BHUBANESWAR: After several of the city roads got damaged in the rain that has continued non-stop over the past week, experts have suggested building of concrete roads that can survive similar downpours.

A single spell of rain is enough to create potholes on the roads. If some of the roads, which are located in low-lying areas and are prone to waterlogging, can be concretized, there would be no need for frequent repairs, feel experts.

NEW DELHI: The National Highways Authority of India board has approved engineering and construction firm L&T’s plans to set up a business trust in Singapore and list six toll road projects on theSingapore stock exchange that could raise up to $1 billion.The business trust will be set by the firm’s subsidiary L&T Infra Development Projects Ltd (IDPL) and the parent company can offload its equity in these six road projects to the trust, persons familiar with the matter told ET.The trust will have to form a special purpose vehicle, which will float or issue units to investors on these assets through an initial public offer. The trust will then issue debt instruments in the form of debentures to the SPVs undertaking these highway projects, said the persons, who did not wish to be named.

This will be implemented as a policy measure so that other developers looking at a similar route can follow suit, they said.

“Infrastructure stocks on the Indian stock market are not doing too well whereas the Singapore stock market is and they have mature investors who can handle long-term investments. While this will be subject to many factors including the Singapore stock exchange allowing it, if it is successful it will be a positive development since other developers can use it as an additional source of funding for their projects,” said Abhaya Agarwal, partner-infrastructure and PPP at consulting firm EY.

The six road projects include the Rs 1370 crore Krishnagiri-Walajahpet project in Tamil Nadu which is under implementation and five other completed projects including the Vadodara-Bharuch, Palanpur-Swaroopganj, Krishnagiri-Thopur projects and the Panipat elevated corridor.

The business trust model is similar to REIT or real estate investment trust model which offers revenue-generating real estate to investors.

A spokesperson of L&T told ET, “The company does not comment on market speculation.” L&T IDPL did not respond to the questionnaire sent by ET.

The NHAI board’s approval is subject to certain checks and balances which it has said the company must follow including that the company must get a legal opinion on the matter and the interest rate at which the trust lends to the SPVs must not be more than the interest rate it pays to its current lenders. In addition, the foreign exchange risk must be borne by the trust, it has specified.

“Road projects are public assets and in any case of equity transfer of more than 15%, it has to be approved by NHAI. Also, refinancing or changes in debt structure have also to be approved by us,” said an official familiar with the matter.

Source-http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

The Public Works Department (PWD) will spend Rs. 1,000 crore to repair rain-damaged State highways and major district roads in the State.

Road repairs will be taken up from next month, Public Works Minister H.C. Mahadevappa told presspersons in Bangalore on Tuesday.

Action plan

He said that officials are preparing an action plan and they will submit it to the Finance Department for release of funds. About 1,000 km of main district roads and 177 km of State highways have suffered damage, he said.

The Minister said that road repair work would be completed by the end of February next year. The department had taken up repair work on 3,000 km of State highways in the first phase and work was nearing completion. Roads were damaged on account of heavy rain during the monsoon.

To a question, the Minister said that the government had cleared arrears of Rs. 250 crore owing to road and building contractors and another Rs. 850 crore would be paid soon.

Workshop

The Indian Road Congress and the Public Works Department have decided to hold a two-day regional workshop on promoting usage of new technologies, material, techniques and equipment in road construction, here from Wednesday.

The workshop will be held at Palace Grounds (Gayatri Vihar) and Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Oscar Fernandes will release a souvenir. Mr. Mahadevappa will preside over the event. President of Indian Roads Congress Kandasamy and Secretary-General Vishu Shankar Prasad will participate.

Experts will shed light on evolving technologies in the construction of roads and bridges. Engineers and experts will deliver lectures on ‘Retro-reflective material for road safety signage’ and ‘Processed steel slag as alternate aggregate for flexible pavements’ and other related issues.

Daniel Berger, Director, Quality, Research and Development, Orafol Europe GmbH, Ireland, and other experts had been invited to the workshop, Mr. Mahadevappa said.

There would be an exhibition on the usage of manufacturing and slag sand in civil construction, application of new technologies, material, techniques and equipment and application of nanotechnology in civil constructions, he added.

Source-http://www.thehindu.com

China is already working on ambitious highway-building projects linking coastal Myanmar to Yunnan and it makes great sense to link the highway from India with this. That way, trade would open up between eastern India all the way to landlocked southern China, Myanmar and Thailand. India should also negotiate with Bangladesh for this highway to pass through its territory.

That way, instead of terminating traffic and commerce in the northeast, the highway could run all the way to Kolkata. Once there, it would be easy to link the East-West Corridor with the India-Myanmar-China-Thailand highway.

Immense trade potential could open up if, say, Pune is connected to Kunming via one long, continuous highway. Along the way, goods can also be dropped off in markets in Bangladesh, the north-east, Myanmar and on to Thailand.

Southern Asia is among the world’s least-integrated regions. It was not always thus. Before Partition, south and south-east Asia was a closely networked hub of commerce and services. In the 1930s, the British built a road between Burma and southern China.

During WWII, American general Joe Stilwell built another one from Ledo in Assam to Kunming, to supply Chinese fighting the Japanese. The Stilwell road, too, should be revived, repaired and used extensively to boost trade and commerce between India, China and south-east Asia.

KOLKATA: After an aborted attempt to repair the city’s roads before the Pujas, the civic body is gearing up to take up the job next week.

Earlier, mayor Sovan Chatterjee had asked the Kolkata Muncicipal Corporation (KMC) roads department officials to undertake the repair drive by September 29. The deadline was set after consultation with urban development minister Firhad Hakim. Though the work had started on a war footing after both the mayor and the minister surveyed the worst stretches, the repairs could not be completed due to frequent rain before the Pujas.

TAWANG: A proposed highway through the historic Stillwell road connecting Arunchal Pradesh with South East Asian countries is being pursued with the Centre, Chief MinisterNabam Tuki said today.

Speaking at the inaugural function of the second edition of three-day International Tourism Mart, the Chief Minister said the highway will herald growth of international trade and tourism and be a harbinger of bilateral relations among the nations of South East Asia and North East India.