Khattar asks officers to accelerate speed of work on highways
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today directed PWD officials to coordinate with the National Highways Authority of India to accelerate the work on National Highways in the state. The Chief Minister, who was presiding over a meeting to review the progress of works of National Highways here, exhorted the officials of Public Works (Building and Roads) Department to put in sincere efforts to get the work completed on time. The Chief Minister said the present government is keen to strengthen infrastructure and connectivity in the state. It was informed in the meeting that work on widening National Highways passing through the state is in progress. Michael Dickson Jersey
Highway construction: Narendra Modi govt looks to mobilise Rs 50,000 cr in unique way; find out how
The government, which has taken highway construction upon itself given the paucity of private equity capital, has aimed to mobilise upwards of Rs 50,000 crore over the next few months through a unique asset monetisation exercise. It will lease out 75 operational projects — with combined length of 3,000 km — in the state sector to private players including global funds with patient capital through the toll-operate-transfer (TOT) route. After the expiry of the 30-year lease period, these projects, which have been operational and generating toll revenues for at least the last couple of years, would return into the government’s fold. Bidders will recoup their investments – and returns – by collecting toll over the lease tenure. According to official sources, the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) would use the upfront receivables exclusively for funding construction of highways. For the current year, the highway construction target has been set at 15,000-km (41 km a day), more than two and a half times achieved last year. The Cabinet’s approval for the innovative asset monetization model came last week. The sources said around 20 global funds with long-term capital including Nomura, Macquarie and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority are expected to participate in the bidding for the TOT projects. “We have made around 20 presentations to patient capital players such as Nomura, Goldman Sachs, Macquarie, Abu Dhabi Investment Bank, Canadian Pension Fund and American Pension Fund. All of them have shown interest. However, since they are unlikely to invest in a single project, we propose to bunch 5-6 projects, together valued at around $200 million,” an official said. Asset recycling of this kind is going to be tested for the first time in India, although internationally, there have been many precedents for this. The US, for example, did it during the subprime crisis of 2008 to bolster the cash flows to the exchequer; the practice is also prevalent in Australia. The monetization of assets, according to analysts, is a win-win for both the investors and the government. While it would help the government to spend the upfront money to build more highways, investors could benefit with low-risk steady returns. Investors will also have the opportunity to borrow funds for the upfront payment by securitising the toll. The government has held several roads shows in India and abroad to sell the model to the global investor community, including a few of them held in the US by a team led by joint secretary in the ministry, during transport minister Nitin Gadkari’s recent visit to the US. These projects have been built by the government under the conventional engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) model. Tolls are currently being collected by the government. graph5 Highway construction this fiscal is proposed to be funded by borrowings by the NHAI to the tune of Rs 50,000-55,000 crore, budgetary outlay of Rs 54,000 crore and the proceeds of road cesses and toll revenues. Rasul Douglas Womens Jersey
‘Logistics sector could save USD 200 bn annually post GST’
Logistics sector, which accounts for nearly 14 per cent of the GDP, could see savings to the tune of USD 200 billion annually on implementation of GST, which will ensure faster movement of goods and less idle hours, say experts. With the introduction of Goods and Services Tax, many taxation procedures will come down, nearly halving the cost of inventory as customers will not need to pile up stocks in different warehouses, say experts. “For a USD 2-3 trillion dollar economy, this could mean a potential of USD 200 billion wasteful inventory spent being available to deploy in productive value creation and further propelling the economy’s growth,” said Deepak Garg, founder of logistics firm Rivigo. Describing the passage of the GST bill in Rajya Sabha as a “positive reform”, apex transporters body All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), which represents 80 lakh truckers, said the new regime would create efficient ecosystem and bring down the cost. “The new regime must usher in border-less, barrier-less, seamless movement of goods and passenger so that efficiency is engendered in road transport ecosystem and transportation and logistics cost is brought down to internationally competitive level,” said AIMTC former president Bal Malkit Singh. According to a transport sector expert, delays at toll plazas and extra fuel consumption result in annual loss of over Rs 1 lakh crore. IIM-Calcutta in a study earlier estimated an annual loss of Rs 87,000 crore because of delays and extra fuel consumption at toll plazas. According to Singh, while trucks in the US cover a distance of 800 km in a day, in India it is barely 280 km. The government intends to roll out the GST, which will subsume central excise, services tax and various local levies from April 1, 2017. Implementation of GST will enable creation of a common market, thereby allowing free movement of goods and services across the country. Simpler documentation, Garg said, will allow faster movement of cargo, less stoppages and minimal damages. Moreover, he added, the GST will allow companies to operate one large central warehouse, rather than having multiple warehouses. GST will also give a boost to organised service providers leading to greater efficiencies, better use of technology and cost advantages, he said, adding these could result in savings to the tune of 30 to 50 per cent. According to Garg, “GST reform, along with innovation in logistics sector can be a game changer for Indian economy. It will be a constitutive shift which will propel our economic growth and benefit not only businesses, but also the Indian society in entirety.” Terry Sawchuk Womens Jersey
Multimodal logistics park will improve the infrastructure in the State, says Cochin Chamber
The trade and industry has hailed the decision of the Centre to set up a multimodal logistics park in Kochi, saying that it will improve, streamline and centralise the multimodal infrastructure in the State. The proposed park at an investment of ?32,853 crore will be a highly positive initiative as it is bound to improve logistics efficiency, reduce costs, create job opportunities, promote ancillary industries/investments in the long run, C.S. Kartha, president of Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industry said. Kochi has been selected along with 14 other cities based on the highest freight movement in the country. It is one of the 15 cities which together account for 40 per cent of the freight movement. “We need to capitalise on this”, he said adding that this mega project will act as a catalyst for other such projects in the State to enhance their efficiency and effectiveness in promoting Kerala’s logistics sector. Connor Brown Authentic Jersey
‘500 cities & towns to vie for cleanest area’
After cities tried to outdo each other to get the “smart city” tag, now 500 cities and towns with more than one lakh population will compete to rank among the cleanest urban areas in the country. This will include all state capitals, heritage and tourism destinations. A similar assessment will also start for all the villages across the country. The urban development ministry on Saturday launched the Swachh Surveskshan (cleanliness survey) that will start from January 2017 where citizens’ feedback will be key to ranking cities. Urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu said this survey will cover 70% of the country’s urban population and the results will help government understand the sanitation status of urban India. The nationwide survey both in urban and rural areas will be done by Quality Council of India. The urban development ministry, which is carrying out such a survey for the third time has increased the weightage being given to citizens’ feedback while ranking cities on sanitation parameters. Justifying this increase and the reduction in weightage given to municipalities’ response, Naidu said there have been cases when people have expressed surprise to find their cities ranking high in the cleanliness index ones when results were declared. “It’s natural that the municipalities will give the best reports. So, we need to get people’s response and an independent third party assessment,” the minister said. The ministry also launched ‘Swachhata App’ and ‘Swachhta Helpline 1969’ to enable citizens associate more and more with the mission in urban areas. Meanwhile, the drinking water and sanitation ministry has added a new feature in its Swachh Bharat App enabling people to rank their villages. Earlier the urban development ministry had come out with the cleanliness ranking of 423 cities in 2015 and in January this year 73 cities with each having more than a million population and state capitals were ranked on sanitation parameters. Raekwon McMillan Authentic Jersey
NHAI extended Rs 130 crore undue benefit to developers: CAG
Undue financial benefits to the tune of Rs 130 crore were extended by NHAI to developers of three highway stretches in Bihar and Jharkhand, official auditor CAG today said. The benefits were extended with regard to Mokama-Munger section of NH 80 in Bihar and Hazaribag-Ranchi section of NH 33 in Jharkhand besides construction of a four-lane bridge on river Kosi on NH 57. “National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) paid undue financial benefits to the concessionaire of Rs 51.03 crore,” CAG said regarding Mokama-Munger Highway stretch in its report tabled in Parliament today. NHAI and developer M/s Mokama-Munger Highway Ltd had signed an agreement in 2010 for construction of two-lane road on the stretch for a length of 68.58 km including construction of a 8.1 km bypass and two rail bridges. The undue financial benefit to the developer were extended in the form of “early completion bonus of Rs 21.83 crore in violation of the concession agreement and Rs 29.20 crore being part of annuity that was not payble due to reduction in scope of work,” the government watchdog said. The project was scheduled for completion in 730 days. Likewise the CAG said NHAI extended Rs 47.05 crore undue benefit to the developer of Hazaribag-Ranchi Expressway Ltd relating to 4-laning project between 71.16 km stretch of Hazaribag-Ranchi section of NH 33 in Jharkhand. “Payment of Rs 47.05 crore to the concessionaire as bonus for early completion was irregular and amounted to giving undue financial benefits to the concessionaire,” CAG said. It also said NHAI paid undue financial benefits of Rs 31.90 crore to the Kosi Bridge Infrastructure company for construction of four-lane bridge across river Kosi on NH 57 in Bihar. “NHAI paid undue financial benefits of Rs 31.90 crore to the concessionaire due to deficiencies in the issue of provisional completion certificate with effect from February 8, 2012 without completion of tests prescribed for safe and reliable commercial operation,” the CAG said. Emmanuel Sanders Womens Jersey
Mega NH project on lines of golden quadrilateral likely
‘Build Roads to Move India’ is likely to be the government’s mantra for a proposed massive widening of highways across the country in the next 4-5 years. On Thursday, the road transport ministry presented before PM Narendra Modi it’s ambitious plan to expand 16,000 km of national highways into six lanes and another 14,000 km to four lanes. About two dozen projects of six-laning would require an expenditure of at least Rs 2.5 lakh crore, which will be mobilised through a mix of 100% government funding or through public private partnerships. Sources said the proposal has been prepared to improve the average speed of vehicles, particularly those transporting cargo. Thursday’s meeting was attended by highway minister Nitin Gadkari, top officials from his ministry besides officials from Niti Aayog and finance ministry. “Now the issues will be thrashed out among departments for implemention. Some of the identified corridors are already under expansion and have also been included in the Bharatmala scheme,” a government source said. TOI has learnt that the ministry has proposed empowering the board of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to take decisions to implement the six-lane projects on the lines of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-era Golden Quadrilateral project — the country’s first major highway programme. Projects to be implemented by NHAI will connect areas of economic importance such as ports and manufacturing hubs. Sources said the identified 14,000 km, which would be widened to four lanes, would be taken up by the ministry or its agencies such as the state public works departments. “GQ (Golden Quadrilateral) brought revolution in the highway sector connecting four corners of the country. But then little was done to improve connectivity across the country in a planned manner and hardly any ring roads were built to improve traffic movement. Despite building so many kilometres of roads, we don’t see much difference in the average speed of cargo. That needs to be corrected,” said a government source. Deatrich Wise Jr Authentic Jersey
Gadkari reviews progress of highway projects in Punjab
Government has decided to issue a notice to developer of a highway stretch in Punjab over slow execution of project. The issue of slow execution of Ludhiana Talwandi package 1 project came up during a review meeting of highway projects in Punjab, which was chaired by Road Transport and Highways Minster Nitin Gadkari. “The road transport and highways minister today held a review meeting of the status of road projects in Punjab. The main focus of the meeting was to look into reasons for slow and delayed projects,” the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said in a statement. All problematic issues related to Ludhiana Talwandi Package 2, Bidhipur Dhilwan, Amritsar Bypass and Ludhiana Talwandi Package 1 were closely looked at, it said. “In the case of the Ludhiana Talwandi Package 1 project, the minister directed the official concerned to send a notice to the concessionaire for the delay in the project,” the statement said. Daryl Worley Womens Jersey
IRB’s AE Tollway commneces work on Agra-Etawah bypass
IRB Infrastructure today said its special purpose vehicle (SPV) AE Tollway has commenced construction work on the Rs 2,650 Agra-Etawah bypass road project. The company said it has also started toll operations on the road from August 1, 2016. Sudhir R Hoshing, Joint Managing Director, IRB Infrastructure Developers said, “We are pleased to commence the widening work of Agra-Etawah bypass road. Once completed, the corridor will provide congestion free, safe and more comfortable travel to commuters with much reduced travel time.” The company has recently achieved a financial closure for the project. It had bagged Rs 2,650 crore project of six laning of the 124 km section of Agra-Etawah bypass road on NH-2 in Uttar Pradesh. The project is on design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis, as envisaged by the NHAI under its Phase-V of the National Highway Development Projects (NHDP). Mike White Jersey
COMPLETE CONSTRUCTION WORK OF FOUR-LANE ROADS WITHIN DEADLINE: AKHILESH YADAV
Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav directed officials to complete construction of four-lane roads connecting district headquarters and bridges over rivers within the stipulated deadline. “Good roads help in speeding up development. The roads not only reduce commutation time but also help in improving financial health of the state,” Yadav said during review of construction of roads and bridges on Wednesday. Yadav said that the SP government always stresses on good roads. “So when we came to power, our first priority was to improve roads and construct bridges over rivers. We ensured that all district headquarters were connected with all-season four-lane roads,” Chief Minister said. He gave specific directives to officials asking them to construct roads connecting Chitrakoot by November 2016, Deoria by October 2016, Balrampur by December 2016 and Lakhimpur Kheri, Hardoi and Gonda by March 2017. “All these should be four-lane all season roads and should be completed within specified time,” he said. Officers informed the CM that NHAI would connect Banda and Meerut headquarters by October 2016 and Uttar Pradesh State Highway Authority (UPSHA) will connect Sonebhadra by the end of this fiscal. Besides, Varanasi-Shaktinagar highway would be thrown open to public soon. Directives were also given to complete construction of bridge at Balua Ghat in Varanasi by October. The renovation of ghat in front of BHU’s gate facing Ramnagar should also completed by October 2016. Yadav also directed officials to complete the construction of bridges in Ghazipur, Bahraich, Mirzapur, Firozabad and Ballia. George Iloka Jersey