Pay more on DND from today

Pay more on DND from today

By Bunty Tyagi in Noida

MOTORISTS using the Delhi Noida Direct ( DND) Flyway will have to shell out more now as toll rates were hiked from Sunday midnight.A decision to this effect was taken by Noida Toll Bridge Company Limited ( NTBCL) on Sunday. The rates have been increased by up to 20 per cent.“ The toll rate for cars has gone up from ` 22 to ` 25. For two- wheelers, it has been hiked from ` 11 to ` 12. The toll rate for light commercial vehicles has also gone up from ` 45 to ` 55. Buses and trucks will have to pay ` 70 instead of the earlier ` 55,” NTBCL spokesman Anwar Abbasi said. The rates were last hiked in November 2012. For large vehicles with three axles, the rate has been increased from ` 75 to ` 100, followed by ` 130 for extra large vehicles, which was earlier ` 95. “ As per the agreement with Noida authorities, the company reserves the decision to hike toll rates every year,” Anwar said. The various residents welfare association ( RWAs) in Noida and Bharatiya Kisan Union ( BKU) criticised the move and threatened to hold a protest demonstration against the hike. “ Since we have dragged the operator to court, the operator should not have hiked the toll rates,” said A. N. Dhawan, the chief adviser of Noida Federation of RWAs. Source :  http://epaper.mailtoday.in Pay more on DND from today

Way paved for Ghaziabad expressway

GHAZIABAD/GREATER Noida: The Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) has finally decided to complete work on a number of roads, including the 12-kilometre expressway linking Greater Noida to NH-24 in Ghaziabad.

While 10.5 kilometres of the 12-kilometre expressway having been completed five years ago, a 1.5-kilometre stretch on NH-24 had been encroached upon. Now, GDA vice-chairman SK Dwivedi said compensation and alternative plots of land will provided to residents along the route to clear the area in order to complete the expressway.

Meanwhile, the GDA has decided to go ahead with plans to build a six-lane expressway linking the Hindon bridge at Meerut Road and the Greater Noida-Ghaziabad expressway. The GDA and NHAI have already decided to widen NH 24 from UP Gate to Lal Kuan.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Haryana govt inks MoU with NHAI for construction of Delhi-Rohtak six laning road

CHANDIGARH: Haryana  Government has signed a Memorundum of Understainding (MOU) with National Highway Authority of India (NHAI)for construction of six laning of Delhi-Rohtak road costing Rs 487 crore and it would be completed within next 30 months.

This was revealed by the Haryana PWD B&R Minister, Capt. Ajay Singh Yadav while interracting with the mediapersons after flagging of Mobile Highway Maintenance Van here Tuesday.

Capt. Yadav said that this prestigious Delhi-Rohtak project of six laning would be 63 km long and would have 16 fly over and three railway over bridges. He said that 16 km long bypass would be
constructed at Bahadurgarh and 23 km long bypass would be constructed at Rohtak.

The Minister said that the department had executed a record  number of works under National Highway and Central Road Fund Schemes.

He said that Rs 120 crore had been spent on NABARD works besides a sum of Rs 450 crore had been sanctioned during last year by the Ministry of Rural Development under the PMGSY Scheme. While during the previous regime a sum of Rs 100 crore was incurred within a span of five years
under PMGSY scheme.

Capt. Yadav said that similarly under the National Capital Region Planning Board a sum of Rs 1200 crore had been sanctioned while only a sum of Rs 65 crore were incurred during the previous regime under NCR schemes.

He said that during next two years, a sum of Rs 2000 crore would also be incurred for improving the infrastructure in the State under the Rajiv Gandhi Road Infrastructure scheme. This programme was
launched in the State on October 7, 2007 by the UPA Chairperson,  Sonia Gandhi from Dadri district Bhiwani.

The Minister said that NHAI would incur a sum of Rs 5000 crore in the State for strengthening the road infrastructure and a number of works were in the pipeline. He said that  a sum of Rs 588 crore would be incurred on Gurgaon-Nuh-Alwar road and Hodal-Nuh-Patudi road.

He maintained that a sum of Rs 1500 crore was required in the State during next two year to bring the road into a proper shape.

Yadav said that department had decided to procure these funds from various sources which included a sum of Rs 400 crore from National Capital Region Planning Board, Rs 250 crore from NABARD, Rs
350 crore from PMGSY and the rest money would be spent from the state resources.

He said that the department had also incurred a sum of Rs  400 crore for the construction of various government buildings during last year which was more than the total amount spent on construction of public building during previous regime.

He said that a number of bypasses which included Rewari, Sirsa, Kaithal and Dadri were being constructed. He revealed that Nirman Sadan was being constructed in sector 33, Chandigarh and it wouldbe constructed in two phases, the Chief Architect office would be ready within next three months while the office of PWD B&R would be ready by December end.

Capt. Yadav said that the main aim of starting Mobile Highway Maintenance Van to enable carrying out maintenance work of patch work on Highways besides these vans would be eco-friendly, pollution free, economical and very easy to handle. In the first phase, such 10 mobile
vans would come in operation from Wednesday.

The Commissioner and Secretary PWD B&R, K.K. Jalan said that Panipat flyover was almost ready and the final inspection of the same would be made on April 9.

He said that the testing for the same had already been completed and it would be opened for the public in the last of this month or in the first week of May. He said that a commuter had to pay a sum of Rs 20 as toll tax. He said that Panipat over bridge had been completed 8 months before the scheduled time.

Engineer-in-Chief, Mahesh Kumar said that about 12,000 crore would be spent by the Haryana Government in maintenance, construction and repair of roads and bridges during the tenure of present government. Out of this, a sum of Rs 4500 crore would be incurred by the NHAI and the rest would be incurred by the State Government. He said that a total sum of Rs 5000 crore was required to make six laning road from Dehi to Chandigarh.

On the occasion Chief Engineer, Roads, Mahavir Singh and Chief Engineer, Buildings, G.D. Goel and senior officers of the department were also present.

Source: punjabnewsline.com

DELHI-JAIPUR EXPRESSWAY

The Government had announced 1,000 km of expressway along the corridors of Vadodara-Mumbai (400 km) and six others from which the balance 600 km were to be selected. Delhi-Jaipur was one such corridor. Further decision for Delhi-Jaipur expressway is yet to be taken. However, Delhi-Jaipur section has been approved for six laning and the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) concession for the project has been awarded in February, 2008 under National Highways Development Project (NHDP) Phase-V. This information was given by the Minister of State for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, Shri K.H. Muniyappa in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.  Source: http://pib.nic.in

NHAI likely to issue contracts for 10,000km of highways soon

These contracts will be a part of phase III and phase V of the government’s highway project New Delhi: The United Progressive Alliance government wants to award, in the next few months, contracts to build up to 10,000km of national highways, equal to almost 70% the 14,500km of national highways on which similar contracts have been issued since 2000.Long Road Ahead (Graphic)The decision to award the contracts, worth at least Rs70,000 crore, comes with the general election likely to be held either late this year or early in 2009, although an official at the agency that regulates the highways sector in India claimed that this was because procedural issues related to the contracts had now been “ironed out”.The official at the National Highways Authority of India, or NHAI, added that since 2000, when the country’s National Highways Development Programme or NHDP was launched, the regulator had awarded contracts for the construction of 14,500km of highways worth around Rs80,000 crore and that work on 8,500km had been completed.The contracts that will be issued are part of phase III and phase V of NHDP and involve upgrading existing national highways into four-lane and six-lane ones. Five of the seven phases of NHDP involve upgrading existing highways.The stretches will first be offered to private companies to be developed under the ‘build-operate-transfer’ model where the companies will build the highways, operate them and collect toll for a certain period of time, and transfer them to the government at the end of a certain period of time called the concession period. In case this fails to draw bids, the projects will be offered on the ‘engineering-procurement-construction’ method, where private companies build the roads for a stipulated fee but will not have any stake in the project.“Detailed project reports are being created for these stretches and they are expected to be awarded in the next few months,” said a senior government official, who did not wish to be identified. “There was a lull in award of projects because the policy was being ironed out. But now that things are falling into place, you will see more and more projects on offer,” the official added.For almost a year, NHAI has gone slow in awarding projects.“Till now we were waiting for ironing out procedural issues such as preparation of the new model concession agreement and setting up a two-stage bidding process. Those matters have been taken care of now. And now the only serious impediment in the way of awarding these contracts is clearing of the toll policy,” said an NHAI official.The toll policy is to be cleared by the law ministry and this could take a couple of months, the official added.Analysts however said that while the agency was capable of awarding 8,000km of construction a year, exactly how much would get done depends on a number of factors including a legal challenge to the government’s bid process.The National Highways Builders Federation, an industry body, filed a suit in January against guidelines issued by the finance ministry and ratified by the Prime Minister’s committee on infrastructure that favour bidders who have executed large projects. The norms, reported by Mint on 28 December, cap the number of bidders at six, with some individual exceptions.“There are three factors that could affect the process (of awarding contracts),” said Kuljit Singh, a partner with the transaction advisory services practice of audit and consulting firm Ernst and Young Pvt. Ltd.“Technical detailed project reports usually take a while to prepare. Also, things generally slow down a little in an election year. Also, depending on what the court finds (in the case where the National Highways Builders Federation has challenged NHAI’s bidding norms), the process could be affected,” he added.Source: http://www.livemint.com 

Cartelisation highway leads to Delhi

NEW DELHI: The National Highways Builders Federation, a body representing infrastructure companies, has filed a case in the high court against the ministries of finance and surface transport, and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), stating the recently-announced selection process for infrastructure project bidders is promoting cartelisation within the industry. According to the federation, only bigger players such as GMR, GVK and Reliance Industrial Infrastructure will benefit from the new policies. Fearing cartelisation, smaller players, including Gammon India and Navyug, had lodged an official complaint with the federation. In December 2007, the government had announced a new selection process for infrastructure project bidders. According to the policy, only six bidders with the maximum experience would be eligible to participate in the financial bid stage. However, the policy does not specify the names of the six bidders. Earlier, NHAI had been developing infrastructure projects under another scheme in public-private partnership projects. So far, NHAI had issued a notice inviting tenders that was divided into two parts: technical bid and financial bid. In the technical bid stage, the credibility of the bidder was examined. Those eligible for this round could bid in the financial round. For this, the bidder would either give a grant to the government or give the minimum concession period — the shortest period under which it would return project to the government. “The policies are tilted towards the big players in the industry, whereby the top six companies will always be successful bidders with their kind of experience,” Hammurabi & Solomon senior partner Manoj Kumar told ET. Under the present policy, bidders that do not make it to the top six would automatically be pushed out of the race. “This is unfair and will lead to cartelisation,” sources said. Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com 

Mega six-lane projects in offing

With access-controlled expressways attracting massive investments, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has decided to conduct the feasibility study for more such expressways.

---

  Construction companies eyeing the access controlled, six-lane expressway projects of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) are likely to get investment opportunities for at least four such projects spread over 495 km over the next few months.They are Chandikhol-Jagatpur-Bhubaneswar (70 kilometre length, estimated cost Rs 761 crore), Delhi-Hapur (47 km, Rs 474 crore), the 198-km stretch of Vijayawada-Elluru-Rajamundri (Rs 1,602 crore) and the 180-km stretch on Delhi-Agra highway (Rs 1,918 crore). The feasibility reports for these projects are already completed and the work is likely to be awarded in about six months, said NHAI officials.Toll collection  These projects are for widening the current four-lane highways into six lanes and operating them for certain durations.Companies would have to bid competitively for these projects on a revenue-sharing basis. Thus companies would have to bid on the extent of toll revenue that they are ready to share with the Government if they are allowed to operate the roads.Since these highways are already four-lane stretches, the road operators can start toll collection even during the project construction phase from an ‘appointed date’ (within six months of winning the project), mutually decided by NHAI and the road operator. The toll revenues will be routed to an escrow account.Recently, the NHAI awarded four such mega projects of 882 km length, which are likely to cost an estimated Rs 10,912 crore.From the NHAI perspective, these projects have emerged as money-spinners, with companies willing to foot the entire construction cost and part with two per cent to 48.06 per cent of their revenues in the initial leg of the project.At the end of the concession period, which is about 12 to 15 years duration, the winning firms have agreed to part with 12 per cent to 59 per cent share of toll revenues.More studies  The feasibility reports for another ten projects of similar nature are under preparation. They are: Kishangarh-Udaipur stretch (315 km, Rs 2,205 crore), Udaipur-Ahmedabad (235 km, Rs 1,645 crore), Varanasi-Aurangabad (190 km, Rs 1,330 crore), Nellore-Chilkaluripet (184 km, Rs 1,288 crore), Krishnagiri-Walajapet (148 km, Rs 1,036 crore), Pune-Satara (145 km, Rs 1,015 crore), Ludhiana-Chandigarh (85 km, Rs 595 crore), Belgaum-Dharwad (80 km, Rs 560 crore), Samakhiali-Gandhidham (56 km, Rs 392 crore), Indore-Dewas (55 km, Rs 385 crore).With access controlled expressways attracting massive investments, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has decided to conduct the feasibility study for four such expressways between Delhi-Meerut, Chennai-Bangalore, Vadodara-Mumbai and Dhanbad-Kolkata. This was decided by the Road Ministry officials at a meeting with State Government authorities recently.Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com

4-LANING OF DELHI-DEHRADUN NATIONAL HIGHWAY

Delhi – Dehradun National Highway has been identified for 4 laning under National Highway Development Project (NHDP) Phase III on Build, Operate & Transfer (BOT) basis. Widening to 4 lane work in Meerut-Muzaffarnagar section is in progress and delayed due to initial problem regarding tree cutting & land acquisition and is targeted to be completed by March, 2009. Widening to 4 lane work in Muzaffarnagar-Haridwar section could not be awarded as only single bid was received and the same was cancelled. For re-bidding of this section, updation of Detailed Project Report (DPR) as per new Model Concession Agreement (MCA) as decided by Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC) is in progress.The Haridwar-Dehradun section is passing through Rajaji National Park and clearance is to be obtained from the Central Empowered Committee constituted by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India. After clearance from Central Empowered Committee and PPPAC, bidding process is to be taken up for award of 4 laning work. This information was given by the Minister of State for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, Shri K.H. Muniyappa in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.  Source: http://pib.nic.in 

Nine infrastructure firms in customs net

Gammon India, Punj Lloyd, Era among those being investigated for diverting tax-exempt equipment for pvt work

The central intelligence unit of Indian customs here has launched a series of cases alleging import duty evasion by nine infrastructure firms, including well-known names in the field such as Punj Lloyd Ltd, Era Constructions (India) Ltd and Gammon India Ltd.

The companies are alleged to have diverted construction machinery, imported without customs duty specifically for projects financed by the United Nations, other international aid organizations and approved by the government, to private projects, thus evading customs duty.

The money involved in the case is not large in itself, but the development is significant since these firms are involved in construction of roads for projects approved by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and aided by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and the UN.

Under the Customs Act 1962, equipment imported into India for completion of infrastructure projects financed by the UN or an international organization and approved by the government is exempt from customs duty. The firms had imported machinery, such as piling rigs for construction of roads, and had availed the exemption.

Core of the problem

“We have already booked cases against nine firms and have recovered over Rs12 crore against such illegal import of piling rigs,” said R.K. Mahajan, commissioner (general) of customs, Mumbai.

Apart from Punj Lloyd, Era Constructions and Gammon India, the list of companies provided by the customs includes Afcon Infrastructure Ltd, Ircon International Ltd, Meher Foundation and Civil Engineers Pvt. Ltd, Villayati Ram Mittal Pvt. Ltd (New Delhi), Vijay M Mistry Construction Pvt. Ltd and Maytas Infra Pvt. Ltd.

Each piling rig costs around Rs4 crore and attracts close to Rs1 crore import duty.

“We have also seized piling rigs worth Rs8.25 crore,” Mahajan said. According to him, these companies have evaded customs duty of at least Rs20 crore and the amount could be even more as the investigation is not yet complete.

The infrastructure projects are spread across India. For instance, Punj Lloyd, one of the largest engineering and construction firms engaged in infrastructure projects, had imported piling rigs for its two NHAI-approved projects in Assam, but, according to the customs intelligence unit, these rigs were diverted to New Delhi.

“The company had rented out one of the machines to Delhi Metro Rail Corp. Ltd,” claimed a senior officer of customs who did not wish to be named.

However, the firm admitted it has been “summoned by the central intelligence unit, Mumbai customs, seeking certain clarifications/information pertaining to import of hydraulic operated self-propelled piling rig along with accessories,” imported by it under customs duty exemption scheme.

“Unfortunately, by the time such rig, along with its accessories, touched the boundaries of India it was realized that the said rig etc. could not be optimally utilized at the Guwahati to Nalbari Section of NH31 in Assam project due to non- availability of work… Since the machinery so imported was worth crores of rupees and keeping it idle would not only result in decaying and deterioration but also have an adverse financial impact…the company deemed it prudent to deploy the same to some other appropriate site,” the company wrote in its email.

It admitted that the rig was deployed at the DMRC project “which included construction of roads.” Stating that “by utilizing the…rig at the DMRC project we were in a position to keep the same in running condition,” the company said in its email that the rigs would be used at the Assam project “the moment we receive a green signal…from NHAI.”

“We believe we have acted within the intent and framework of the customs notification and the undertaking and there is no violation of any nature whatsoever and your source on information about the tax evasion on our part is unfounded and baseless,” the email went on to say.

The New Delhi-based Era Constructions, now known as Era Infra Engineering Ltd, was awarded two contracts for construction of roads in Chhattisgarh. However, according to the customs, the machinery was allegedly rerouted to other parts of India. “During the investigation, one of the machines was found at the NTPC Ltd’s site in Dadri in Uttar Pradesh. The other was found in Haryana,” Mahajan said.

Era Infra’s vice-president (commercial) Anil Bhasin said the firm had paid customs duty and interest for the equipment, which was shifted to other nationally important projects of government and public sector undertakings. According to him, the company diverted a few equipment that were not required at the assigned projects to other sites. It actually wanted to return these equipment, but could not do so as there was no provision to return such equipment. “The customs duty for such equipment was paid,” insisted Bhasin.

Gammon India, a Mumbai-based construction firm, according to Mahajan, has violated the rules by diverting machinery to another location for private use. However, he declined to disclose the location where the equipment was transferred and said the case was under investigation.

Gammon India, too, denied being involved in customs duty evasion. “There may be a possibility that some construction companies who have imported equipment under such exemptions could have utilized the same for projects other than for which such exemptions are applicable like, real estate, housing projects, shopping malls, etc. To clarify your doubts, Gammon does not undertake real estate/housing projects which could have been a potential misuse as per your concern. In fact, central intelligence unit had enquired about the utilization from all the importers who had imported equipment under the above exemptions,” said Umakant Tiwari, assistant general manager (procurement), Gammon India, in an email response.

Source: livemint.com

Highways rev into the fast track

Fasten your seat belt and get ready to zoom on Indian highways. The FM has increased the outlay for the National Highway Development Programme from Rs 10,867 crore in last Budget to Rs 12,966 crore this time. With the surface transport ministry just having finalised new model concessionaire agreements and other policies, it is set to put implementation in the higher gear. “We have a big implementation plan for next fiscal that includes six or four laning of highways. The progress will be at a very fast pace now as the Budget gives NHDP a big push,” said Brahm Dutt, secretary, ministry of surface transport and roads. Among the ongoing projects that will get a push — finishing the 5,846-km golden quadrilateral linking Delhi-Mumbai-Chennai-Kolkata that’s already 96.48% complete and making progress on the 7,300-km north-south and east-west corridors that are 23.36% ready. The FM laid emphasis on Northeast and said the existing 180 km would go up to 300 km in 2008-09. Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com 

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