Plans afoot for five cruise terminals worth Rs 1500cr: Nitin Gadkari
The government will invest Rs 1,500 crore to develop five cruise terminals in the country, shipping and roads minister Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday. Gadkari said these terminals will be built in Mumbai, Goa, Chennai, Cochin and near Kandla port by the world’s best cruise tourism and terminal operation companies. The shipping and tourism ministries have jointly engaged EY to draw up an action plan for the development of cruise tourism in the country to realise the immense potential of the sector. The government also wants to ease the security, immigration, customs and health clearances for foreign tourists arriving in India through cruises. The minister said government-owned major ports will be investing heavily in this new vertical as he’s anticipating almost 700 cruises to come to India in the coming years. Last year, over 100 cruise liners brought foreign tourists to India, mainly to Mumbai. “Almost 10 lakh Indians book cruises and most of them go to Singapore to board it. We could develop the same facilities here,” he said. The minister said various Singaporean companies operating the cruise lines business have shown interest to start operations in India. “I have met the top heads of SATS-CREUERS and PSA. These are among the world’s best cruise terminal management companies, and both have told me that they want to construct top class cruise terminals in India,” Gadkari said. “Currently, we have no international style cruise terminals here. How would you have cruise tourism when there’s no terminal? I have told them we’ll soon float the tenders and they can participate in the bidding. We also want to build floating restaurants in Mumbai. The port trust is floating tenders for this,” he said. Gadkari also said he was in talks with a major airline of the country to start seaplane services between Delhi and Mumbai. “I want to make Mumbai-Goa navigable through waterways for the common public. I’ve proposed this to the promoters of one of the top Indian air carriers. They are studying the feasibility.” Anton Stralman Jersey
BMRC sets ball rolling on Metro link to Bengaluru airport
The Metro link to Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) inched closer to realisation, with the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) calling for tenders to take up land and property survey along the proposed route from Nagawara to KIA. BMRCL proposed five possible routes to KIA, and sought public opinion on the same. Subsequently, the Nagawara-Jakkur-Yelahanka line that runs parallel to Ballari Road was finalised for the Metro link. Besides a topographical survey, the exercise will include a Differntial Global Positioning System (DGPS) study in order to ensure accurate alignment of the link with improved location accuracy . pleted, we have shifted our focus to expediting the implementation of Phase 2 and the KIA link. The link will help thousands of air passengers, many of whom have to cover 30km by road from the city, reach the airport faster,“ he added. The proposed survey (and study) along the Nagawara-KIA will be taken up at the cost of Rs 24.42 lakh and the implementing agency will have to complete the exercise, and submit its report within six months.BMRCL has also floated another tender inviting bids to take up geotechnical investigation, which includes surface and subsurface exploration, along the proposed route. The proposed link to the airport is, in effect, an extension to the Gottigere-Nagawara line work on which is under way -that is being developed under Phase 2 of the Namma Metro project.The deadline that has been set for the completion of the airport metro link is 2020. Bryan Bulaga Womens Jersey
30 new cities selected to be made Smart; Bengaluru, Patna, Jammu make the cut
The government today announced the third list of 30 cites to be made smart under its flagship 100 Smart Cities mission, taking the total number of smart cities to 90. Trivendrum in Kerala topped the chart, which included other prominent capital cities like Amaravati, Patna, Srinagar, Bengaluru, Shimla, Dehradun, Aizawl and Gangtok. A total of 45 cities contested for 40 available smart city slots but only 30 were selected to ensure feasible and workable plans that match the aspirations of the citizens as directed by prime minister Shri Narendra Modi while launching the mission,” said Venkaiah Naidu, minister of urban development and housing & urban poverty alleviation. He was speaking at a National Workshop on Urban Transformation here today. Another 20 cities will be contesting for the remaining 10 slots under smart city mission, he informed. The 30 cities announced on Friday will involve an investment of Rs 57,393 crore under respective smart city plans. This includes Rs 46,879 crore for ensuring core infrastructure in the areas identified by citizens for area based development and Rs 10,514 crore for technology based solutions for improving governance , service delivery and utilization of infrastructure. With this the total investment approved under the smart city plans of 90 cities has gone up to Rs 1,91,155 crore. “Selection of cities for smart city development is running ahead of schedule and the remaining cities would submit revised smart city plans for filling up the vacant slots,” Naidu said. Of the 30 cities announced today, 26 of them have proposed affordable housing projects, 26 cities will be taking up school and hospital projects, 29 will be taking up redesign and redevelopment of roads to enable walking and cycling. All the 30 cities will put in place Integrated Command and Control Centres that enable coordination among various agencies for better service delivery and effective management of scarce resources like water and power. The 100 Smart City Mission was launched on June 25, 2015. List of 30 Smart cites: S.No City State/Union Territory 1 Trivendrum Kerala 2 Naya Raipur Chattisgarh 3 Rajkot Gujarat 4 Amaravati Andhra Pradesh 5 Patna Bihar 6 Karimnagar Telangana 7 Muzaffarpur Bihar 8 Puducherry Puducherry 9 Gandhinagar Gujarat 10 Srinagar Jammu & Kashmir 11 Sagar Madhya Pradesh 12 Karnal Haryana 13 Satna Madhya Pradesh 14 Bengaluru Karnataka 15 Shimla Himachal Pradesh 16 Dehradun Uttarakhand 17 Tirrupur Tamil Nadu 18 Pimpri Chinchwada Maharashtra 19 Bilaspur Chattisgarh 20 Pasighat Arunachal Pradesh 21 Jammu Jammu & Kashmir 22 Dahod Gujarat 23 Tirunelveli Tamil Nadu 24 Thootukkudi Tamil Nadu 25 Tiruchirapalli Tamil Nadu 26 Jhansi Uttar Pradesh 27 Aizawl Mizoram 28 Allahabad Uttar Pradesh 29 Aligarh Uttar Pradesh 30 Gangtok Sikkim Dennis Cholowski Jersey
Land acquisition a major hurdle in NH projects in Rajasthan
Land acquisition (LA) for construction of national highway (NH) projects continues to face major hurdle in state. As per official figures, award of about 330 hectares land which is needed under several NH works is pending. In addition to that, nearly 230 hectares of land is pending for declaration of final acquisition through publication of gazette notification by competent authority land acquisition (CALA). According to officials of national highway authority of India, delay in providing land slows down pace of work and escalates cost. “LA for highway construction is a key problem across India so as in Rajasthan,” said a NHAI official adding, it is SDM or ADM who are CALA. For them, implementation of state government schemes is first priority and land acquisition figures very low in that. Districts that are lagging behind in awarding land of NH are Jodhpur, Nagaur, Bikaner and Udaipur. Though, officials claim that Rajasthan government has slammed its official asking to expedite the process. Non-availability of land continues to delay construction of flyovers on Gurgaon-Jaipur stretch even seven years after work started on the corridor. As per policy decision, NHAI has decided not to invite any bids for road projects until it has completed the process of land acquisition and shifting of utilities and obtained in-principle forest clearance. Similarly, authority will not commence work on structures, such as flyovers, bridges and rail over bridges, until it has 100% of the land available. This is among new norms that NHAI has set in its bid to end the trend of huge delay in highway construction on account of lack of required land, statutory clearances and shifting of utilities such as water and gas pipelines and power transmission lines. Along with it, disbursement of compensation to land owners by CALAs is also proving to be a stumbling block. More than Rs 1,000 crore is lying undisbursed with various CALAs for more than six months. State government has asked officials of six districts where pendency is maximum to speed up the disbursement. Mike Vernon Womens Jersey
‘Proposal to sell highways a lower-risk option for investors’
The government’s proposal to sell 10 existing highways for USD 1 billion is a unique opportunity for foreign investors, Fitch Group company BMI Research said today. The move will provide scope for global investors to become involved in the country’s highway sector, it said. “The highways segment will be one of the fastest-growing areas of India’s infrastructure market, and the government’s plan to sell 10 existing highways to private investors for USD 1 billion, provides a lower-risk option for foreign investors to target the vast Indian market…,” BMI Research said in a statement. The government’s goal of attracting foreign capital in the sale is particularly opportune, as greenfield highway projects in India increasingly favour domestic contractors and operators, as local companies build up their expertise in the sector and make the overall competitive landscape more challenging, it said. “While demographic and economic development factors bode well for traffic growth and highway demand in India, we note that the country remains a relatively high-risk environment. “Highway PPPs have been operating in India for decades with varying degrees of success, with some operators finding stable traffic flows, while others have run into disputes with government bodies over inaccurate traffic projections and maintenance standards,” the report added. Contract data from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for the ongoing National Highways Development Programme (NHDP) shows that the majority of projects launched in recent years were PPPs, and that the proportion of contracts awarded to a consortium consisting of, or including, a foreign company has declined significantly. BMI Research attributed these trends to the rising expertise of Indian companies in the highway construction and operation sector, which gives them a greater advantage over international companies when combined with their greater knowledge of local risks. At the same time, it said the government has been pushing for greater use of PPPs – ranging from traditional annuity and toll models to a recent ‘hybrid annuity model’ – as the NHAI lacks the capital to fully implement its planned projects. The upcoming sale, proceeds of which will go towards financing the construction of new assets, continues the current government’s trend of using public-private partnerships (PPPs) to expand the country’s underdeveloped highway network, it said. James Daniels Womens Jersey
Gadkari assures to improve connectivity
State transport minister, P Paiwang Konyak, who called on the Union minister of Road Transport & Highways, Nitin Gadkari, at his office in New Delhi has appealed for a better connectivity between Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh especially Mon in Nagaland and Khongsa in Arunachal area. P Paiwang Konyak, who recently called on the union minister, made the appeal to improve the economy of the people through better road connectivity especially to the most backward area of the State which has a rich mineral deposits. A press release issued by Kuolie Mero, PRO of Nagaland House, New Delhi, said the union minister had agreed to take up some roads projects in those areas to improve the lives as well as connectivity of the people in the interior parts of the country. Ron Duguay Jersey
Indian infrastructure market to overtake Japan by 2023: BMI Research
With large residential and non-residential projects in the pipeline, the Indian infrastructure market is forecast to overtake Japan’s in next five years, says a report. “India’s infrastructure market is the third-largest in Asia, and is forecast to overtake Japan’s in nominal value terms by 2023,” the report by BMI Research said. Although demonetisation had a negative impact on construction activity in 2016 as most construction workers’ wages were paid in cash, the Fitch group company said that it believes that “robust growth will return in 2017 as work resumes on the large pipeline of infrastructure, residential and non-residential projects in the country”. At the same time, the operating environment of India’s construction industry remains immensely challenging, with major infrastructure projects commonly incurring delays and cost overruns, it said. “The Modi government has made some progress in addressing underlying issues in the sector, such as streamlining the land-acquisition process in some states, though the slow pace of reform means that the market remains relatively risky,” it added. Industrialisation and urbanisation trends are making India’s infrastructure deficit more apparent and increasing demand for investment in roads, railways, ports, power transmission and water utilities, the report said. The Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre has initiated several programmes aimed at improving logistics, stimulating investment in manufacturing and building affordable housing, which will contribute to growth in the construction industry over the next 10 years, the report said. “Reforms to foreign investment laws under Make In India initiative have made it easier for international companies to invest and participate in India’s infrastructure projects. “That said, the infrastructure market remains dominated by domestic companies which have significant home market advantages owing to their experience with the complex regulatory environment in India,” it said. Sean Kuraly Authentic Jersey
NHAI forms 2 panels to speed dispute resolution
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has come up with an alternative dispute resolution mechanism to find a way out of the nearly 280 pending claims worth Rs 43,000 crore on its hands, as well as future cases. It has set up two panels of six independent experts, including a former central vigilance commissioner (CVC) and a former Lokayukta, for conciliation and settlement of disputes. The decisions of the panels – one headed by former CVC Pradeep Kumar and the other led by former Allahabad high court judge Justice I P Vasishth – will be binding on NHAI and contractors. The panels also have experts from the corporate world, including former managing director of Maruti Suzuki (India) Jagdish Khattar. The NHAI has notified the guidelines for the new mechanism, wherein neither the contractor nor the authority would have to engage any advocate. NHAI chairman Yudhvir Singh Malik told TOI, “The intention behind the policy is quick amicable settlement of disputes, avoiding unnecessary litigation, and playing a constructive role in completion of road projects.” In an open letter to contractors, the NHAI chief has appealed to them to avail of the option. New cases will be referred to the expert panels only after both the NHAI chairman and the chief of contractor board of directors exhaust the scope of conciliation and settlement. But to enable the expert panels to take up disputes which have already reached courts or tribunals, the private player will have to explicitly submit it to the court or tribunal to put the hearing in abeyance. “Now we have to see how the industry is taking keen interest in quick resolution of disputes. We have taken the required step to minimise the number of disputes reaching courts and tribunals,” an NHAI official said. The number of disputes is likely to swell as more projects get completed. The PMO had been pushing for quick resolution, within a stipulated time frame, of disputes, which have led to blocking of funds for contractors even after completion of works. Coby Fleener Jersey
‘Stop move to privatise highway maintenance’
The State Government should abandon privatisation of maintenance of Highways in the State immediately, said Tamil Nadu State Highways Workers’ Association State president Hamsa Raj. Talking to mediapersons here on Wednesday, he said that privatisation of road maintenance was not only a costly affair but also affected survival of thousands of highway workers. The government had already offered maintenance of 378-km-long roads in Pollachi division to private parties for ? 233.93 crore, 569-km-long roads in Ramanathapuram division for ? 340 crore, 581-km -long roads in Krishnagiri division for ? 450 crore and 770-km-long roads in Thiruvallur division for ? 630 crore. On the whole, 2,304 km long roads had been given to private parties for maintenance at a cost of ? 1,654.31 crore. If road workers maintained these roads, maintenance costs would be around only ? 560 crore. The government planned to privatise maintenance of other highways also. It should abandon the move, he insisted. Announcing a series of agitation against the State government, he said that the association leaders would start public campaign from Nilgiris, Krishnagiri and Kanyakumari about the ill effects of privatisation between June 10 and 23 and tour throughout the State. The campaigners will meet in Dindigul on July 8 and take out a mega protest rally and conduct a conference. If the government failed to fulfil their demands, they would stage a demonstration in Chennai on August 4. Fozzy Whittaker Jersey
Government keen to support indigenous, affordable e-mobility solutions for intra-city transportation
The Government of India is promoting e-mobility by working towards adopting indigenous and affordable e-mobility solutions which are sustained by an economic model. Speaking at theCII- Shell Global Lecture Series on ‘Greenovation: Future Mobility’on 7 June 2017 at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Mr Abhay Damle, Joint Secretary (Transport), Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India, highlighted the importance of building India’s transportation and logistics infrastructure for future mobility. He stated that Indian cars produce less pollution compared to trucks and buses, which travel an average 200 km per day and while comprising 2.5% of vehicles, consume 65% of fuel and emit about 70% NOx and SOx.Therefore, the e-mobility industry should focus on converting high mileage vehicles into electrical. Prof Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Principal Advisor, Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy, Government of India said that globally electric vehicles are promoted with huge subsidies, which is not feasible for India. He said innovative techniques should offset high battery prices, concessional GST and road-tax for three years. Battery swapping& charging, module-based battery design, developing business opportunities for battery ownership, etc. can alleviate battery costs. In the first stage, 4 wheelers, city buses and 3-wheelers may see a launch in Oct–Nov2017. Electricity from renewables will be primary source for EVs. Speaking on India’s biofuels mandate, Mr Y B Ramakrishna, Chairman – Working Group on Biofuels, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said that biofuels can mitigate climate change and secure India’s energy by replacing upto 30 per cent generation from fossil fuels. The Government is implementing policies to promote sustainable conversion technologies to produce blended fuels like bio-ethanol, bio-diesel and biogas, and India is already leading in technology to produce second generation ethanol. He said that issues like underutilization of production capacity and feedstock supply and cost need to be resolved. Emphasing an India-specific policy, Dr Suddhasatwa Basu, Professor, Chemical Engineering, IIT Delhi said that a clear policy roadmap is required to run over 10 billion electric cars over the next decade. Mr P K Banerjee, Deputy Executive Director (Tech.),SIAM said that four main forces will drive the mobility sector: consumer need, move from connected to autonomous mobility, infrastructure, and management of old vehicles including recycling. Ms Soma Banerjee, Principal – Energy & Infrastructure, CII, said that with growing urban population and increasing pollution, India must choose between public and private vehicles. Government policy should encourage citizens and Industry to move towards public vehicles, taking into account energy efficiency and global market conditions. Also, given India’s diversity, it would need a combination of biofuels, renewables, electricity and cleaner fossil fuelsto serve its future mobility needs. Ms Mansi Tripathy, Managing Director, Shell Lubricants India, said that India needs multivariant e-mobility solutions which are affordable and customised to the Indian market. Despite challenges to the last mile connectivity, such as charging points and urban infrastructure, industry including OEMs are fully committed to realising the national vision. Clark Harris Womens Jersey