Kochi:Steps taken to expedite National Highway widening: Pinarayi Vijayan
Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Wednesday that the state government has taken steps to expedite the widening of the national highway between Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram into four lanes. Inaugurating the Palarivattom flyover on Wednesday, Vijayan said that efforts are on to sort out the issues related to land acquisition for widening of national highways. The chief minister said that respective district collectors have been given instructions to hold discussions with landowners to resolve the land acquisition crisis. The government will be preparing a better compensation and rehabilitation package for the land owners to minimise their hardships. He said that the government stands for environment-friendly construction that is suitable for the state’s climate and geography. The government plans to start a system which make use of factors like recycling of waste materials during construction and environment-friendly raw materials. Various methods like optimum of utilization of power will be introduced to check cost escalation, he said. PWD minister G Sudhakaran said that the detailed project reports for the flyovers at Vyttila and Kundanoor would be prepared soon and construction works would begin once the central government gave approval to National Highways Authority of India to undertake the work. Once these two flyovers are completed, there would be four flyovers along the stretch between Kundanoor and Edappally to address traffic snarls, he said. The minister said that all roads, constructed or repaired in future, will have well-covered drains. Pavements for pedestrians and cycle tracks would also be part of the new plan, he said. The government has decided to construct two highways – high range and coastal – between Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram at an estimated cost of Rs 10,000-Rs 15,000 crore. Mayor Soumini Jain requested the government to take urgent steps to complete the work on Pullepady-Thammanam Road. She also wanted the state government to revise the PWD manual so as to facilitate smooth completion of road works. The chief minister also took a ride on the newly-commissioned flyover. Guy Lapointe Authentic Jersey
Government approves Rs 1,955-crore road link project
A highway project worth Rs 1,955 crore for construction of a road link between Sahibganj in Jharkhand to Manihari in Bihar, including a bridge on the Ganges, received Cabinet clearance today. “The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the construction of a new link between Sahibganj bypass in Jharkhand to Manihari bypass in Bihar, including a four-lane bridge on river Ganga,” an official statement said. The cost is estimated to be Rs 1,954.77 crore, including cost of land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities. The total length of the road to be developed is approximately 22 kms. The job will be executed in hybrid annuity Mode, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said, adding that the concession period is 19 years, including a construction period of four years. The new link road will be approximately 16 km long, starting (from Sahibganj Pass in Jharkhand) to another six-km stretch near Narenpur (junction of NH-133B and NH-131A on Manihari bypass in Bihar). This stretch also includes a four-lane bridge on the Ganga. The project, the government said, will help expedite improvement of infrastructure in Bihar and Jharkhand and also reduce the time and cost of travel in these states. The development of this stretch is also expected to help uplift socio-economic conditions of people of this region in the state. It would also increase employment potential for local labourers for project activities. “It has been estimated that a total number of 4,076 mandays are required for construction of one kilometre of highway. As such, employment potential of 89,000 (approximately) mandays will be generated locally during the construction period of this stretch,” it said. The new project highway is a new formation of the missing link at NH-131A to NH-133B connecting Sahibganj in Jharkhand and Manihari in Bihar. At present, there is a missing link between Jharkhand to Bihar as there is no bridge on the Ganga at this point. The vehicular traffic uses Vikramshila Setu at Bhagalpur on Farakka barrage, which means covering a long distance for destinations in North Bihar. Jack Conklin Jersey
Top Canadian funds like Brookfield Asset Management, CDPQ and PSP Investments drawn to India’s highway projects
Top Canadian funds including Brookfield Asset Management, Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec (CDPQ) and PSP Investments have evinced interest in investing in India’s highway projects. Brookfield Asset Management and Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec (CDPQ) have had preliminary talks with state-run National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the roads ministry, NHAI chairman Raghav Chandra said. “We have had initial talks with Canadian funds. They have been coming to me on and off and have shown interest in the toll operate transfer investment model (TOT),” he said. PSP Investments and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan have also expressed interest in the projects, another official aware of the matter said. The government has identified some 100 operational highways owned by the NHAI for leasing to private players through the auction route for maintenance and toll collection for 30 years. The highway projects will be leased along with local operations and maintenance partners. The ministry expects about Rs 70,000 crore in upfront payment from this process and plans to use the funds to meet its target of laying 15,000 km of national highways in the current fiscal. “Brookfield is in constant touch with us and they have conveyed they are very much interested in participating in the process of bidding,” Chandra said. The highways authority has roped in SBI CAPS as a consultant for its monetisation plan. Canadian funds led by Brookfield and Canadian Pension Fund Investment Board have been bullish on India and are making big bets. Brookfield has already said it is planning to invest $2 billion over the next two-three years. CDPQ has also planned large investments in different sectors in India. “We have been looking at various projects in India to invest in, including roads. A string of investments were announced last week. We also want to partner in one of the port projects,” a senior executive of Quebec-headquartered CDPQ told ET. CDPQ recently inked a longterm partnership with Edelweiss Financial Service Ltd to invest about Rs 5, 000 crore in stressed assets and specialised corporate credit in India. To make the highway projects more lucrative for private funds, the government is also allowing bundling of highway projects so that a bidder can take up a portfolio of projects. The ministry has already asked NHAI to identify projects where bundling can be done and the process of bidding started.(The correspondent was in Montreal at the invitation of government of Canada) Kirk Gibson Jersey
ICRA: Air passenger traffic continues on a strong growth trajectory; records 20% increase in August 2016
During August 2016, the air passenger traffic in the country stood at 21.4 million, exhibiting a substantial growth of 20% over August 2015. In 5m FY2017, the passenger traffic has reported a y-o-y growth of 19%, aircraft traffic has grown by 15% and cargo traffic has grown by 7%. Harsh Jagnani, VP, ICRA Ltd elaborates, “August 2016 reported slight decline (1.1%) in total passenger traffic on m-o-m basis; however, on y-o-y basis there had been a growth of 20% reflecting the continuing overall positive growth trajectory. The passenger traffic growth in August has been driven primarily by significant y-o-y increase in domestic passengers (23%), which constitute over 77% of the total passenger traffic in the country as of August 2016. The aircraft traffic has reported similar trends with a negligible m-o-m growth and y-o-y growth of 13% in August 2016”. The domestic traffic (both passenger and aircraft) continues to dominate the total traffic with domestic passenger traffic and domestic aircraft traffic reporting a 23% and 15% y-o-y increase respectively in August 2016, significantly higher than the 8% growth reported in both international passenger and aircraft traffic. The passenger growth in the country has remained broad-based with 18 out of the top 20 airports exhibiting double-digit y-o-y growth rates. The growth remained robust across both metro cities (y-o-y growth of 20%) and non-metro cities (y-o-y growth of 19%). Chris Hogan Authentic Jersey
Airlines: Traffic to zoom beyond 100 mn in 2017
With 23 per cent domestic passenger growth in the eight months till August, India has emerged as the fastest growing air travel market in the world, outperforming China, which grew 10 per cent. Brazil and Russia have seen a decline. What’s more, domestic air traffic is poised to grow around 15 per cent in 2017, on the back of low fares, improved regional connectivity and economic growth, say executives and experts. Low fares have led to a rise in discretionary travel and higher demand for airlines. Sector-wide passenger load factors rose to 83.7 per cent in the eight months of calendar year 2016 from 82.6 per cent in the corresponding period in 2015, and too on increased capacity. The domestic jet fuel price is 10 per cent lower year-on-year, giving airlines the cushion to decrease fares. On an average, fares are 10 per cent lower over last year and in July-September airlines took to last-minute discounting matching Rajdhani air-conditioned 2-tier train ticket fares. “The healthy growth underlines relatively strong demand from both business as well leisure travellers. Competitive pressures and lower fuel prices have been a facilitator through low fares,” said Subrata Ray, group vice-president, corporate sector ratings, ICRA. With induction of new aircraft, airlines are opening direct routes and this, too, is pushing passenger growth. “We expect 15 per cent traffic growth per annum for the next three years. Domestic traffic will exceed 100 million in 2017 and airlines will continue to increase capacity to keep market share,” said Boeing’s senior vice-president (Asia-Pacific), Dinesh Keskar. He said the regional connectivity scheme (first flight expected in January 2017) will further boost growth. Connor Hellebuyck Womens Jersey
Regional air link scheme may use e-auction path
The civil aviation ministry will start the bidding process of routes under the regional connectivity scheme (RCS) from early next month and it has sought the coal ministry’s suggestions on e-auctioning. The government will unveil the final RCS policy soon after which it will invite bids from the airlines wanting to fly on regional routes. The Airports Authority of India (AAI), the nodal body entrusted to implement the ambitious scheme, has written to the coal ministry to share its experience on the modus operandi of the coal block e-auction process. The civil aviation ministry will do the bidding of the routes through state-owned Metal and Scrap Trading Corporation (MSTC) — the body which conducts the coal mine and iron ore auction. A senior MSTC official confirmed the development and said the corporation was in the final stages of setting up the portal for the bidding process. Randy Bullock Jersey
Green panel nod to Chennai Airport Phase 2 modernisation project
Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been asked to conduct public hearing for its proposed Rs 2,587 crore second phase of Chennai Airport modernisation project as its gets central nod for preparing environmental impact study for the same. AAI had completed the first phase of the project four years back. Now, it has proposed to start the second phase. The proposal involves reconstruction of old terminals (T2 and T3), development of multi-level car parks and integrated common user cargo complex and augmentation of contact bays, among others. “An Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) under the Union Environment Ministry examined the AAI’s proposal recently and gave approval for the terms of reference (ToRs),” a senior government official said. ToRs are guidelines specified for conducting environmental impact studies of projects based on which the Ministry grants or rejects clearance to a project.
Worried about power theft, police opt for underground cables
Big Brother may not be watching motorists all the time. Some of the CCTV cameras installed to monitor the traffic are defunct. And in other places, the power that keeps the cameras running is being stolen. A recent survey revealed that unidentified citizens are illegally tapping into the power lines connecting CCTV cameras installed at major junctions. There is only one way to stop this pilferage, say senior traffic police officers. “We have decided to go for underground connections with fibre optic cables for power and connectivity,” said Additional Commissioner of Police (traffic) R. Hitendra who headed the inspection team. Though pilferage was detected only at a few junctions, it is a matter of concern. According to him, Bescom has sanctioned supply for some CCTV cameras without a meter. The department pays a lump sum amount to Bescom every month. “However we have noticed that many illegal connections have been drawn from such power lines,” he said. In addition to this, around 25 cameras not functioning due to ongoing construction activities. “Because of this, the traffic department is unable to access the situation in these areas,” Mr. Hitendra added. Bengaluru has around 340 cameras installed at various junctions. By the end of this year, there are plans to add another 600 CCTV cameras. Tennessee Titans Jersey
Green panel nod to Chennai Airport Phase 2 modernisation project
Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been asked to conduct public hearing for its proposed Rs 2,587 crore second phase of Chennai Airport modernisation project as its gets central nod for preparing environmental impact study for the same. AAI had completed the first phase of the project four years back. Now, it has proposed to start the second phase. The proposal involves reconstruction of old terminals (T2 and T3), development of multi-level car parks and integrated common user cargo complex and augmentation of contact bays, among others. “An Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) under the Union Environment Ministry examined the AAI’s proposal recently and gave approval for the terms of reference (ToRs),” a senior government official said. ToRs are guidelines specified for conducting environmental impact studies of projects based on which the Ministry grants or rejects clearance to a project. Ryan Tannehill Jersey
NTPC’s regulatory woes increase Power Grid’s appeal
Among power utilities, public sector enterprises NTPC Ltd and Power Grid Corp. of India Ltd are viewed as safe investments. The companies work on a regulated business model and did not make oversize bets till now. This strategy by and large helped them avoid the pitfalls their private sector peers encountered and deliver superior stock returns. But changing market conditions and regulations are testing this thesis, especially for NTPC. After altering the incentive formula to actual utilization instead of power plant availability, regulator Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) is now proposing to change the fuel costs calculation mechanism. Against the current mechanism of “as fired” basis, CERC stipulates that NTPC calculate the gross calorific value (GCV) of the coal “on arrival” basis. Through this, the regulator wants to make NTPC accountable for the heat loss if any from the unloading point to the time coal gets fired. If implemented in the new format, the order can raise the company’s electricity production cost as the coal is said to see noticeable loss in GCV in transportation. The order right now does not apply to all plants. But if extrapolated, then NTPC’s earnings estimates may see significant cuts. The development comes amid a changing power sector landscape. Increasing availability of cheaper electricity in the spot or merchant power markets means states are no longer showing enthusiasm in signing long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs). In fact, some states are even said to be backing down on high-priced agreements and are meeting their electricity requirements through short-term contracts. These factors are raising questions about NTPC’s ability to recoup its returns from the earlier setback of the change in incentive calculation formula from plant availability to actual utilization method. According to Edelweiss Securities Ltd, this uncertainty can weigh on the NTPC stock and drive its underperformance vis-à-vis Power Grid, whose earnings are seeing no such risks. Power Grid gained 34% in the last one year, compared to NTPC’s 16%. “The bigger challenge is whether these orders mean that the regulator is incentivizing distribution/transmission vs generation, and if so NTPC’s elusive RoE (return on equity) pick-up may get pushed back,” Edelweiss said in a note. Of course, this is not to say NTPC is losing its competitive advantage. The order can be appealed. NTPC is still better off when compared with private electricity producers due to its strong financial position and profitable PPAs. But changing regulations and risk to returns mean NTPC’s earnings lack Power Grid’s certainty. Further the latter’s earnings are seeing positive momentum, thanks to high capacity additions the company is expected to see this year. Antonio Gates Authentic Jersey