Cabinet approves National Highways Interconnectivity Improvement Project
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for development of 1120 kms of National Highways in the States of Karnataka, Odisha, Bihar, Rajasthan and West Bengal. The work for development to two lane standards are under Phase-I of the National Highways Interconnectivity Improvement Project (NHIIP) with World Bank assistance. The revised estimated cost is Rs. 6,461 crore including cost of land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities. The projects are already taken up for implementation and 429 kms has been completed. The civil works are expected to be completed by July, 2019 and maintenance works are expected to be completed by July, 2024. The project will ensure safe, fast and all weather movement of traffic on the proposed National Highways mostly located in backward regions thereby improving socio economic development. Background: The proposal was initially approved for Rs.5,193 crore. The cost has increased due to higher bid prices, and increase in cost of land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities. Lee Roy Selmon Authentic Jersey
Government allows cancellation of 4 SEZ projects
The government has given go-ahead for the cancellation of projects to four special economic zones (SEZ) developers including those of Broadway Integrated Park and Veritas Infrastructure Development. The decision regarding this was taken in a meeting of the Board of Approval (BoA) on August 12, which was chaired by Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia. “The board examined the four cases of cancellation of formal approval/notification and approved the cancellation,” the minutes of the BoA meeting said. However, it said that the cancellation is subject to the development commissioner furnishing a certificate in the prescribed format certifying that the developer has not availed any tax/duty benefits including service tax exemptions, if any, under SEZ Act/rules or has refunded any such benefits availed by it. Muttha Realty and Broadway Integrated Park had planned to set up an IT/ITeS zones, while Veritas Infrastructure Development and Saloni Business Park had proposed to set up biotechnology park SEZ. SEZs are exports hubs, which contribute about 16 per cent to the country’s total outbound shipments. The Commerce Ministry is taking steps to revive investors interest in these zones. It has asked the Finance Ministry to extend sops like rollback or reduction in the minimum alternate tax. The 19-member BoA deals with SEZ related matters. Exports from special economic zones (SEZs) logged a marginal growth of 0.77 per cent to Rs 4.67 lakh crore in 2015-16. The exports from such 204 zones were Rs 4.63 lakh crore in 2014-15. Highest number of SEZs are operational in states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana and Maharashtra. Rashard Robinson Jersey
Major ports, entities to take Rs 50,000 crore loan in USD: Nitin Gadkari
India’s major ports and state-run shipping entities may take Rs 50,000 crore loan in US dollars at a low interest rate to augment infrastructure, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said today. A pact for External commercial borrowings (ECB) by Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) with SBI and Singapore’s DBS, for USD 400 million (around Rs 2,600 crore) loan, has paved way for other major ports besides Shipping Corporation, Dredging Corporation and Cochin Shipyard to take the same route, Shipping and Road Transport and Highways Minister said. “ECB in ports will increase capital in infrastructure sector. JNPT has paved way for our ports and shipping entities to take loans in dollar term at a very low interest rate which in turn would enhance the viability of projects,” the Minister said at a function here for exchange of documents by bankers and JNPT officials for ECB of USD 400 million. “We can take loans of Rs 50,000 crore in US dollars,” Gadkari said. Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) has entered into an agreement with State Bank of India (SBI) and Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) for a loan of USD 400 Million. Gadkari said the rate of ECB loan is only 2.025 per cent and with Libor it comes to about 3.15 per cent which is cheaper than any other Indian currency loan. The funding by JNPT is the first-of-its-kind for major port and it opens up one more avenue for major and government ports to raise funds by accessing international markets for their requirements, he said. He said the loan would be used for augmenting JNPT infrastructure that include a 45 km 6/8 lane road which will be tolled and added JNPT may repay it in 5-6 years as it has 45 lakh containers which are going to be increased to 1 crore. “Loans in dollar term in 3 per cent interest would reduce our project costs as there will be a saving of interest of 8 per cent. Cost of our construction will reduce and economic viability of projects will increase. We are planning to use the financial strength of our ports to develop inland waterways,” Gadkari said. Gadkari said ECB of USD 400 million by JNPT will be used to improve the infrastructure required for doubling its existing capacity to 9.85 million TEUs annually. The ECB comprising USD 300 million from SBI and USD 100 million from DBS will be primarily utilised by JNPT, which has US dollar denominated foreign currency earnings that can be leveraged for a low cost foreign currency borrowing, for expansion of existing roads network. “Borrowing by JNPT is for Door-to-Door tenor of 7.5 years. However, lending by JNPT to MJPRCL (Mumbai JNPT Port Road Company Limited) for 45 Km 6-8 lane road is for 16 years (two years construction and 14 years repayment),” JNPT Chairman Anil Diggikar said The project will be developed by MJPRCL, a joint venture company of NHAI, JNPT and CIDCO at a cost of Rs 2,895 crore. JNPT is going to double its capacity in the next seven years and the road project would boost EXIM trade. Demarcus Walker Jersey
India’s progress incomplete without infra expansion: PM Narendra Modi
India’s progress is incompete without rapid expansion and upgradation of basic infrastructure, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today while underlining that his government’s efforts are characterised by speed and scale to usher in “an era of historic growth”. Modi, who chaired a meeting here yesterday to review the progress in core infrastructure sectors, said it was noted that there has been “phenomenal progress” in vital sectors such as renewable energy and railways. “On 22nd August 2016, I chaired a marathon meeting to review the progress in core infrastructure sectors. I have been holding such meetings very often because India’s progress is incomplete without the rapid expansion and upgradation of our basic infrastructure,” he said in a statement. “The development journey of India is special. Our sustained efforts are characterised by speed and scale, which can usher an era of historic growth,” he added. The Prime Minister underlined that the India story is also about resilience. “When the world economy is weakening and slowing down, India is a ray of hope,” he said. Contending that doing business is easier today than it was, Modi said, “Big level corruption and bottle necks are becoming history.” He noted that the country went through two drought years but agriculture production has not decreased. “Our endeavours to give our farmers an expansive market and more money for their produce continue,” he said. “I am certain that we will continue building on this progress and achieve our aim of transforming India,” he said. Jim McMahon Authentic Jersey
Nitin Gadkari seeks fuel cess to raise funds for inland waterway projects
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said his ministry is mobilizing money to finance the inland waterways projects through state-run ports to benefit from the latter’s ability to borrow cheap loans overseas. Gadkari said that he is also seeking 5 per cent of the fund collected from cess on petrol and diesel for financing the inland waterways projects. Indian government has made ambitious plans to develop inland waterways on rivers like Ganga, Brahmaputra and Mahanadi, which could potentially form a network 20,000 km long and reduce cost of transport substantially. “The budget for the shipping ministry is Rs 1,800 crore but for 20,000 km of inland waterways we need at least Rs 70,000-80,000 crore. The projects are economically viable with good internal rate of return but it has not been successfully practised in our country,” the union surface transport, roads and shipping minister Gadkari said. The state-run ports will form subsidiaries that will own and operate these inland waterways projects. “Inland waterways don’t have any financial credentials right now. But our ports can raise foreign loan at low cost that will be helpful for the economic viability of these projects. The ports will raise dollar loans and pay it back in dollars to reduce the cost of borrowing,” he said, on the side-lines of a Indo American Chamber of Commerce conference. The centre has announced plans to inject Rs 25 lakh crore to strengthen inland waterways, ports and rail-road links, which will create four crore jobs in the country. Gadkari said that the government is confident of scaling up road constriction to 41 km per day from the present 22 km per day, for which his ministry is removing constraints relating to land acquisition, forest and environment clearances and has fast-tracked many processes. Commenting on the appointment of Urjit Patel as governor of the Reserve Bank of India, he said that given his background in infrastructure, he should consider reducing interest rate to the infrastructure sector by at least 2 per cent so that the projects become viable. “Interest rate at 11-12 per cent for infrastructure projects is not viable. We expect that it can be reduced by 2 per cent for these projects to become viable,” the minister said. He said that of the 403 stranded road projects that his ministry inherited, only 7-8 projects are still stuck while the issues with rest of them have been resolved. Kevin Faulk Authentic Jersey
Government to allow bundling of national highway projects
The government will allow bundling of public funded national highway projects that can be monestised by leasing out to private players for toll collection for a period of 30 years. The portfolio of government funded operational highways projects would be prepared on the basis of geographical proximity that would be leased out to institutional investors under toll operate transfer (TOT) model. Under the policy, infrastructure developers, private equity firms and institutional investors like pension and wealth funds along with the local operation and management partners can take up completed highway stretches. Under the TOT model, roads already built by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) are awarded to the private sector in lieu of an upfront fee. The private party operates the national highway stretch and collects tolls on it for a long-term period. “Investors have told us that they are more interested in taking up more than one project as it would make their investment viable, help achieve economies of scale and synergy in operations,” a senior roads ministry official said. The government has lined up around 104 highway projects to be leased out. These national highways have been constructed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). Road transport and highways ministry expects a minimum investment of around Rs 75,000 crore in these projects. “We are already in talks with Goldman Sachs, ADIA and several other global institutional investors. These firms have evinced interest in preliminary talks,” the official said. Adam Henrique Jersey
Logistics cost has to be brought down: Gadkari
The logistics cost in India is high at 17-18 per cent and it has to be brought down drastically, if the country were to compete in the international market, according to Union Minister for Surface Transport and Shipping Nitin Gadkari. The minister was speaking at the Visakhapatnam port here on Thursday after inaugurating several projects and laying the foundation stones for some. He first inaugurated the Visakhaptnam Container Terminal Private Limited’s container freight station built at a cost of ?104 crore and then the port’s 10-MW solar power project. He inaugurated the EQ-10 and WQ-6 berths in the port and visited the WQ-7 and other berths under construction at a cost of ?243 crore. He also laid the foundation stone for EQ-2 and EQ-5 berths taken up at an estimated cost of ?181 crore. Gadkari said these projects would vastly improve the functioning of the Visakhapatnam port which has a great future ahead of it on the east coast, as the government has adopted the Look East policy. Sagarmala project He said the government, realising the need to bring down the logistics cost, had taken up the Sagarmala project to improve the connectivity of the ports with the hinterland and also to link the ports. These measures will have the desired effect and Visakhapatnam port would also stand to gain a great deal, and this port will play a great role in the development of Andhra Pradesh and the country, he said. He said his ministry had also taken up the programme to double the length of the National Highways to improve connectivity and facilitate free flow of cargoes to the ports. Jake Dotchin Authentic Jersey
Gadkari: Rs. 11,900 cr for making highways safer
The Union Surface Ministry is planning to spend Rs. 11,900 crore for the removal of black spots (danger/accident-prone zones) on the National Highways by making the requisite changes in the road design, Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari has said. The minister was speaking at the inaugural of the two-day National Workshop on Road Safety 2016 which began here on Friday. He said it was a matter of serious concern that 1.5 lakh people were dying on Indian roads every year and the Centre with the cooperation of the States was committed to bringing down the road accident deaths. The total length of National Highways in India was 96,000 km and the plan was to increase it to 2 lakh km, but the focus would be on making them safer. Attributing 70 to 80 per cent of the road accidents to road engineering defects, he said 786 black spots were identified on the National Highways and funds would be allocated under the Pradhan Manthri Surakshit Sadak Yojana for making the necessary design changes. The rectification of the identified black spots would be done within two years. He said 30 per cent of the driving licences issued in the country were fake, and he urged the States to leverage technology to check corruption in the Transport Department. The other plans of the Centre include: allocation of Rs. 1 crore as grant for every district for the development of driving test tracks, driver training and vehicle fitness testing centres, launching of 1,000 emergency ambulances along the National Highways in the country for safe and timely shifting of accident victims to hospitals, road safety education to children and use of technology to minimise corruption in the Transport Department. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who had inaugurated the workshop earlier, welcomed the idea of the Union Minister to establish an accident fund to repay the loans taken from banks to provide various road safety initiatives. He said that 700 black spots were identified on all roads in AP and the State Government would take all steps to address the problem and bring down the accident rate. Tavon Young Womens Jersey
Motor vehicles pact set to give infra boost to BBIN
The Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA) between Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) may invite rush for infrastructure building under the ADB (Asian Development Bank) finance in the participating nations. While majority of the finance is expected to reach Bangladesh that will see maximum increase in cargo movement; Nepal, Bhutan and India’s North-East should also witness infrastructure boost. The MVA will convert the region into a literally borderless territory for cargo and passenger movement, offering India easy access to its North-East. Bangladesh will gain by way of market access in the underserved north-eastern states. Protocol agreement In a recent interview to BusinessLine in Delhi, Syed Muazzem Ali, Bangladeshi High Commissioner to India, said he was hopeful that protocol agreement for the MVA would be signed this year after Bhutanese Parliament ratifies the framework deal. The other three nations have ratified the agreement. The Lower House of Bhutanese Parliament has already given its approval , underlining the need for some concessions in vehicular movement in terms of its small size and vulnerable geography. “I am hopeful that the protocol will be signed. But infrastructure development is necessary (to give it a head start). The road infrastructure is bad,” Ali said. Asian highway projects The ADB is already financing two Asian Highway projects in North Bengal connecting the Kakarvitta in Nepal, Phuntsholing in Bhutan and Banglabandha in Bangladesh to pave way for easy transit between the BBIN nations. But, major investment is required to improve the road and port infrastructure in Bangladesh that will see the maximum increase in cargo movement as Chittagong port will be accessed by Nepal, Bhutan and India’s North-East. Asked about financing options, Ali said: “So far, we are trying to do (get finance) bilaterally (with India). But, eventually, I think Asian Development Bank as well as UNESCAP has interests.” Bangladesh, he said, has already completed utilisation of the first Indian line of credit of $1 billion for infrastructure creation and is now utilising the second. Indo-Bangla border trade Meanwhile, Bangladesh is keen to restore its traditional rail connectivity with India by next year. The two countries are also making steady progress in improving border trade infrastructure. “Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s first priority is to restore rail connectivity through six points to West Bengal and the North-East. We hope we will be able to complete this process by the middle of next year,” he added. Apart from Akhaura-Agartala link, the rest were operative till 1965. The Akhaura-Agartala rail link will help mitigate the road infrastructure bottleneck and connect the Indian Railway system that is recently extended in the region. In the next step, the rail link will connect Chittagong port, located in close proximity, through Sabroom in South Tripura. This will end the north-eastern states dependence on Kolkata port, located nearly 2’,000 km away. For trade facilitation, the two countries have already opened modern integrated checkposts (ICP) at Petrapole and Fulbari borders in West Bengal and Akhura in Tripura. Next on line is an ICP at Dawki in West Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya. Michael Brantley Womens Jersey
Gadkari: Rs. 11,900 cr for making highways safer
The Union Surface Ministry is planning to spend Rs. 11,900 crore for the removal of black spots (danger/accident-prone zones) on the National Highways by making the requisite changes in the road design, Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari has said. The minister was speaking at the inaugural of the two-day National Workshop on Road Safety 2016 which began here on Friday. He said it was a matter of serious concern that 1.5 lakh people were dying on Indian roads every year and the Centre with the cooperation of the States was committed to bringing down the road accident deaths. The total length of National Highways in India was 96,000 km and the plan was to increase it to 2 lakh km, but the focus would be on making them safer. Attributing 70 to 80 per cent of the road accidents to road engineering defects, he said 786 black spots were identified on the National Highways and funds would be allocated under the Pradhan Manthri Surakshit Sadak Yojana for making the necessary design changes. The rectification of the identified black spots would be done within two years. He said 30 per cent of the driving licences issued in the country were fake, and he urged the States to leverage technology to check corruption in the Transport Department. The other plans of the Centre include: allocation of Rs. 1 crore as grant for every district for the development of driving test tracks, driver training and vehicle fitness testing centres, launching of 1,000 emergency ambulances along the National Highways in the country for safe and timely shifting of accident victims to hospitals, road safety education to children and use of technology to minimise corruption in the Transport Department. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who had inaugurated the workshop earlier, welcomed the idea of the Union Minister to establish an accident fund to repay the loans taken from banks to provide various road safety initiatives. He said that 700 black spots were identified on all roads in AP and the State Government would take all steps to address the problem and bring down the accident rate. Gale Sayers Womens Jersey