Mumbai airport gets green nod for Rs 3,500 crore expansion plan
The Mumbai airport has received environmental clearance for a Rs 3,500-crore expansion plan as well as shifting of the iconic air traffic control tower to Kalina as a long-term security strategy. The changes are set to take place over the next three years as the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) expands to accommodate 50 million passengers by 2020. Interestingly, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had said the first flight from the proposed Navi Mumbai airport will take off by 2019. Arguing its case before the Union environment ministry, MIAL, the consortium that operates the airport, said: “This is important as CSIA shall be required to serve the entire demand of Mumbai till the commencement of operations at the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport.” On the drawing board for CSIA is a new vehicle underpass below the secondary runway that will ferry passengers between the two terminals in less than 15 minutes. At present, traversing the 4km between the terminals takes up to 30 minutes. MIAL’s ambitious expansion project, which got the nod of the Expert Appraisal Committee of the Union ministry of environment and forests and climate change last month, will require around 20 acres of the 308 acres of encroached airport land. This includes six acres for a taxiway from the parking apron of Terminal T2 to the main runway and 9.04 acres for another taxiway expansion to enhance airside safety and efficiency, said an MIAL spokesperson. The balance 4.9 acres will be for facilities like radar, aircraft parking, aerobridge, etc. Though MIAL has obtained permission to shift the awardwinning Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT), the spokesperson said there were no immediate plans to relocate it. It was constructed around four years ago at acost of Rs 125 crore. “The current ATCT location is highly accessible from all sides. In view of threat perceptions of security agencies, MIAL is considering shifting the ATCT to a more secure location in the southern part of the airport as a long-term strategy. This project will be taken up for implementation only if advised by the security agencies after careful consideration of all aspects,” said a senior MIAL official. Another construction planed to enable more flights to take off is a bridge to connect the air craft parking apron of Terminal T2 to the taxiway leading to the main runway, creating additional holding area for aircraft ready for takeoff. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), which is the planning authority for the airport area, has identified slums in 11 priority areas that need to be shifted. The survey has been underway for one year despite severe opposition from local residents and political parties. The spokesperson said car go expansion work is already on. “It has been increased to 7.8 lakh metric tonnes and will be further expanded to one million metric tonnes. The expansion of the passenger terminals will require the relocation of slum dwellers. This will be done in accordance with the slum rehabilitation policy of the Maharashtra government for CSIA.” Residents of the surveyed slums will be relocated on the Premier Auto land at Kurla where around17,000 tenements have been constructed by HDIL in lieu of transfer of development rights to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore. MIAL refused to disclose how it proposes to develop the balance 288 acres of slum encroached land. CM Fadnavis has announced in situ rehabilitation while the previous Congress-led government had sanctioned a global floor space index of 1 for the entire airport land. The interim development plan approved for the airport notified area allows the non-aeronautical area to be used for hospitality, leisure, tourism and business activities. Riley Dixon Authentic Jersey
Chennai Petro won’t last as standalone, has to merge with us: IOC Chairman
Merger of Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd (CPCL) with Indian Oil Corporation is inevitable, taking CPCL’s viability into account in a volatile situation, says IOC’s Chairman. The public sector firm held talks with Naftiran Intertrade, the Swiss subsidiary of National Iranian Oil Company, which is yet to come forward and dilute its shareholding to pave the way for the merger. The development is a recent twist in the company’s story. Naftiran Intertrade’s stake in CPCL had, at one time, been a major issue in the wake of US sanctions against Iran. Besides, it was also a bottleneck for the company, which wanted to merge with IOC. The Iranian firm holds 15.4 per cent in CPCL, while IOC holds 52 per cent. B Ashok, chairman, Indian Oil Corporation said under the current circumstances the viability of a standalone refinery such as CPCL’s is questionable, given the current volatile situation prevalent in the sector. CPCL is the only standalone refinery in the country. CPCL has had a rough time in recent years and even was even referred to the BIFR in 2014-15, due to an erosion of more than 50 per cent in its net worth, to Rs 16.55 billion as on March 31, 2015. The company managed to turn around last year and by end of March 2017, its net worth was Rs 33.14 billion. CPCL also reported the second highest profit in its history, at Rs 10.2975 billion, up form Rs 7.4186 billion, a year ago. Ashok attributed this improvement in performance due to increase in operational efficiency and successful cost cutting measures. “In order to be a sustainable company, a company needs to be operational across segments and well diversified so that it can address volatility risk. That is what IOC did and it is better for CPCL also to be the same.” CPCL is also planning to take up a Rs 270 billion project for which about Rs 90 billion equity is required at Nagapatinam in Tamil Nadu. As a standalone company, CPCL may not be able mobilise such an amount, so we have asked the Iranian partner to bring in some equity. We have given lot of options to them (the Iranian company) and are in continuous dialogue with them,” said Ashok. Meanwhile the company reported a drop in net profit to Rs 1.7089 billion during the quarter ended March 31, 2017 as against Rs 2.4788 billion. The drop was mainly due to provisions the company made towards salary and pension and towards a project. Total income during the quarter rose to Rs 94.8688 billion from Rs 91.7169 billion. Paul Richardson Authentic Jersey
Iran Wants India To Pay Three Times Gas Price For Awarding Block To OVL: Report
Iran wants India to pay more than triple the gas price for award of the coveted Farzad-B natural gas block to ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL), the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC). Iran wants India to buy all of the natural gas to be produced from the Persian Gulf block at a price equivalent to the rate Qatar charges for selling liquefied natural gas (LNG) to India under a long-term deal. Qatar, as per a revised formula agreed upon in December 2015, sells 7.5 million tonnes a year of LNG to Petronet LNG Ltd – India’s biggest gas importer – at a price of $7-plus per million British thermal unit. The rate being sought by Iran is triple of $2.3 per mmBtu rate OVL is willing to pay for the gas during low global oil prices. If global rates rise, OVL is willing to pay $4.3 per mmBtu, sources privy to the development said. When oil prices move up, rates of LNG from Qatar would also rise. Sources said that since the lifting of western sanctions, Iran is playing hardball over award of the field which was discovered by OVL. OVL has recently submitted a $5.5 billion master development plan for bringing the gas in Farzad-B to production. Iran allows all the cost sunk in by an operator to be recovered from sale of oil or gas. For this reason, it wants OVL to reduce the cost of development as well as pay a higher gas price. The two nations were initially targeting concluding a deal on Farzad-B field development by November 2016 but later mutually agreed to push the timeline to February 2017. Now, the deal is being targeted to be wrapped up by September after the two sides agree on a price and a rate of return for OVL’s investments. Farzad B was discovered by OVL in the Farsi block about 10 years ago. The project has so far cost the OVL-led consortium, which also includes Oil India Ltd and Indian Oil Corp (IOC), over $80 million. Iran was initially unhappy with the $10 billion plan submitted by OVL for development of the 12.5 trillion cubic feet reserves in Farzad-B field and an accompanying plant to liquefy the gas for transportation in ships. It felt the $5 billion cost OVL and its partners have put for developing the field was on the higher side and wanted it to be reduced. ONGC Videsh will earn a fixed rate of return and get to recover all the investment it has made in the field development. Sources said that in the new master development plan (MDP), the company has estimated cost of putting up a facility to convert gas into LNG and shipping it to India at $5-6 billion. The field in the Farsi block has an in-place gas reserve of 21.7 tcf, of which 12.5 tcf are recoverable. New Delhi is keen that the gas from the field comes to India to feed the vast energy needs. But it initially felt deterred from investing because of the fear of sanctions imposed by the US. But with the lifting of sanctions last year, it is back to discussing a master development plan. Demarcus Lawrence Womens Jersey