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Home › December 2013
Wednesday, | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) request for proposal (RFP) to appoint consultant to obtain environmental clearances for the ambitious coastal road project has received responses from two companies.
Pentacle Consultants Private Limited and Stup Consultants, both based in Mumbai, are the two companies which have expressed interest in BMC’s RFP.
One of the two companies will be appointed to prepare detailed project report (DPR) and propose a cost effective model to implement the multi-crore project, besides procuring the environmental approvals.
This is the third time the civic body has sought RFP for the multi-crore project. Earlier, it had sought interest from private players in February this year. However, only one firm had responded then. It sought RFP in March with four companies coming to the fore. But those companies did not fit the bill technically.
“The BMC will scrutinise applications by the two agencies which will take at least 15 days.
Financial bids are expected to be opened towards December-end. If all goes as planned, a proposal on appointment of consultant will be tabled before the standing committee in January,” said a senior civic official.
According to officials, the BMC may not seek RFP again as it will be a time-consuming process.
Once approved by the standing committee, a consultant will have to prepare the project report and procure clearances from Ministry of Environment and Forest within 450 days. “It is important the consultants procure permissions within stipulated time frame to ensure the project work begins in near future,” the official added.
The project
The proposed 35.6-km road stretch between South Mumbai and Kandivli will start at Manora MLA House in Nariman Point. It will tread through a tunnel between NCPA and Air India building. It can be accessed from 18 points on the stretch.
Source-http://www.dnaindia.com
Rangarajan panel reviews proposals on premium restructuring & penalties after PlanCom advisor’s objections
Manu Balachandran | New Delhi
Road developers hoping for early relief from the government will have to wait longer.
A committee set up under C Rangarajan, chairman, Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, is reworking its report on providing such relief, after concerns were raised by Gajendra Haldea, advisor, Planning Commission.
Last Friday, Haldea raised concerns on the proposed recommendations. The issues in question were the structure of premium rescheduling and the penalty norms, following which the committee sought more clarity from the roads ministry.
The key recommendations of the report include rescheduling the premium that companies owe to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and fixing the interest payment on the deferred amount at 10.75 per cent. In addition, it felt no penalty should be charged on the developers.
Premium here is the amount NHAI concessionaires have to pay for a BoT (Build-Operate-Transfer) project, as the returns are expected to be high. It is usually decided on the basis of estimated future traffic flow at the time of bidding. The term for payment of the premium is usually 20 to 25 years and the amount payable ranges from Rs 3 crore to Rs 680 crore a year. The amount goes up yearly by five per cent, according to existing norms. NHAI is due to receive about Rs 151,000 crore over the next 20-25 years from private developers.
“The report was to be ready early this week. But, following a letter written by Haldea, Rangarajan has decided to study the concerns raised and we can expect final recommendations only in the next 10 days,” said a senior official in the roads ministry. Haldea confirmed he’d commented on the report but declined to disclose details.
The Rangarajan committee was set up this October. This was after a number of road developers threatened to walk out of projects due to the economy’s slowing. They’ve complained about inability to generate adequate revenue for repaying the premium. The committee had also proposed that the companies not be allowed to pay dividend to their parent companies until they cleared their dues to NHAI.
There was also a recommendation to allow private road developers to pay only 25 per cent of the premium they owed NHAI in the first three years. Companies were to raise this to half the amount due after three years. The sum carried forward was to attract an interest rate of 10.75 per cent.
“The trigger point for Haldea to raise the concern seems to be the absence of penalty. He does not want the companies to be given a breather and wants to overrule a cabinet decision which wanted projects to continue. If we do not allow this rescheduling, then we have to go in for re-bids. Given the current environment, we will not get any bidders,” the ministry official added.
The government has already cancelled a plan to award projects on public-private partnership during this financial year and is moving towards government-funded projects. The roads ministry plans to now award 5,000 kilometres this year under the engineering-procurement and construction mode this year, after the developers decided to stay away from bidding.
Source-http://www.business-standard.com
Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Uncategorized
TNN
KOCHI:National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will relay the damaged stretch between Aroor and Kumbalam on NH66 (old NH47) on Friday.
The authority said that the machines required to carry out road milling works are on the way to Kochi from Andhra Pradesh.
NHAI project director C T Abraham said: “The plan is to grind the existing tarred surface and remove asphalt. We have to seal the concrete surface below and make it watertight. Later, the stretch will be relayed using bitumen concrete.”
NHAI had closed the Aroor-Kumbalam bridge after its surface developed large potholes that posed a threat to motorists. After inspecting the bridge, experts from IIT Madras had recommended that the entire tarred surface be removed. The bridge was built in 1987 and the authority stated that under present circumstance it was not possible to dismantle it.
Abraham said that the immediate concern of NHAI was to repair the road and make it motorable. The authority stated that though milling works are rarely carried out in the state, the works undertaken in Kochi was a ‘minor task which could be completed in a day’.
The estimated cost for the carrying out the work is around Rs 2.5 lakh. tnn The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will relay the damaged stretch on NH66 (old NH 47) between Aroor and Kumbalam on Friday. The authority said that the machine required for carrying out the “road milling works” are on the way to Kochi from Andhra Pradesh.
NHAI project director C T Abraham said, “The plan is to grind the existing tarred surface and remove asphalt. We have to seal the concrete surface below and make it water tight. Later, the stretch will be re-layed using bitumen concrete.”
NHAI had closed the Aroor-Kumbalam bridge after its surface developed large potholes, which posed grave threat to motorists. After inspecting the bridge, experts from IIT Madras had recommended to break up the entire tarred surface. The bridge was built in 1987 and the authority stated that under the present circumstance it was not possible to dismantle it.
Abraham said that the immediate concern of NHAI was to repair the road and make it motorable.
The authority stated that though milling works are rarely carried out in the state, the works undertaken in Kochi was a ‘minor task which could be completed in a day’. The estimated cost for the carrying out the works is around Rs 2.5 lakh.
Source-http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Uncategorized
One of the proposals is that 75% of the premium amount payable to the govt will restructure in the first 3 years of the contract
Road developers should be asked to submit the entire premium amount three years before the completion of full contract, a panel headed by Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council Chairman C Rangarajan has recommended.
According to sources, one of the proposals made by the Rangarajan panel is that 75% of the premium amount payable to the government will be restructured in the first three years of the contract.
“The entire premium amount will have to be paid by the highway developer three years prior to the completion of the contract,” sources said.
The Rangarajan panel is likely to submit its report to the Finance Ministry at the earliest.
The sources, however, did not divulge any further information on the submission of the committee’s report.
The panel was tasked with formulating the guidelines and the task of implementation will rest with the NHAI (National Highways Authority of India).
The panel also has representatives from Ministry of Finance, Road Ministry and Planning Commission.
It was constituted after the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs cleared the Road Ministry’s proposal for rescheduling the premium of highway projects.
At present, companies pay some amount of premium to the government in the first year of the project which keeps increasing in the subsequent years.
The move was proposed against the backdrop of some private infrastructure firms pulling out of road projects due to delays in regulatory clearances like land acquisition and environment clearances.
Dipak Kumar Dash,TNN |
NEW DELHI: The PM-appointed C Rangarajan committee has recommended a uniform formula of 75% cut in promised annual premium payment for all highway projects for the first three years to revive over three dozen stalled and stressed projects.
The annual premium payment will increase substantially during later part of the contract period so that NHAI does not lose any revenue that developers had quoted while bagging projects. The policy aims to recover the entire premium amount three years before the contract ends.
The norm will be same for both six-laning and four-laning of projects. Huge reduction in premium payment in the first three years will come as a big relief to developers since they need more capital investment during construction period. Premium is the annual upfront revenue that developers promise to pay to NHAI, which increases by 5% annually during the contract period.
Rangarajan has sent the proposal to departments including Planning Commission, NHAI, highways and finance ministries for feedback latest by Monday.
The recommendations address concerns of both developers and NHAI. While suggesting that there should be no “penalty” on developers for availing this one time dispensation as it was suggested by the finance minister P Chidambaram, the committee has said that beneficiaries can’t make any claims on NHAI for delay in project take off due to non-fulfillment of condition like statutory clearances. There were fears that developers may submit huge claim on NHAI for rising project cost due to delays attributed to non-availability of land, clearances and shifting of utilities.
Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Uncategorized
TNN |
ITANAGAR: The Union ministry of road transport and highways has approved the construction of 6,418 km of road under Phase A and the Arunachal package of the Special Accelerated Road Development Project-North East (SARDP-NE), minister of state for road transport and highways, Sarvey Sathyanarayana has said.”Of the 10,141 km stretch to be developed under the project, 6,418 km have been approved by the Centre for implementation under Phase A of SARDP-NE and the Arunachal package of roads and highways, while a detailed project report has been sought for the remaining 3,723 km under Phase B of the programme,” the minister explained when questioned by Lok Sabha member Takam Sanjoy, official sources said on Wednesday.
The minister informed that Phase A and the Arunachal package should be completed by March 2017. While conceding that delays in land acquisition, obtaining environment and forest clearance and poor mobilization by contractors have affected timely completion of infrastructure projects in the northeast, the minister assured that non-performing contractors have been debarred from participating in future works.
“The ministry has posted one additional director general for the northeast region at Guwahati, who will be assisted by three chief engineers posted at Guwahati, Agartala and Itanagar, to expedite the formalities before construction,” he added.
Dipak Kumar Dash, TNN |
NEW DELHI: The PM-appointed C Rangarajan committee has recommended a uniform formula of 75% cut in promised annual premium payment for all highway projects for the first three years to revive over three dozen stalled and stressed projects.
The annual premium payment will increase substantially during later part of the contract period so that NHAI does not lose any revenue that developers had quoted while bagging projects. The policy aims to recover the entire premium amount three years before the contract ends. The norm will be same for both six-laning and four-laning of projects. Huge reduction in premium payment in the first three years will come as a big relief to developers since they need more capital investment during construction period. Premium is the annual upfront revenue that developers promise to pay to NHAI, which increases by 5% annually during the contract period.
Rangarajan has sent the proposal to departments including Planning Commission, NHAI, highways and finance ministries for feedback latest by Monday.
The recommendations address concerns of both developers and NHAI. While suggesting that there should be no “penalty” on developers for availing this one time dispensation as it was suggested by the finance minister P Chidambaram, the committee has said that beneficiaries can’t make any claims on NHAI for delay in project take off due to non-fulfillment of condition like statutory clearances. There were fears that developers may submit huge claim on NHAI for rising project cost due to delays attributed to non-availability of land, clearances and shifting of utilities.
Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Uncategorized
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Officials to meet in Bangalore today to discuss the matter
‘Vanya-Let The Wild Be Wild’, a non-government organisation, urged the State government on Monday not to “succumb to pressure” from Kerala government to withdraw the night traffic ban on two highways across Bandipur Tiger Reserve.
The ban is in effect from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. The NGO’s observation comes on the eve of a meeting to be held in Bangalore on Tuesday, between the Additional Chief Secretary (Kerala) and Principal Secretary of Forests, Ecology and Environment (Karnataka), to discuss the matter. The matter is sub judice.
Ranking officials from the Forest department, Chief Engineer (Construction and Buildings) of the Public Works Department, and the Chief Engineer of the National Highways Authority are also said to be participating in the meeting, according to a statement received here on Monday. The discussion could even lead to contempt of the Supreme Court, the statement said. The Kerala government had held four rounds of discussions with four Chief Ministers of Karnataka on the issue, all of whom rejected the proposals.
Rejected
The proposals were rejected in the interest of protecting the wildlife. The closing down of vehicular traffic through the two highways, NH-212 and NH-67, passing through Bandipur, was based on a Karnataka High Court order (March 9, 2010).
The court had already identified the road passing through Hunsur-Gonicoppa-Kutta-Katikulam, which is 30 km longer, as an alternative road to be used to circumvent the ban across Bandipur.
Alternative routes
Also, in the above case, the Principal Secretary, Forest, Ecology and Environment, had submitted an affidavit that a road passing through Thithimathi was available as an alternative to NH-212 and would not cause any hardship to common people. The other alternative road suggested by Kerala passes through a critical corridor connecting the Bandipur and Nagarahole Parks.
Source-http://www.thehindu.com
TNN |
LUCKNOW: The Samajwadi Party government on Tuesday tabled the current year’s second supplementary budget worth Rs 3,619.76 crore to mainly fund its infrastructure projects like Lucknow Metro, Agra-Lucknow Expressway and rural electrification. Earlier, in September, the Akhilesh-led state government had tabled the first supplementary budget worth Rs 7,112.39 crore.The second supplementary budget has allocated Rs 450 core for Lucknow-Agra Expressway and Rs 900 crore for Rajiv Gandhi Rural Electrification Project.
Earlier, the government had planned to get the expressway constructed on the PPP model. However, after failing to get the expected response, it has decided to get it constructed through on its own. Besides, there is an allocation of Rs 20 crore for the Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation.
The budget has also earmarked Rs 90 crore for reimbursing the amount taken from emergency fund for rehabilitation of Muzaffarnagar and Shamli riot victims and Rs 126 crore as society commission to Cooperative Sugarcane Committees for the crushing season of 2013-14. Earlier, this commission was paid by the mill owners, but as per a recent agreement the government has agreed to pay it.
The supplementary demands also include Rs 200 crore for CC road, KC drain and interlocking tiles under Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya Samagra Gram Vikas scheme and Rs 13 crore to rehabilitate those displaced from Chak Gajaria farm. In same way, a provision of Rs 5 crore has been made to reestablish units in Lucknow city from Chak Gajaria farm and another Rs 11 crore earmarked for shifting of artificial insemination centre at Chak Gajaria farm to State Agricultural Management Institute, Rahman Kheda.
The government has also allocated Rs 8.11 crore to clear the pending dues with regards to Kumbh Mela, 2013 held at Allahabad and Rs 218 crore has been earmarked for State Disaster Response Fund. The government has also allocated Rs 100 crore for farmers insurance claim covered in the current fiscal and Rs 100 crore for the repair and maintenance of state, district and important roads and Rs 50 crore for state highways and Rs 400 crore for roads construction, upgradation and widening through state road fund. Interestingly, Rs 2.5 crore had been earmarked for maintenance and fuelling of vehicles of cabinet and minister of states while Rs 1.5 crore has been allocated for the renovation and upkeep of the official houses of the legislators.
Source-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Funds
By APP
Pakistan needed to exploit two main and significant resources – the unique geographical position of the country and a population of 180 million. PHOTO: FILE
LAHORE: Federal Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique has stated Pakistan is ready to offer its road and rail routes to all regional countries including China, India, Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey and Bangladesh.
He was speaking to the media after addressing the “Regional Conference on Strengthening Transport Connectivity and Trade Facilitation in South and South-West Asia”.
The conference was organised by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (UNESCAP) and the Ministry of Commerce here on Tuesday.
He observed that the opening of the trade corridor was in the best interest of Pakistan. “We have to look at our interests, as we have to eradicate poverty, terrorism and extremism for which an improved and vibrant economy is of vital importance,” he said.
Rafique added Pakistan needed to exploit two main and significant resources – the unique geographical position of the country and a population of 180 million. He stressed that opening up of trade routes for India was also in favour of Pakistan.
“We are still lagging 200 years behind the developed world, therefore, we have to shun orthodox thinking to move forward on all fronts,” he maintained.
Rafique said south and southwest Asia consisted of about half the world population and was rich in mineral deposits besides having importance as a bridge between the North and the South, but its intra-regional trade was negligible.
In fiscal year 2008-09, the intra-regional trade in South Asia was a mere 5% of global trade, which was far below the potential.
The minister stressed the need for exploring and taking optimal benefits from regional trade. Pakistan government, he added, was focusing and working on national and regional connectivity to connect China, India, Central Asia, Middle East and Europe while work on the Gwadar Port was going on at a swift pace.
The minister pointed out that the Torkham-Jalalabad link was of great importance regarding transportation of raw material, while the Quetta-Taftan link would prove to be the best trade corridor to access Iran, Turkey and European markets. Khokhrapar-Monabao (India) link was also being examined for trade.
He said a delegation of the Pakistan Railways would soon visit India to gain knowledge and experience of the Indian rail system, as Delhi had turned its railways into a profitable entity while Pakistan was yet to achieve the goal mainly due to lack of resources.
Pakistan Railways was searching for a foreign partner for investment to improve its infrastructure, he added.
Source– http://tribune.com.pk
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