

Ranchi, July 31: The Union Cabinet has finally cleared the project to widen the Ranchi-Hazaribagh stretch of NH-33, considered the lifeline of the state, making it the first project in the region — including Bihar — to be executed under build, operate and transfer (BOT).

The Cabinet sanctioned Rs 688 crore yesterday for four-laning 71km of the highway which means that a consortium of IL&FS Transportation Networks Limited (ITNL) and Punj Lloyd would now be awarded a contract by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).

According to the terms of the BOT-annuity plan, the project will have to be completed in two and-a-half-years. The consortium would be paid Rs 64.08 crore every six months for the next 15-and-a- half years.

In all, the government would be paying the consortium approximately Rs 1,900 crore, the funds for which would be sanctioned in future. The consortium will, however, be responsible for maintaining the road for 18 years from the date of awarding of the contract.

“Now NHAI will issue a letter of intent following which a contract agreement will be signed with the consortium. This will be the first project in Jharkhand and Bihar to be executed under BOT-annuity basis,” Lt Col Chandan Vatsa, the NHAI general manager (BOT), told The Telegraph from Delhi, sounding relieved that the project had crossed its final hurdle.

Four-laning of the Ranchi-Hazaribagh stretch was in phase III of National Highway Development Programme’s (NHDP) which was cleared by the Centre in 2005. But it was held up as the past three attempts to invite bids did not yield results.

Vatsa, however, warned that the state, now under president’s rule, had a lot more to do so that land acquisition, forest clearances and other permissions were speeded up.

“Only about 48 per cent land required for widening the road is under NHAI’s possession. As per the Model Concession Agreement approved by government of India, at least 80 per cent possession of land is mandatory before a contract cab be awarded. So now the state administration must pull up its socks,” the NHAI official said.

NHAI has also provided for a 4.2km bypass in the Kujju area of the highway to avoid the fire zone that has already made commuting in the stretch dangerous. The by-pass, that would run on a new alignment, has been included in the proposed four-laning project.

The total length of the Ranchi-Hazaribagh stretch of NH33, including the bypass, would work out to be 71.16km.

“The new proposed alignment will avoid the existing fire zone in and around Kujju. It could well be the safest zone. But once the project starts we will need to conduct soil, bore hole and other geological tests to assess the exact magnitude of the underground fire,” Vatsa added.

M.K. Pandey, the manager (technical) of NHAI, said they have apprised Delhi about the situation at Kujju. “After conducting the geological tests, the authorities may even decide to alter the alignment of the Kujju bypass once work starts, ” he said.

Source:www.telegraphindia.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under BOT, Expressway, Highway, HTMS

Remove highway hoardings: NHAI

June 1, 2008

PANAJI: All hoardings erected along the national highways of Goa must be removed by June 5, 2008, according to an order issued by the National Highways Authority of India on Friday.

The NHAI officials told TOI that the order was issued directing that all hoardings must be removed within five days of publication of the order, failing which NHAI would itself remove the hoardings.

In its drive against these hoardings, the NHAI had earlier counted 245 major hoardings and about 700 smaller hoardings erected on land acquired for the national highways in Goa. While some have been removed since, many are still there.

On February 12, 2008, the High Court of Bombay in Goa had directed the state authorities to remove all illegal hoardings in the state within four months and file a report to the court.

The court also asked both the district collectors to submit their progress report latest by July 21, 2008.

These directions are to be complied with by the collectors of North and South Goa, directorate of panchayats, director of municipal administration and the highway administration.

This order of the High Court assumes significance in view of mushrooming illegal billboards in Goa, particularly along the national highways. Following a news report in a local daily, the court had taken suo
moto cognizance and issued a notice to the state authorities.

The court had observed that billboards are being erected without obtaining NoCs from local authorities and in violation of the 40-metre setback rule set out by the Indian Road Congress and without the permission of the Traffic Cell.

The court observed that local authorities must exercise proper control over billboard erection and order their removal wherever rules are flouted. The court noted that the hoardings are a hazard to road safety and mar the natural beauty of the state.

The court also held that the local authorities have failed to exercise statutory control over the erection of billboards within their respective jurisdictions, thereby encouraging illegal hoardings.
Source: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Expressway, Highway, NHAI

NHAI floats Rs 3,700-cr bond issue

May 31, 2008

NEW DELHI: National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has floated a fresh tranche of capital gains bonds to raise Rs 3,700 crore for funding new projects over the medium term. This is the second time in less than one year that NHAI has issued bonds. In September 2007, the organisation raised Rs 2,000 crore through such bonds.

The bonds issued by NHAI will yield an interest of 5.75% per annum and mature in three years. The face value of each bond is Rs 10,000. The Authority will accept a maximum application size of 500 bonds from a single entity or person. The bonds have been issued under Section 54 EC of the Income-Tax Act and the issue will close at the end of the current fiscal (March 31, 2009).

The issue is being marketed by banks such as Union Bank of India (UBI), IDBI Bank, selected branches of Syndicate Bank, HDFC Bank, Canara Bank and Punjab National Bank (PNB).

The government has authorised the NHAI to issue capital gains bonds with a ceiling of Rs 3,700 crore during 2008-09. Section 54EC of the Income Tax Act 1961, provides that capital gains arising from transfer of a long-term capital asset shall not be taxed so far as such gains are invested in a long-term asset within a period of six months after the date of transfer.

The NHAI is about to launch two more projects under the National Highway Development Programme (NHDP) VI and VII, which are currently in the planning stage. Both the projects have a planned investment of Rs 16,680 crores each.

NHDP VI involves the construction of a 1,000 km expressway in the western region. The cabinet committee on economic affairs has already approved the development plan of NHDP VII and the ministry of road transport and highways is in the process of setting targets for the stage by stage completion of the same.

NHAI is engaged in building the golden quadrilateral, which is part of NHDP-I and II projects. NHAI funds highway projects through issue of bonds, funds raised through fuel cess and loans from multilateral funding agencies such as Asian Development Bank and World Bank.
Source: www.economictimes.indiatimes.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Expressway, Highway, NHAI

Himachal CM Proposes Six-lane Parwanno-Shimla Expressway

May 27, 2008

Shimla: Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal put forth a proposal for a six-lane expressway between Parwanno and Shimla, keeping in mind the increased traffic and future needs on the route.

Presiding over a review meet consisting of officials from the National Highway Authority (NHAI) and the state government the chief minister said that detailed project report for a six-lane expressed could be prepared.

He said the government was keen to start work on the four-laning of the 40.75 Km Parwanno – Solan stretch of the highway. Work on the Solan – Shimla stretch would be taken up in the next phase, he said. The four lane express way project between Parwanoo and Solan was likely to cost Rs 440.56 crore.

NHAI had proposed to construct the entire length of road as four-lane road but the state government was keen that the entire road be made into a six-lane one, said Dhumal.

Traffic pressure was mounting with every passing year, said Dhumal, and to meet the transport needs for the next fifty years it was essential to plan for it today. Vehicle movement on the existing highway from both ends was estimated to be around 23,000 per day which was projected to rise to about 66,500 by 2030. Such projections needs to be kept in mind while preparing a DPR for the expressway said Dhumal.

Roads remained the life line of connectivity for the hill capital, said the chief minister, as the Shimla-Kalka narrow gauge rail line was in the process of being declared a World Heritage rail track and the possibility of it being expanded into a broad gauge track was remote.

Planning and designing was required to be in consonance with the future demand of the area and required preparations made well in time to envision the additional land acquisition for the six lane express way, he said.

Public Works Minister Gulab Singh Thakur, said that spade work had been carried out for getting the project started early.

Dr. Rajeev Bindal, health minster, sought details of the habitations falling between Parwanoo and Shimla and urged authorities not to disturb the same in the process.

Ravi Dhingra, Chief Secretary said that the state had initially proposed the construction of six lane express way which was the need of the state keeping in view future growth requirements.

Balram Sharma, Secretary PWD, gave a detailed presentation about the departments preparedness to get the project executed.

PK Dass, General Manager, NHAI gave the presentation about the express way project and assured that necessary steps would be taken to make preparations for six lane road while initially constructing a four lane road.

Solan district legislators Hari Narayan Singh Saini, Smt. Vinod Chandel, Gobind Sharma and Dr. Rajeev Saijal, Principal secretary to the chief minister Bhim Sen, Director general of police Ashwani Kumar, special secretary PWD Mohan Chauhan, HPPWD engineer in chief BS Rajpal, Project director NHAI Col. K.P.Sharma, consultant NHAI Faquir Chand and other senior officers were present in the meeting.
Source:www.himachal.us

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Expressway, Highway, NHAI

M’lore: High-tech Four-lane Road from Kundapur to Talapady Soon

May 2, 2008

Govind D Belgaumkar/The Hindu

Work on the 90-km stretch likely to begin after the monsoon season
Contractors to apply for pre-qualification before May 30
Work to be awarded on build, operate and transfer basis

Mangalore, May 2: A smooth ride on a high-tech road from Kundapur in Udupi district to Talapady on Karnataka-Kerala border may be a possibility very soon. However, vehicle users will have to pay for using the road.

The work is being taken up under the third phase of National Highway Development Project (NHDP), aimed at building world-class highways to fuel the growth of the economy.

Although the work on the stretch between Nanthur and Surathkal has been tardy, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has invited tenders for the remaining 90-km stretch. The Surathkal-Nanthur stretch has been taken up under the Port Connectivity Project of the NHDP.

Process

Considering that the process of awarding the tender takes a few months, as suggested in the authority’s website, the 90-km project implementation may begin only after the monsoon season.

The authority intends to pre-qualify six applicants, who will be eligible to bid for the project. In the next step, the bidders have to submit their financial offers for the project.

The NHAI has set May 30, against the previous May 5, as the deadline for contractors to apply for pre-qualification. Queries from the applicants will be entertained till May 5, after which a conference will be organised to clear their doubts on May 7. It will be a tolled road to be awarded on build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis. A special purpose company will be created to undertake the project implementation.

The contractor winning the project will have to design, engineer, finance, construct, operate and maintain the road till its transfer to the NHAI.

Scope of work

The scope of the project includes, rehabilitation of displaced people, improvement and widening of the existing carriageway to four-lane standards with construction of new pavements, rehabilitation of existing pavement, construction and/or rehabilitation of major and minor bridges, culverts, road intersections, interchanges, drains, and the operation and maintenance thereof.

Features

The NHDP hopes to provide enhanced safety features on the roads taken up for four-laning or six-laning, besides better riding surface, better traffic management and noticeable signage, divided carriageways and service roads, grade separators, over bridges and underpasses, bypasses and wayside amenities. The third phase envisages construction of more than 12,000-km of road. Of this, about 10,000 km is yet to be awarded, according to the NHAI website. Under NHDP, the authority has almost completed the golden quadrilateral which connects the four metros.
source:www.daijiworld.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Default, Expressway, Highway, NHAI

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