AAI plans a centralised system to ease air traffic
Air traffic congestion and travel times, especially for flights operating from busy airports like Mumbai and Delhi, are expected to drop significantly from April as the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is betting big on a centralised platform to help flight operators and airports plan their operations better. According to officials, the Rs 107 crore Centrally-controlled Air Traffic Flow Management (C-ATFM) system integrates data from airlines, airports, air-traffic agencies and the military, to give individual flights a projected wait period at the destination airport, even before it takes off. Once fully implemented, it would reduce the holding time of planes over airports, an AAI spokesperson said. “The new system will be most beneficial for busy sectors like MumbaiDelhi where aircrafts are often unable to land due to congestion and are often forced to hover above airports resulting in delays.” AAI’s own calculation project that adopting the new system will help airlines save as much as Rs 1,680 crore per annum, on account of savings on fuel, while also enhancing passenger safety and reducing the carbon footprint. “It will also display weather details along with static information about airports, air spaces and air routes,” said officials. The system is currently being tested on the congested Mumbai-Delhi airspace and at the Delhi airport. It will be implemented at Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Kolkata airports, in its first phase which will begin in April. Marcus Cooper Jersey
Government bailed out Air India, not Kingfisher, says Vijay Mallya
The government had bailed out Air India but not Kingfisher Airlines (KFA), beleaguered industrialist Vijay Mallya said on Saturday. “Government bailed out Air India, but did not bail out KFA. So much for favours,” recalled Mallya in a series of tweets, three days after the market watchdog Sebi barred him from trading in securities with six others. The then UPA government had in April 2014 announced a Rs 30,000-crore bailout package to the loss-making state-run Air India till 2020 by way of capital infusion, hiving off its engineering services and ground handling business. Incidentally, Kingfisher grounded its services across the country in October 2012 after the civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) suspended its flying licence. The flamboyant 61-year-old Mallya, however, is reported to be in Britain in exile since he left India on March 2, 2016 after the consortium moved the Debt Recovery Tribunal in February 2016 to expedite the hearing on its recovery petition. The Tribunal on January 19 this year ordered attachment and recovery of Mallya’s properties for defaulting on bank loans by Kingfisher. Allowing a joint petition filed in June 2013 by a consortium of 17 banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI), the Tribunal’s Bengaluru bench said properties of Mallya and Kingfisher worth Rs 6,203 crore ($909 million) be recovered from them with 11.5 per cent interest per annum since July 26, 2013 over unpaid loans. Roberto Luongo Jersey
Power ministry releases medium-term power procurement guidelines
The Ministry of Power has released the guidelines for procurement of electricity for medium term from power stations set up on finance, own and operate basis (FOO) through the e-bidding portal DEEP. Medium term power is purchased through a power procurement agreement for a period between one and five years. Earlier this month, the government issued standard bidding documents to be adopted by distribution licensees for procurement of electricity from power producers, traders, distribution companies through competitive bidding through DEEP e-Bidding portal based on offer of lowest tariff from power generating stations constructed on FOO basis. The ministry in the guidelines said any deviation from the model bidding documents shall be made by the distribution licensees only with the prior approval of the appropriate commission. It further said the guidelines will also apply to those procuring power from thermal projects set up on design, build, finance, own and operate (DBFOO) basis after new coal block auction policy came into being. “Any project specific modifications expressly permitted in the model bidding documents shall not be construed as deviations from the model bidding documents,” the guidelines said. The ministry said any agreements signed or actions taken prior to the date will not be affected by such repeal of the sail guidelines and shall continue to be governed by the pervious guidelines. Jamie Meder Jersey
REC inks pacts with Andhra Pradesh for Rs 60,000 crore funding
State-owned Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd has inked three pacts to extend financial assistance of around Rs 60,000 crore to Andhra Pradesh. “Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by REC for extending financial assistance to the tune of Rs 60,000 crore in the state of Andhra Pradesh,” Rural Electrification Corp informed BSE today. According to the statement, REC has signed three MoUs for extending financial assistance of around Rs 60,000 crore in the state for the next five years (till March 2022). The financial assistance comprises Rs 40,000 crore to Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corp, Rs 10,000 to Transmission Corporation of Andhra Pradesh and Rs 10,000 crore to AP DISCOMSs. Apart from financial assistance, the power utilities have agreed on availing consultancy and management services from REC arms, REC Power Distribution Company and REC Transmission Projects Company, for various activities/projects for the next five years. Mike Komisarek USA Authentic Jersey
Solar parks with capacity of 7500 MW to come up in Ladakh
The Jammu and Kashmir government has signed an MoU with the Centre for the development of two mega solar parks in the rocky mountainous region of Ladakh with a total capacity of 7500 MW. Minister for Science & Technology, Sajjad Gani Lone today said the government has proposed development of one each Mega Solar Park in the districts of Leh and Kargil. “The State Government has signed MoU with the Government of India for the development of two Mega Solar Parks of 5000 MW capacity in Leh district and 2500 MW capacity in Kargil district,” Lone informed the House in reply to a Question by Congress Legislative Party Leader Nawang Rigzin Jora. However, he said the work on these projects has not been started as yet in view of non-availability of land and lack of proper infrastructure in Ladakh for transmission of power generated from the proposed parks. Matt Haack Womens Jersey
Power Ministry misses target despite rise in output for November-December
Demonetisation may have negligible impact on power sector as output grew by 8.53 per cent in November and 6.13 per cent in December year-on-year but Power Ministry could not achieve the targeted electricity generation during the respective months. There was a fear that junking high value currency notes of Rs 1,000/500 will lead to slowdown in all segments in the economy including power sector. According to the Central Electricity Authority monthly report, total power generation in the country was 95.123 billion units (BUs) in December 2016, which was 6.13 per cent higher than 89.625 BUs electricity generation in the corresponding month previous year. However, as per the report, the electricity generation target of 96.999 BUs could not be achieved in December. Similarly, the CEA report said power generation grew 8.53 per cent in November, 2016 to 93.235 BUs compared to 85.904 BUs in same month year ago. However, the target of 93.236 could not be achieved. “The generation in the month of November was almost on track as there is not much difference in the actual output and target. But power generation is 1.8 BUs short of the targetted output in December,” said an expert. According to the CEA data, the per capita consumption of electricity was 1,075 units in 2015-16 as per provisional estimates. Therefore, output of 1.8 billion units could have lit thousands of houses in the country where a large number of people either live without electricity or face outages due to shortages in supply. However, Power Ministry data indicates that distribution companies collections increased by more than Rs 3,000 crore from November 10 to December 15, 2016 compared to last year i.e. after the demonetisation move. According to the Power Ministry, this will help achieve affordable tariffs. North Bihar Power Distribution Company saw a 204 per cent increase, NESCO in Odisha 251 per cent, APDCL in Assam 97 per cent and TANGEDCO in Tamil Nadu witnessed 97 per cent rise in collections. However, the experts think that this has happened because people have parked their black money with discoms to pay their electricity due in advance for many months. They think that such practice will not continue as utilities have already stopped honouring junked high value currency notes of Rs 1,000/500. D.J. Fluker Womens Jersey
TANGEDCO Floats Another 500 MW Solar Tender
A 500 MW solar tender has been floated by the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO). A request for selection (RFS) has been issued for auction and allocation of 500 MW of solar capacity. Prospective bidders/project developers can submit their bids by February 10th, 2017. There was a tender for the same capacity which TANGEDCO had floated in October 2016 but the state state utility failed to attract enough bids. Bidders can submit a maximum tariff bid of Rs 4.5 per unit as against Rs 5.10 threshold limit set by the state utility In its October tender that had evinced bids from 117 prospective companies. If this tender process emerges successful, it will set a new record on tariff front. The tariff submitted by bidders in the Rajasthan tariff bid was Rs 4.34 a u it. With a fall in interest rates, it is expected that tariffs to be discovered through this bidding will be further lower. Red Schoendienst Jersey
Abu Dhabi’s NMDC wins $316m India port contract
Abu Dhabi’s National Marine Dredging Company said it has been awarded a $316-million engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for a hitech floating LNG (liquefied natural gas) port at Jafrabad in the Indian state of Gujarat. India’s emerging energy entity, Swan LNG Private Limited (SLPL) is developing the country’s first all-weather floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU)-based LNG import terminal in Gujarat at an estimated cost of $800 million. On completion, it will have an initial capacity of 5 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA), expandable up to 20 MMTPA. HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nayan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, launched the project during his recent three-day India visit. He was there as the Chief Guest for India’s 68th Republic Day Celebration at New Delhi on January 26. This project award has set a new milestone in strategic relationship between India and UAE. The Indian arm of NMDC, National Marine & Infrastructure India Private Limited (NMIIPL) has already begun construction on the project and targets to complete the project within three years, said a company spokesman. “We are proud to be a part of India’s next generation LNG import facility. We ensure that this world class infrastructure will be engineered with the highest paradigms of safety, environment, compliance, reliability and quality,” he added. Walter Payton Jersey
India-Iran energy co-op in the pipeline
Marking India’s 68th Republic Day a flag-hoisting ceremony was held at the embassy on Thursday. It was followed by a speech by Ambassador Saurabh Kumar. After the ceremonies the Indian envoy talked with the Tehran Times about India-Iran relations. Below is the text of the interview. Seven agreements, valued at over $3b, were signed on January 23 on the sidelines of the international conference on investment opportunities and sustainable development in Mokran coastal area in the Chabahar Free Trade Zone (CFTZ). Agreements were signed by Indian, Omani, Chinese and S. Korean investors. Could you please elaborate on this? Chabahar is a very important symbol of cooperation between India and Iran. It was a very important issue of connectivity between India, Iran and Afghanistan and as well as the Central Asia region. Deputy Chief of Indian Mission, Davesh Uttam, was present at this ceremony which was attended by around a dozen Indian companies. We have a few important initiatives which are presently under way. Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers and Gujarat State Chemicals and Fertilizers are two important Indian companies that manufacture fertilizers and are looking to establish urea and ammonia plant in CFTZ. They are searching for a reliable partner from the Iranian side. “There is no distinction between good terrorist and bad terrorist.”Another initiative is an agreement between National Aluminium Company of India (NALCO) and Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) for an aluminium smelter plant in CFTZ. A delegation from NALCO was here in December and held extensive discussions with IMIDRO and visited various sights in Chabahar. At present NALCO and IMIDRO are looking at an independent consulting company to prepare a feasibility report. In addition, there were other Indian fertilizer companies which held discussions with the Iranian side. If investments come about they would add significantly to the development of the Chabahar region and provide the needed traffic for the Chabahar Port. It would be hard to put a deadline into these projects because of their technical nature and commercial aspects. One of the most critical issues is establishing an understanding on the gas price and again there are a lot of technicalities involved. Expectation is that they would reach a positive conclusion and we are encouraging these activities. Minister of Transport and Urban Development Abbas Akhundi visited India last September. Both India and Iran had decided to hold an event in Chabahar in which Indian private sector and other stakeholders can be invited. “It (terrorism) is becoming highly unpredictable.”We had a high level Indian official from our foreign ministry who was in Tehran in January and he visited the Chabahar region. During those interactions, we decided that we are looking at this event on the second half of April. I emphasize the importance of this event because what Chabahar needs is investment. The private sector will be the major investor and it needs a lot more exposure to Chabahar and the facilities there. India will invest $85m in equipment for phase one of Chabahar Port and the process is underway which would short list the Indian companies that would provide the needed equipment. As far as the $150m in line of credit is concerned we are waiting for the Iranian side to submit the projects for which the finances would be utilized. In your previous interview with the Tehran Times you said “we are trying to put in place three important agreements”, namely Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), double taxation avoidance and bilateral investment agreement (BIT). Any progress in this goal? This is something that foreign ministries of both countries are monitoring. We had received a proposal from the Iranian side. Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry has examined these proposals and given its comments to the Iranian side. On double taxation avoidance agreement we had a few suggestions from Iran. On BIT we have agreed on some dates to hold meeting in this regards. However, no documents have been finalized at this stage.” Is the idea of transferring of Iranian gas to India through seabed still under consideration There is a working group relating to this matter. As far as our cooperation for the hydrocarbon sector, which includes transfer of gas to India, both sides are considering all possibilities, including pipelines and LNG. We are looking for a techno-commercial feasible option to utilize. Turning to political issues, how can Iran and India cooperate on containing the spread of terrorism, especially in Central Asia? Terrorism is a major concern. It is becoming highly unpredictable. This is an issue on which both Iran and India have expressed serious concerns. We have mechanisms through which we exchange views. Very important dialogue has been held between Supreme National Security Council and the National Security Council Secretariat of India. Can you elaborate on the steps needed for regional security, especially as Iran and India are very concerned about the scourge of terrorism. All the countries have to be sincere in the fight against terrorism. India has always maintained that there is no distinction between good terrorist and bad terrorist. We have to target all terrorists. All means that sustain terrorism have to be attacked, including financing and material support. Most importantly India has put on the table at the UN a comprehensive convention on terrorism. However, the progress on this issue has not been to our satisfaction. We look forward to cooperation with our partner countries so that this initiative reaches its logical conclusion. Hanley Ramirez Womens Jersey
GLOBAL LNG-Oversupplied Japanese players to sell off excess volumes
Asian spot LNG prices extended losses this week as oversupplied Japanese utilities sought to offload cargoes and as key European gas benchmarks softened. Asian prices for LNG delivery in March fell 25 cents to about $7.75 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), traders said, ranging from $8/mmBtu to about $7.60/mmBtu. Prices tailed off even more sharply into April, currently trading at around the $7/mmBtu mark, they said. One trader said utilities in Japan “have overbought due to warmer than average temperatures at the end of 2016 and the current cold spell doesn’t look like it will last,” leaving them stuck with larger inventories. “This will put massive pressure on the market as I don’t think the demand is there for March,” to absorb the excess supply, the trader said. Kansai Electric, Osaka Gas and LNG importing giant JERA are expected to unload at least one cargo apiece for March delivery, he said, though it was unclear if Kansai was trying to arrange a time-swap as opposed to a straightforward sale. A second trader said JERA was already marketing two shipments from Indonesia’s Donggi-Senoro LNG export facility and that it has likely sold one of those cargoes. Further weighing on Asia’s March LNG contract was an 8 percent slide in Europe’s equivalent benchmark, at Britain’s National Balancing Point trading hub, which settled at $6.40 per mmBtu on Friday. China’s Sinopec put up for tender several cargoes for February and March delivery from Australia’s AP LNG project, where it is a stakeholder with long-term supply rights. Exxon Mobil’s Papua New Guinea (PNG) export plant sold off one cargo for March and one for April loading, via a tender process, at a price above $8/mmBtu, traders said. “I think PNG went above 8 – but – they are big and rich and several people still have a lot of in-the-money contracts in the Far East where you would pay a big premium to take in a cargo of that quality,” one said. hailand’s PTT was seeking a March shipment via tender. Angola, which has launched a fresh sale tender, this week sold a cargo to Spain’s Union Fenosa at a price-tag above $9/mmBtu. The status of Gail India’s buy tender, which closed on Jan. 24, could not be immediately verified. Attracted by an upsurge in gas prices in France and Spain, U.S. exporters are shifting their focus away from Asia as problems with Algerian gas supply have driven southern Europe’s gas prices higher. Algeria’s Skikda LNG facility will fully resume at the end of the month after a maintenance, but state energy firm Sonatrach has fulfilled its gas delivery commitments, the Sonatrach CEO said on Thursday. Argentina state-run energy firm Enarsa has launched a tender, which closes on Feb. 7, seeking 16 LNG cargoes for delivery between April and August. Chad Williams Authentic Jersey