UP highways stranded as govt fights shy of state support pacts
August 23, 2013
DEEPA JAINANI : LUCKNOW
The Akhilesh Yadav government is agonising over signing state support agreements (SSAs) for highway projects in Uttar Pradesh, driving as many as seven ongoing projects to a funding crisis and pushing another 16 to the back burner. The state feels that a certain clause in the SSAs — that no competing roads be allowed to come up near NHAI highways —takes away its right to plan and execute its own projects. In the absence of SSAs, banks have refused to finance the projects further, commissioned between 2009 and 2011 and currently in various stages of execution.SSAs bind the state government to providing land, environment and mining-related clearances, help in providing utility services and enforcing law and order, besides agreeing to the no-competing roads clause.
In the absence of SSAs, the NHAI is also going slow on as many as 16 new projects in UP. A senior NHAI official said the agency was trying to persuade UP to sign the agreement in its talks with state government officials.
“The matter is being tracked at the highest level. Next week, we are meeting UP chief secretary Jawed Usmani and hope for a positive outcome,” the official said.
NHAI has also informed the government that without the SSA in place, 16 new projects in the state currently in the detailed project report and bidding stages, will not be launched.
“The state has expressed its reservation on the clause barring any competing roads in the vicinity. We are trying to resolve the issue,” the NHA official said.
“The delay on part of the state has led to delays in the completion of the projects and cost overruns. Our concessionaires are being unduly hit. We need to ensure their interests are not harmed,” the official added.
The seven projects include the Moradabad-Bareilly road (IL&FS, 121 km, Rs 1,267 crore,) Etawah-Chakeri section of NH-2 (Oriental Structural Engineers, 160 km, Rs 1,698.50 crore) Bareilly-Sitapur road (Era Infra, 151 km, Rs 1,951.50 crore), Muzafarnagar-Haridwar stretch (Era Sibmost Infra, 80 km, Rs 1,007 crore), Delhi-Agra road (Reliance Infrastructure, 180 km, Rs 2,960 crore), Lucknow-Rae Bareli (Essel Group, 70 km, Rs 800 crore) and Bareli-Allahabad Road (119 km, Rs 290 crore).
An official with the state PWD department which oversees road projects said signing the SSA means giving up the right to plan and build roads. “The NHAI is pushing an umbrella SSA agreement for all of its projects in the state, which, we think, is an infringement on the rights of the state government. We are trying to work out a way where we can sign project-based agreements, as was done earlier, instead on a blanket agreement,” said an official of the PWD department.
Earlier, the state used to give project-specific approvals, but in the last three years, no NHAI project has been approved. The Mayawati government had, in fact, refused to approve even specific projects. While the Akhilesh Yadav government is reviewing the decision, it is yet to come on board regarding the SSA.
Source-http://www.financialexpress.com
NHAI seeks green nod in Ghaziabad for proposed redevelopment of national highways
August 12, 2013
Shivendra Kumar Singh, ET Bureau
(we assembled here to take…..)
GHAZIABAD: The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) conducted a public hearing while seeking clearance from the Pollution Control Board (PCB) for its ambitious project for the proposed redevelopment of national highways-NH 24, NH 58 and NH 235 on August 4.
SK Mishra of NHAI and TU Khan of PCB attended the meeting along with Ghaziabad industrialists. The idea was to invite suggestions and address the grievances of industrialists, farmers and general people.
“We assembled here to take clearance from PCB, and we also wanted to address issues and get suggestions from people,” informed SK Mishra, project manager of NHAI. “The suggestions and problems have been noted and will be conveyed to higher authorities.”
Regional officer of PCB, TU Khan said, “As per the direction of the ministry of environment we conduct a public hearing where people are invited to tell their issues or give suggestions regarding the project. Our role is to forward it to the ministry.” The body is planning to build 152 kilometres of road along the aforementioned highways.
Industrialists demanded that a toll free service lane should be built along the entire stretch of 152 kilometers. On the occasion, general secretary of the RWA and vice president of Ghaziabad Industries Federation SK Maheshwari said, “If NHAI is converting an existing road into a toll road it has to construct a road of equal area alongside as per the rules laid down by the ministry of transport.”
He further added, “The body is making a 14 lane highway. We have appealed to convert it to 16 lanes.” The VP said that though the officials in the NHAI have agreed on the demands in principle, they are waiting for it in writing.
President of the Ghaziabad Industries Association Arun Kumar Sharma and the general secretary of the Sahibabad Industries Association also objected on the levy of the toll.
Maheshwari also suggested that the debris of the construction should be used to fill the roads. He opined, “There is a lot of construction activity taking place here. Instead of disposing them here and there why not make a proper use of it. This will also prevent the use of fertile soil of the land that is often used for filling the road. This is a very effective way and environment friendly too.”
Soruce-http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com
New bridge on Narmada to be ready by 2016: Minister
August 12, 2013
Harish Joshi, TNN |
Addressing media persons later, Fernandes said, “The old Sardar bridge which is damaged will be repaired by October and made operational only for light vehicles. The new proposed bridge near Sardar Bridge will be ready in next three years. The tender process is in a final stage. Earlier, the contract was awarded to Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) who failed to abide the tender conditions, which necessitated inviting of fresh bids.”
Fernandes said that the entire expenditure for the new bridge will now be borne by National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) instead of earlier proposed built operate and transfer (BOT). The tender process for the proposed fly over near Mandva and Jhadeshwar crossing and service road are in a final stage.
The minister along with NHAI team and district officials first visited the damaged Sardar Bridge which is closed for heavy vehicles since five years due to want of repair.
The traffic congestion has become a routine affair on the national highway 8. In July alone, the stretch remained jammed for practically eight days.
Rajendrasinh Rana, district Congress president said “We have appraised Ahmed bhai about the nagging traffic problems and he immediately intervened.”
Cos may shy away from Delhi-Jaipur Eway if land not acquired
August 7, 2013
Press Trust of India |
Unless a major portion of the land is handed over, financial institutions could shy away from funding the project
Unless a major portion of the land is handed over in the construction of the proposed Delhi- Jaipur expressway, financial institutions could shy away from funding the project, Road Minister Oscar Fernandes has said.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and NHAI (National Highways Authority of India) plan to build an expressway, at an estimated cost of Rs 14,000 crore, to the Pink City with the aim of decongesting the journey.
“Delhi-Jaipur Expressway — the work on this project is on, but unless 60% of the land is not handed over, the work cannot start because the financial institution will not lend money,” Fernandes told PTI.
However, the Minister did not elaborate on the matter any further.
He said, “The work is in progress on some stretches but at some places land acquisition is required and on those stretches it cannot be undertaken unless land is acquired.”
The starting point in Delhi for the expressway, in all probability, would be the Indira Gandhi International Airport.
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, in 2006-07, planned to construct 10 expressways but progress could be made only in two, namely Delhi-Jaipur and Delhi-Chandigarh.
However, the Delhi to Chandigarh expressway may now be re-aligned from Delhi to Ludhiana with a link to Chandigarh.
This has been proposed mainly to cater to the heavy traffic on the Delhi-Ludhiana National Highway.
The government had accorded approval for building 1,000 km of expressways in the country in October, 2011.
The government will build seven expressways under the flagship highways building programme NHDP (National Highway Development Programme) VI.
The remaining five projects are – 400 km Vadodara-Mumbai, 66 km Delhi-Meerut, Delhi-Agra, 277 km Bangalore-Chennai and 334 km Kolkata-Dhanbad.
http://www.business-standard.com
13 road projects to be awarded under OMT basis
August 7, 2013
The government has identified 13 road projects of over 1,800 km length that would be build on the operate-maintain-transfer basis during the 12th Plan period (2012-17).
Under OMT (operate-maintain-transfer) concept, six projects or packages measuring 963 km have been awarded and four measuring 720 km are in the bidding stage, an official in the Road Ministry said.
“We have identified 13 more such packages about 1,839 km to be developed under the same (OMT) model,” he said.
The government has identified 60 new locations for development as wayside amenities on highways.
These amenities include parking lots, restaurants, toilets, first-aid centres, telephone booths, petrol pumps, kiosks for sale of miscellaneous items and landscaping.
At present amenities at six locations have functional and work is on at other locations, he said.
Approximately, 3800 km of completed 4-laned highways constructed under various NHDP (National Highway Development Programme) are under maintenance.
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has set a target of covering a length of 8800 km under NHDP next year (2012-13).
The allocation of the Ministry has been enhanced by 14% to Rs 25,360 crore in 2012-13.
Decision allowing substitution of concessionaire in NH projects to help revive road sector
July 31, 2013
In a bid to revive the road sector and also insulate the National Highways Authority of India from heavy financial claims and disputes, the government will now allow harmonious substitution of the concessionaire in ongoing and completed national highway projects awarded under Public Private Partnership on Build-Operate-Transfer mode.
The measure has been initiated taking into account the subdued investment climate in which there is lack of interest on the part of highway developers to bid for projects under Public Private Partnership and also the difficulties being faced by concessionaires in achieving financial closure for many of the projects awarded in the recent past.
The proposal for substitution of the concessionaire in ongoing and completed national highway projects was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs last month.
The decision permitting substitution of the existing concessionaire is applicable to ongoing two-laning and four-laning national highway projects where financial closure has been achieved by the concessionaire but Commercial Operation Date not yet declared by NHAI, Six-laning national highway projects where financial closure has been achieved by the concessionaire but project completion certificate not yet issued by NHAI, completed two-laning/four-laning/six-laning national highway projects awarded under Public Private Partnership on BOT mode and all new national highway projects under Public Private Partnership on BOT mode that are yet to be bid out.
A concessionaire seeking substitution has to make a written representation to the lender’s representative with a copy to NHAI. The lender’s representative, in turn, would ask for approval from NHAI for substitution.
Upon receiving the request from the concessionaire, the lender’s representative would assess as to whether substitution by a nominated company is in the interest of the project. If satisfied, the lender’s representative in consultation with the concessionaire would invite, negotiate and procure offers either by private negotiations or public auctions or tenders for takeover and transfer of the project including the concession to the nominated company.
Selection of the nominated company and valuation of equity is to be done by mutual consent of the lender’s representative and the concessionaire.
The NHAI, upon receiving the proposal of the lender’s representative, would satisfy itself about the credentials of the substituting entity and give its decision regarding the substitution. It may levy a penalty, subject to a maximum of 1 percent of the Total Project Cost, on the concessionaire seeking substitution for any default. No penalty, however, would be levied if the concessionaire had been unable to fulfill his obligations because of delays on NHAI’s part in land acquisition and obtaining statutory and regulatory approvals.
The nominated company would have to form a special purpose vehicle for taking over the project along with the rights and obligations of the concessionaire.
Subsequent to the substitution, in case of completed projects, the leading substituting entity is required to maintain at least 51 percent holding in the project SPV.
Substitution would be permitted only once during the construction period.
Highway developers are opposed to the provision that allows NHAI to levy a penalty on the concessionaire in case of any default.
“It won’t be appropriate to penalize the concessionaire,” said M. Murali, Director General, National Highways Builders Federation.
“In case of completed projects where toll collection has already commenced, it is obvious that the concessionaire fulfilled his obligations. Therefore, there is no cause for levying penalty. Even for projects at the execution stage, a penalty would place additional financial burden on the outgoing concessionaire. It must be kept in mind that many projects under execution have been impacted because of lack of equity. With the penalty clause, it is going to be very difficult to attract investors,” he added.
Source –http://www.projectsmonitor.com
Setting up independent regulator for road sector: Centre to face uphill task
July 31, 2013
With general elections not too far away, the proposal for setting up a regulatory authority for the road sector may not see the light of day any time soon.
In February this year, while presenting the Union Budget for the year 2013-14, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had announced the Centre’s decision of constituting an independent regulatory authority for the road sector.
“The road construction sector has reached a certain level of maturity. But it faces challenges not envisaged earlier, including financial stress, enhanced construction risk and contract management issues that are best addressed by an independent authority. Hence, government has decided to constitute a regulatory authority for the road sector,” Chidambaram said in the Budget speech.
At present, the National Highways Authority of India, responsible for development, management and maintenance of national highways, functions as an executing agency as well as regulator. The dual role is perceived by many as contradictory.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways created a task force in April to expedite the setting up of the regulatory authority for the road sector. The task force released its draft report on the constitution and structuring of the proposed regulator last month.
The draft report suggests setting up the proposed regulator through an ordinance/executive order and then subsequently converting the same into an Act of Parliament for adequate enforceability and acceptance.
The regulatory authority, in addition to facilitating the expeditious implementation of the National Highways Development Project, would address the concerns of all stakeholders including road users.
A source associated with the road sector told Projectmonitor that in the current scenario, with general elections due in less than a year, setting up the regulatory authority could be an uphill task.
“The process of setting up the regulatory authority, which includes seeking the Parliament’s nod and selection of members, would take more than a year after the Cabinet’s approval. The question is whether the government has enough time in its hand,” the source said.
Interestingly, the Planning Commission is opposed to the proposal for setting up an independent regulatory authority for the road sector.
“An independent regulatory authority would dilute the powers of the Planning Commission. Currently, the Model Concession Agreement as well as rules and regulations concerning the sector are drafted by the Planning Commission. Once a regulator is in place, these could very well get challenged,” the source said, adding that the proposal for setting up an independent regulatory authority might not find favor with the NHAI for the same reason.
EPC mode unlikely to boost highway sector
July 31, 2013
The decision of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to adopt the Engineering Procurement and Construction mode for building 20,000 km. two-lane national highways during the 12th Five Year Plan may fail to yield the desired results in the current state of the economy.
India, at present, faces a grave economic crisis due to low growth, high inflation, high fiscal deficit and highest ever trade and current account deficit. No doubt the slowing down of the global economy has had a significant impact on the country but the present economic adversity is largely attributable to domestic factors such as excessive monetary tightening, delays and uncertainty over key economic legislations, project delays on account of stalled environmental clearances and land acquisition hurdles, pause in reforms and lack of willingness to take decisions in the government.
“The decision of the MoRTH to adopt the EPC mode raises the question as to where the funds are going to come from in the prevailing economic scenario,” a source associated with the road sector told Projectmonitor.
“On one hand, the government is trying to cut costs by imposing various restrictive measures, and on the other, it adopts the EPC mode for construction of national highways. In case of PPP projects, even when viability gap funding is sought, the concessionaire meets minimum 60 percent of the cost. At present, the MoRTH is relying heavily on just EPC mode for meeting its targets but this may not be feasible in the long run because of various constraints. The focus, instead, should be on both modes, PPP as well as EPC, for boosting the highway sector,” he added.
The EPC mode is different from the conventional item rate contract. Unlike in item rate contract, which is prone to excessive time and cost over runs, the EPC mode assigns the responsibility of investigation, design and construction to contractors for a lump sum price awarded through competitive bidding with provision for index-based price variation.
In a bid to ensure smooth implementation of national highway projects under the EPC mode, the MoRTH, of late, has initiated a number of measures. Included among them is the decision to conduct review meetings for national highway works in respective states. Earlier, the review meetings with officials of state Public Works Departments were held in New Delhi. Under the new initiative, a month-wise schedule for holding the review meetings, starting from June 12th, 2013, has been worked out for the current year. The concerned Chief Engineers are required to convene review meetings for national highways and Central Road Fund works in states under their jurisdiction in accordance with the schedule.
Plans have also been drawn to organize training programmes covering the EPC mode of construction for state PWD officials, concerned officials in National Highways Authority of India and the MoRTH, consultants and contractors.
Source-http://www.projectsmonitor.com
Exit norms relaxed for road developers
July 30, 2013
MAMUNI DAS
A long-pending proposal from highway developers seeking a relaxation of the exit clause — which allows an investor with deeper pockets to replace a promoter facing financial stress — has now been approved.
The move is likely to increase the M&A activity in the road sector.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved this proposal. The substitution of developers can be done with the approval of NHAI, lender and private developer. At present, there are limits on the extent to which a developer can exit.
“We hope, with this, a number of stalled (road) projects, can now move forward,” Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said.
Earlier, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) Chairman R.P. Singh had said that banks should be allowed to replace a cash-strapped developer with a financially healthier substitute rather than declare the project a non-performing asset on its balance sheet.
This proposal had been supported by the Highways Ministry as well, which had felt that any developer unable to work on a highway development project should be allowed to exit as long as another firm is willing to take its place. The only condition for this change will be that the replacement must meet the same technical qualifications.
Also, in case the original project developer had defaulted in earlier obligations, then the NHAI can put a penalty on the original developer.
The new highway
July 30, 2013
The NHAI must revert to the older model of funding projects and leaving construction to private players.
The Government’s move to allow developers of highways under the public-private-partnership (PPP) route the leeway to exit from projects immediately after they are commissioned will help infuse some liquidity into a sector where companies are struggling to raise funds. The majority of highway developers in India are contractors whose core strengths are in engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), and not in assuming the financial risks of operating and collecting toll from completed projects over a 20-30 year concession period. In contrast, are those investors with sufficient resources — from private equity firms to sovereign wealth funds — wanting to acquire road projects, but unwilling to take the risks of construction. By permitting developers to shed their entire equity, even in projects awarded on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis right after commissioning, the Government has essentially facilitated the sharing of risks — between those in a position to bear them until construction is complete and others only interested in managing the operational assets. In other words, a perfect fit.
The above ‘exit’ flexibility should, in fact, have been granted much earlier, ever since PPPs were made the preferred mode of executing highway projects. The shift to PPPs led to a situation where erstwhile EPC contractors, who undertook work on projects directly funded and bidded out by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), suddenly became full-fledged BOT developers. This was a job they were really not equipped for, made worse by onerous restrictions that forced them to stay invested right through the concession period of projects. In a scenario of high interest rates and tightening of lending norms by banks, the inability to divest stakes even in existing projects only compounded the liquidity problems of developers. The ultimate casualty here was the highway programme. With developers having no money to bid for new projects, the NHAI could award just 1,116 km of roads under PPP in 2012-13 as against 6,491 km the previous year.
Exiting from completed projects may help generate the much-needed liquidity for developers. But it will still not be enough to restore the kind of investor interest in highway development witnessed until a couple of years ago. The fact that a large number of PPP projects bidded out in 2011-12 are yet to achieve financial closure highlights the seriousness of the crisis in the sector. For the time being, the Government has little option but to go back to the older EPC model where the NHAI funded the projects and handed out construction contracts to private players. If nothing else, it will keep the highway building programme going and inject liquidity amongst contractors who may be enthused to bid for PPP/BOT projects as and when the overall economic situation improves. The NHAI must be made to speed up its process of awarding EPC contracts and the Government should untangle the regulatory thicket — particularly, in the environmental sphere — coming in the way of project implementation.