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Home › November 2013
RAVIPRASAD KAMILA
The Hindu -SMOOTH RIDE: A view of Mangalore-Moodbidri road from Kulashekara flyover in Mangalore. The final feasibility report for the widening of road is before the NHAI for its approval. Photo: H.S. Manjunath
Road between Mangalore and Moodbidri to be made 4-lane
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has proposed to widen the National Highway 169 (formerly NH 13) between Mangalore and Karkala via Moodbidri, even though the final feasibility report on taking up this project has been completed. It has proposed to widen the stretch between Mangalore (from Kulashekara) and Moodbidri into a four-lane road and the stretch between Moodbidri and Karkala as two-lane road.
According to Shriram Mishra, Project Director, Mangalore Project Office of the NHAI, the final feasibility report is now before the NHAI for its approval. A 50-k.m. stretch between Mangalore and Karkala is part of the NH 169 connecting Solapur in Maharasthra and Mangalore. It has been proposed to widen a 20 km stretch between Moodbidri and Karkala into a two-lane road, considering that the traffic here is less than what one could witness between Mangalore and Moodbidri.
He said there is also a proposal to construct a bypass at Gurupur and Moodbidri under engineering procurement construction (EPC) mode of contract (under this mode of contract the government spends the entire money required to build a road). It would not be taken up under build, operate and transfer (BoT) mode of contract or design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) mode of contract.
B.C. ROAD-SURATHKAL
Mr. Mishra said that a Rs. 22 crore proposal has been submitted to the NHAI headquarters for widening the service roads between the 37-km four-lane stretch from B. C. Road to Surathkal (covering NH 66, NH 169 and NH 75) and to build 34 bus shelters in this stretch. The service roads will be widened wherever free land is available. In many places, land is available for widening the service roads up to one meter or 1.5 meters. The proposal does not involve acquisition of additional land or demolition of any buildings.
He said that under this proposal street lights will be installed on all six flyovers. In addition, a foot-over-bridge will be constructed at Surathkal and a two k.m. service road will be built at Brahmarakutlu (near B. C. Road).Mr. Mishra said that toll booths will be constructed at Brahmarakootlu and Maroli (between Maroli flyover and Padil).Potholes on the service roads will be filled up shortly as rains have stopped, he said.
Source-http://www.thehindu.com
Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Uncategorized
Ajith Athrady, New Delhi,
Concerned over the poor response from domestic developers in bidding for road projects, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is planning to conduct road shows abroad to attract foreign investors to take up projects here.
“Road shows are expected to be held in China, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and other countries over the next few months,” a senior official in the ministry told Deccan Herald.
The ministry will apprise Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is directly monitoring the progress in infrastructure development, including roads, of its intention to go overseas to hunt for investors, said officials.
Recently, Road Secretary Vijay Chhibber had also written to National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) Chairman R P Singh to explore the option of conducting road shows abroad for major expressway projects, such as the Delhi-Meerut Expressway.
As the ministry’s ambitious plan of constructing roads under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) is faltering due to lack of interest from domestic investors, the government is now pinning its hopes on foreign investors to keep its PPP plans alive.
PPP-mode projects have suffered setbacks for the past two years after several major private road developers walked out of such projects due to funding concerns.
The United Progressive Alliance government, which is facing a lot of criticism for failure to build highways, is under pressure to show some visible work in road construction as the 2014 general election is approaching fast. The NHAI was able to award only 1,116 km of highway projects, against the target of 9,500 km in the previous fiscal. In current fiscal, too, the NHAI has so far managed to award only 123 km this year, out of its 2,500-km PPP target.
Domestic road developers have also been plagued by premiums that they have to pay the NHAI.
Private developers owe nearly Rs 1.51 lakh crore to the NHAI in premiums over the next 20 years, and companies have been urging the government to reschedule their dues.
Source-http://www.deccanherald.com
Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Uncategorized
Manu Balachandran |
Road projects have been struggling in the past few years largely as private developers have stayed away
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is looking to tweak an exit policy announced for highway projects this year. The policy falied to excite developers as it did not transfer the perks to the new operator. The Union ministry is considering a proposal by the National Highways Authortity of India that allows a developer to sell or transfer their stake in a special purpose vehicle (SPV) formed for a project.
Road projects in India are undertaken through such vehicles, made up of the concessionaire (operator), lenders and the highways authority, and the project is usually awarded for 20-25 years. The construction is usually done in three years and the tolling period starts once the project is bulit. The current policy does not allow transfer of equity but only substitution of a concessionaire, following which a new vehicle has to be then formed. The exit policy announced in July this year found no takers, as the new vehicle did not get the perquisites offered to the original vehcile, including a tax holiday of 10 years.
“This was the original recommendation that NHAI had put forward. But the government formulated the new policy that required the creation of a new SPV, once a concessionaire is substituted; there were a host of concerns, including the issue of tax holiday”, a senior official at the highways authority said.
Meanwhile, developers looking to exit a project will continue to need approvals from the lenders of the project and the highways authority. More, the developer will also have to pay a penalty of one per cent of the project cost. “They should remove the penalty first and come out with a comprehensive policy. There are also concerns over income tax and taxation concerns and the government should address them,” said B Murali, Director General, National Highway Builders Federation.
Road projects in India have been struggling in the past few years largely as private developers have stayed away. Lenders have also been reluctant to fund road projects over various concerns. In an interview with Business Standard, Minister for Road Transport Oscar Fernandes had acknowledged funding for projects was the biggest constraint.
The ministry has suggested the finance ministry to reschedule premium worth Rs 1,51,000 crore that developers owe the highways authority. The finance ministry has in turn set up a committee under Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council Chairman C Rangarajan to study the terms and conditions of rescheduling. The committee is expected to come out with recommendations next month.
The government is also looking at the option of doing road shows in countries including China and Australia to attract investments in the road sector after domestic companies have stayed back from investing in road projects. The ministry is expected to make a presentation to the Prime Minister soon.
Source-http://www.business-standard.com
Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Policy
TNN |
LUCKNOW: Having undertaken project of widening of Lohia Path, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s dream project, the state Public Works Department (PWD) is all set to give it another facelift by proposing an additional flyover between PICUP and Indira Gandhi Pratishthan. This will be apart from construction of the much needed flyover on Faizabad road to connect the existing flyover to government polytechnic college. The PWD is already in the process of broadening the Lohia Path from its existing width of eight lanes to 10. Sources said this will make Lohia Path the widest road, not only in the city but also in the state. The additional two lanes come about by demolishing the once existent cycle and walking track on both sides of the Lohia Path.
Well placed PWD sources said the design of the two flyovers has been prepared and sent for state government sanction. Principal secretary, PWD, Rajnish Dubey, confirmed that the designs had been submitted and were being scrutinised.
While the one proposed between PICUP will be two-laned and stretch for a distance of around half-a-kilometer. It will divert traffic to and fro Lohia Path towards Indira Gandhi Pratishthan and the proposed new campus of the high court in Vibhuti Khand, the one at Faizabad road will divert traffic of Faizabad road to the existing L-shaped flyover constructed over government polytechnic. This way the polytechnic flyover will become Y-shaped. Presently, traffic from HAL on Faizabad road has to go underneath the flyover to move further up to Faizabad road. This creates a major traffic hurdle underneath the flyover constructed by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).
The state government had also proposed acquiring polytechnic land to widen it further and ease out the traffic congestion underneath the flyover. But that is yet to be done.
The Mayawati regime had converted part of the cycle and walking track on the 7 Km long Lohia Path into a railway over bridge (ROB). The ROB on the other side is still being worked on given the grave yard that falls on its way. PWD engineers said they would be constructing a platform over the graveyard to pave way for the ROB.
With the usage of the cycle and walking track already in question, the Akhilesh Yadav government after coming to power had decided to do away with the tracks altogether to widen the Lohia Path, which has been witnessing an ever increasing traffic growth over a period of time. The widening has been ostensibly adhered to around two malls and multiplexes situated on Lohia Path.
Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Default
Santosh Sonawane, TNN |
NASHIK: Food and tea stalls, and other illegal structures along the Mumbai-Agra highway were on Thursday removed by the civic body’s anti-encroachment department in co-ordination with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the city police.Hoardings put up by political parties were removed too.Sources in PNG Tollways, the company asked to help with developing the road and collecting toll, said the drive anti-encroachment drive was conducted in two sessions on the stretch of the highway between Pathardi Phata and Dwarka.
Commissioner of Police Kulwant Kumar Sarngal said officials of the NHAI had approached him for protection during the encroachment drive. Police personnel were deployed for the purpose, he said.
Sources in PNG Tollways said the drive would be conducted more often as the encroachers tended to return to the place they were removed from.
A number of Chinese food and tea stalls are set up on the stretch between Pathardi Phata and Dwarka. Also, flower vendors at Mumbai Naka, most of who are children, obstruct the traffic that poses a danger for them too.
The vehicles parked at the garages on the highway’s service road also obstruct passage. Sources in PNG Tollways said an anti-encroachment drive concentrating on the garages would be conducted soon.
On being asked about a parking facility for autorickshaws and taxis at Dwarka, officials from the PNG Tollways said they would reduce the size of the traffic islands at the junction to create a 1.5 metre-wide lane on the service road to accommodate these vehicles. The police and association of rickshaw and taxi drivers had suggested such an arrangement.
Encroachments on the median of the highway and on the service road that passes through the city have become a major issue as vehicles are seen moving at a slow pace in spite of the road’s widening.
Source-http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Uncategorized
Interview with Union Minister for Road, Transport & Highways
The road ministry is on target to set up a road regulator before the next Parliament session is over. In an interview with Manu Balachandran, Oscar Fernandes, Union minister for road, transport and highways, talks about funding and other issues affecting the sector and the means to tackle them. Edited excerpts:
The prime minister on Monday reviewed the progress in the sector. Are all the projects on track?
We have reviewed the progress of projects and are on track as far as the number of projects are concerned. We are adding 17 km a day and that was the original target set by the ministry. The main concern is we are not finding bidders for new projects. Recently, when we invited bids for a number of projects, we were disappointed to find (that there were) no takers.
Private players have raised concerns about their participation in the road sector. How are you looking to address them?
First, there were some concerns about premium rescheduling. The finance ministry has set up a committee under C Rangarajan to decide on the premium to be paid and the terms and conditions for rescheduling. We will wait for its recommendation and then take a final decision. The government has also relaxed the exit norms for developers in road projects. The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has also been very actively acquiring land, since banks do not fund projects to private sector if 90 per cent of the land is not acquired. We have speeded up acquisition and this year we have achieved double of what we had acquired last year.
The Northeast is strategically important to the country. But, developers and officials say projects there do not take off due to lack of security.
That isn’t true. We have an accelerated programme and I have been personally visiting the states to assess the pace of projects. On Sunday, I was in Tripura to evaluate a project. But the main problem is funding.
Banks are not willing to lend to projects, but the roads ministry and NHAI have been doing whatever we could to provide that. There is a plan to go abroad and showcase development prospects in India’s road sector. But, even if overseas companies are willing to invest, we have to ensure that land is acquired and various clearances are received. So, at this point, we are trying to ensure that the ingredients are in place. We will ensure that land acquisition and environmental clearance for projects are on track to make the sector lucrative.
Are we likely to see a road regulator in place this year? There are also talks about a proposed policy on auto recall after the General Motors incident?
With regard to the road regulator, we have a draft bill ready and are keen on passing it during the coming Parliament session itself. Road projects are often spread over a 20-25-year period and there might be various concerns that might be raised during the period. The regulator will essentially look at pre- and post-construction work and will look into areas such as contract dispute resolution. As far as vehicle recall is concerned, I do not think there is a need for any policy. Vehicle companies should take the effort to inspect the product and ensure quality before marketing the product. But that is the responsibility of the company and the government should not be party to that.
When can we expect a decision on Quadricycles?
A technical committee is currently studying all the concerns that were raised from various quarters. We can take a decision only after they come out with a report.
Source-http://www.business-standard.com
Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Uncategorized
B B Nayak, TNN |
THANE: Residents of the city are a harried lot with the Maharashtra State Road DevelopmentCorporation (MSRDC) repeatedly missing deadlines for opening the Kapurbavdi flyover.
On November 15, the agency added to its long list of missed deadlines. It had promised to throw open the Mumbai-Ghodbunder arm of the flyover on Friday, but decided against it at the last moment due to a lot of unfinished work.
As a result, Shiv Sena leaders have threatened to open the flyover forcibly for motorists on December 1 in case the agency failed to do so.
Looking at the situation, the agency has played safe and said that it will open the flyover by next week.
Kishore Mali, project in-charge from MSRDC, said, “We have almost completed the work on the Mumbai-Ghodbunder wing spanning 1.1km. We need just two more days for some work on the approach road at Ghodbunder end. By Sunday, we’ll be ready. In case we fail to get any minister for the official inauguration, we will throw open the flyover for users next week.”
Naveen Singh, an angry resident who has to use this stretch often, said, “Motorists are suffering due to the severe traffic jams during peak hours. How long will we have to wait to use the facility being built with taxpayers’ money?”
Shrikant Kadu, a motorist, lambasted officials for their lax attitude in delaying this project. “Delay in most infrastructure projects is because of corruption. MSRDC is least bothered about public money being wasted like this.”
Mali added, “As the project has been lingering on for a long time, motorists are bearing the brunt. We will clear all technical hurdles by Sunday and, as I said, by next week the flyover will be opened.”
Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Uncategorized
Niraj Chinchkhede, TNN |
AURANGABAD: The state waqf tribunal on Thursday directed the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation ( AMC) to maintain status quo on a part of road construction work between Little Flower School and Cantonment Idgah campus.
The waqf board had approached the tribunal seeking the civic body to temporarily restrain from doing any sort of construction work in the waqf suit property at survey number 6, 7/2, 8 and 31 in Old Qutubpura, Jaisingpura (Cantonment).
In its petition, the Idgah and Kabrstan Committee claimed that the civic body had commenced the work without taking a no-objection certificate from the owners of the land – the waqf board. Abdul Hameed Khan, secretary of Idgah and Kabrstan Committee, the land was reserved for a graveyard. “However, the municipal body had encroached the front portion of the land measuring 600 ft X 15 ft, thereby violating the norms. The market value of the encroached land is in crores and the civic body should compensate the owners before taking its possession,” he said.
Khan said he had raised objection over the construction work in 2008. “At that time, the municipal body had promised that it would measure the actual length of the land coming in way of road widening and offer compensation for the same. However, the civic body has now started the work without even giving any compensation,” he said.
After conducting survey of the site, the Idgah and Kabrstan Committee members and a group of Muslim community people said the work of periphery wall of the graveyard was not being done abutting the road. “The authorities have pushed it about 15 feet inside the graveyard to widen the road. But there are number of graves in the 15-feet area. While doing excavation, the municipal body is also digging skeletons which is highly objectionable,” Khan said.
The municipal corporation had recently started construction work of the road with an investment of Rs 12.5 crore. After allotting the tender to a contractor, it took the civic body six months to actually start construction work on the development plan road connecting Town Hall and Little Flower School.
Contending that there is substance in the application, the tribunal also issued a show-cause notice to the municipal body.
The civic body officials refused to comment on the issue.
DC | G. Jagannath |
Chennai: Faced with hurdles, Rs 600 crore Ennore Manali Road Improvement Project (EMRIP) would miss the December deadline for work’s completion.
EMRIP, which was conceptualised in 1998, envisages improvement of about 30 km road network in North Chennai to ease flow of truck traffic from Chennai and Ennore ports and improve road connectivity between ports to national highway network.
“We have so far completed 75 per cent of the road project. Most of the widening and improvement works on Tiruvottiyur-Ponneri-Panchetti Road (9 km), northern segment of Inner Ring Road (8.1 km), Ennore Expressay (6 km) and Manali Oil Refinery Road (MORR) (5.4 km) were completed except for few stretches where the land was not handed over,” a senior NHAI official said.
Delay in shifting of the drinking water pipeline running beneath the MORR has affected road widening works.
“The metro water is expected to complete the shifting works only by December. Only after that we will be able to complete road widening works,” the official said. As far as construction of the bridge across Kosathalaiyar at Napalayam on TPP road, the official said the works would be completed only by February next year.
NHAI official said that no headway was made in shifting tenements in Cherian Nagar and Nalla Thanneer Odai (NTO) Kuppam along Ennore Expressway and handing over the 1.6 km stretch from Zero gate to S.N. Chetty Street in the port trust.
“If the tenements were not shifted, we will be forced to handover those stretches to the state government for widening,” the official said.
The Chennai port trust officials were not able to begin reclamation of land on seafront as demanded by fishermen for parting their land in lieu of construction of carriageway from Zero Gate to S.N. Chetty Road. Only after getting the coastal regulatory zone clearance, the reclamation would be started.
Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Uncategorized
Manu Balachandran |
Current policy bars equity transfer, only allows substitution of concessionaire after which a new SPV has to be formed to undertake the road project
The union road ministry is looking to tweak an exit policy announced for highway projects this year in a bid to provide a breather to concessionaires looking to exit road projects. The ministry is currently considering a proposal by NHAI which allows a developer to sell or transfer his stake in a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) formed to develop a road project.
Road projects in India are undertaken through an SPV which comprises the concessionaire, lenders and NHAI and the project is usually awarded for a period of 20-25 years. The construction is usually done in 3 years and the tolling period starts on completion of construction.
The current policy does not allow the transfer of equity and merely allows a substitution of a concessionaire following which a new SPV has to be then formed to undertake the road project. The exit policy announced by the government in July this year found no takers as the new SPV was not eligible for the perquisites offered to the original SPV including a tax holiday of 10 years.
“This was the original recommendation that NHAI had put forward. But the government formulated the new policy which required the creation of a new SPV once a concessionaire is substituted and thereby there were a host of concerns including the issue of Tax holiday”, a senior official at NHAI said.
Meanwhile, concessionaires looking to exit the project will continue to need approvals from the lenders of the project and from NHAI. In addition, the exiting concessionaire will also have to pay a penalty of 1 per cent of the entire project cost. “They should remove the penalty first and come out with a comprehensive policy. There are also concerns over Income tax and taxation concerns and the government should address them”, B.Murali, Director General at National Highway Builders federation said.
Road projects in India have been struggling since the past few years largely due to private developers staying away from road projects in the country. In addition, lenders have also been staying away from funding road projects over various concerns. In an interview with Business Standard, minister for Road Transport, Oscar Fernandes had acknowledged that the funding for projects remain the biggest constraint.
The ministry meanwhile has asked the finance ministry to look at rescheduling premium worth Rs 151000 crore that developers owe NHAI. The finance ministry has in turn set up a committee under C.Rangarajan to study the terms and conditions of rescheduling and the committee is expected to come out with their recommendation next month.
The government is also looking at the option of doing road shows in countries including China and Australia to attract investments in the road sector after domestic companies have stayed back from investing in road projects. The ministry is expected to make a presentation to the Prime Minister soon.
Source-http://www.business-standard.com
Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Policy
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