Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation – the nodal agency for the Rs 46,000-crore Mumbai Nagpur Expressway – is in talks with SBI Caps and lenders like State Bank of India (SBI) and IDBI Bank to fund the project, according to senior bankers and government officials. Reportedly, a host of sovereign wealth funds have also evinced interest in part-funding this project.
According to a banker, representatives from SBI caps and SBI met MSRDC officials early last week to discuss the proposal. Confirming the development, Radheshyam Mopalwar, vice-chairman and managing director, MSRDC said that it has sent the proposal to government and is awaiting approval. “SBI caps is proposing to be the arranger and will bring in seven to eight banks on board. They are already in discussions. Now we will soon officially sign up with SBI Caps,” he explained but declined to disclose the names of interested foreign investors.
SBI Caps recently informed MSRDC that foreign investors are interested in the project. Mopalwar said due diligence for the project would be conducted by the likes of KPMG, E&Y, etc. and they would in turn rope in the likes of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, etc.
“We require $4 billion. Our engineering cost is around Rs 27,000 crore and SBI Caps is giving some indicative figures what they can get us from the domestic market but let’s see what the exact amount is,” Mopalwar said.
The Nagpur-Mumbai Expressway, also called the Maharashtra Samruddhi Corridor is the first project in Maharashtra being set up by pooling land rather than by acquiring it. “This is the first effort to get into partnership with the farmers, wherein we are giving them developed land more than even what a real estate developer would offer. Since, the land being offered is along the 24 inter-changes planned along the highway, the value realisation of the land on completion of the project will be exponentially higher,” Mopalwar had earlier said.
The proposed prosperity greenfield corridor between two major cities of Nagpur and Mumbai will be a 710-kilometre long four-lane super fast expressway. It will cut the distance which presently takes up to 16 hours to just 8 hours. The expressway will run through 10 districts, 22 talukas and 345 villages. However, the benefits will spill over to as many as 27 districts since other areas too will be connected to the main road.
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With the current helpline service and a small fleet of regular ambulances being inadequate to provide immediate medical care to accident victims on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, the state agency in-charge has decided to purchase quick-response vehicles for the 95 km long Expressway.
The quick response vehicles will be sophisticated ambulances equipped with emergency medical services that can be used for basic patient care till the accident victim is driven to the nearest hospital.
“We are looking for private companies to supply the vehicles with their centres and operate them for a period of 10 years. The quick response vehicles will be stationed at four different locations that are the nearest to the most accident-prone spots along the length of the expressway. We are yet to decide on the exact locations where the vehicles will be stationed,” said an MSRDC official, who did not wish to be named.
The corporation has earmarked Rs 66 crore for the purchase of the quick-response vehicles. The exact number is also yet to be finalised.
The six-lane Mumbai-Pune Expressway was fully opened for traffic in 2002. Since then, there have been close to 2,000 accidents in which more than 500 people have died. Officials say that most of the accidents are due to over-speeding, tyre bursts and the intensity of the accidents is exacerbated due to human errors such as not fastening seat belts and drivers dozing off at the wheel in the night.
Over the last two years, MSRDC, under whom the expressway was constructed, has decided to take various steps to improve safety levels and monitoring.
Besides deciding on the quick response vehicles, the corporation has also constructed a trauma care centre and a helipad at Ozarde near the Talegaon toll booth and is looking for companies or assistance from the government to start operations. Simultaneously, it is also awaiting a nod from aviation authorities to operate air ambulances from the helipad.
The corporation is planning a similar trauma care centre towards the Mumbai side of the Expressway. Specialised wire ropes, that arrest the movement of wayward vehicles and prevent damage and mishaps, have been set up along a five-km accident-prone stretch of the Expressway, with the plan of installing this system at 15 other stretches where accidents are common.
– Source: indianexpress
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Written by Manasi Phadke | Mumbai |
Protests at the Kamothe toll plaza earlier this month.
SUMMARY
MSRDC proposed to expand Thane creek bridge by further securitising toll collection at Vashi toll booth.
Even as there has been a major controversy surrounding toll collection on the recently refurbished Sion-Panvel highway, another road infrastructure project pending with the state government for approval proposes to levy toll on the same stretch.
The state government is currently looking at a proposal by the NCP-led Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) for the expansion of the Thane creek bridge, which is steadily turning into a major bottleneck, especially after improvements to the 23-km Sion-Panvel highway.
The cash-strapped MSRDC has proposed to expand the Thane creek bridge by further securitising toll collection at the Vashi toll booth or by raising funds through bonds and recovering the finances via an add-on toll at the Vashi booth.
Mumbai Entry Point Ltd is already collecting toll at Vashi near the Thane creek bridge as part of the five entry points of Mumbai where the MSRDC has securitized toll collection for 16 years. Cars currently pay Rs 30 one way as toll, with the amount set to increase to Rs 35 from October this year as per the toll notification. If the MSRDC’s proposal of funding the Thane creek bridge expansion is accepted, the scheduled toll rates could increase or this user fee could continue for a longer period.
S M Ramchandani, joint managing director at the MSRDC, said, “The proposal is currently with the urban development department for its comments. From there, it will go to the planning department, finance and then the state cabinet.”
A senior state government official said the Public Works Department (PWD) had already given its remarks on the proposal saying there should not be any add-on toll, and the project should be funded with a government outlay.
Ramchandani said the issue over toll collection for the improvements to the Sion-Panvel highway would not have a bearing on the Thane creek bridge expansion project as the former entailed setting up of a new toll booth at Kamothe, while the latter would pertain to an existing toll booth.
The NCP-led PWD had undertaken the Sion-Panvel road improvement project on a build, operate, transfer basis with a concession period of 17 years and five months, including the three years of construction. However, following a shrill demand from all major political parties, especially leaders from the ruling Congress and NCP, the government has brought about a stay on this toll and constituted a chief secretary-led committee to study the issue.
Source-http://indianexpress.com/
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Manoj Badgeri, TNN |
THANE: If all goes according to the plan, then the Ghodbunder stretch could find three more flyovers at Anand Nagar, Kasarwadawli and Ovala junctions.The plan apparently is to pave way for outbound traffic towards Borivli. and also make the stretch free for movement of city-traffic.
The proposal will soon be presented to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan for its implementation.
A delegation, including Thane guardian minister Ganesh Naik and MP Dr Sanjeev Naik, met the deputy chief minister to highlight the demands of Thane city last Tuesday. The meet was atended by MMRDA metropolitan commissioner U P S Madaan and MSRDC officials. MSRDC officials said that the proposal was floated by the guardian minister and they are yet to finalise it. “The flyovers will roughly cost around Rs 75 crore. Each of these flyovers would be around 150m long with four lanes (two lanes on each side).
“There is a long standing demand for these flyovers in the area that witnesses severe traffic snarls,” said MP Dr Sanjeev Naik, who was present at the meeting. Presently, there are three flyovers over busy junctions at Manpada, Patlipada and Waghbil. that cut down travel time of outbound traffic considerably as they bypass these choc-a-bloc junctions.
Residents and motorists said the same will ease traffic considerably.
“Once you cross the Majiwada junction, travelling is comfortable. The problem starts only from Anand Nagar to Ovala where traffic has to halt at signals,” said Bhavesh Shah, who travels to Bhayender for work daily.
Dr Dnyandev Daki who stays at Kasarvadavli said the stretch is prone to heavy traffic during the peak hours. “With heavy traffic criss crossing the stretch, local residents are inconvenienced. It takes considerable time to cross the signal and reach home. A flyover here would greatly ease the congestion,” he says.
Rakhi Patil, another resident said an elevated road right from Anand Nagar to Ovala would also greatly help free the stretch for local traffic. “The city is expanding and one needs space to accommodate local vehicles on the roads,” she said.
The long standing proposal was presented by Thane guardian minister Ganesh Naik at a meeting with the deputy chief minister on Tuesday.
“I will follow up with the chief minister for fast implementation of these projects,” said deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar.
Pic for representational purpose. – A Veeramani/DNA
After contemplating the idea of having an elevated road between Bandra and Dahisar, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) now plans to build an elevated rail and road link between Thane and Kalyan.
Speaking todna, SM Ramchandani, the joint managing director of MSRDC, said, “There is a plan to have an elevated road along National Highway 3, that is the Thane-Bhiwandi Bypass Road, for which we have floated bids for consultancy services.”
The consultant is likely to be appointed by the end of this month, who in turn will carry out a feasibility study including a ground survey, cost estimation, financial model, among other things.
In fact, even the Indian Railways has expressed interest in being part of the project by stating that the elevated road corridor can also accommodate a railway line.
The planned elevated link will be around 22-25km long, with entry and exit ramps in between.
The purpose of the project would be to decongest the increasing traffic due to rising population in the far-flung areas of Mumbai.
The state has been focusing on creating new Central Business Districts in the Mumbai metropolitan region, keeping the larger picture of decongestion of Mumbai in mind. However, due to the large cost associated with this elevated rail and road project, it is unlikely that it will be constructed in the near future.
Another official said that the plan is currently in the nascent stage and it should not be considered that the project will take off in the next couple of years.
Source-http://www.dnaindia.com
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Mumbai, Aug 28 (PTI) In a bid to attract more bidders for the ambitious Rs 10,000 crore Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link project connecting Sevri in the northeastern part of the city with Nhava Sheva (JNPT Port area), the Maharashtra government has proposed to cover the revenue risk of the BOT operator.
“We cannot take construction risk, but we can definitely cover the revenue risk of the BOT operator. We plan to offer a long, soft loan to the BOT operator and also compensate the second and third lowest bidders (L2 and L3 bidders) for the cost of bidding,” Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) Commissioner Rahul Asthana has said.
The government started the bidding process in 2004, but it has not been able to make any progress so far.
“This move will encourage more developers, including from overseas, to bid for the ambitious project. We believe that by the third quarter of 2012, we will be able to award the contract,” Asthana said.
MMRDA, the nodal government agency for infrastructure development in the city, is also ready to compensate the BOT operator in case of lower toll collection vis-a-vis projections, he said.
“However, in the case of higher toll collection, the BOT operator needs to share the benefits with MMRDA,” he added.
Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation Limited (MSRDC) — the state road development body that was earlier handling the project — made several attempts to invite bids in 2004 on a BOT basis and in 2008 on a design-build-contract basis.
In June, 2008, separate bids by the Ambani brothers were found unrealistic. Reliance Industries had bid for a 75-year concession period on the project, while the ADA Group quoted only a 10-year concession period. .
Source: http://news.in.msn.com
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Though its four-year rule in Maharashtra is yet to bring a visible change in the state, the Democratic Front (DF) government now wishes to make amends during its final year in office.
For the 2008-09 fiscal, the state will witness large-scale road construction works, senior officials of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) and Public Works Department (PWD) told ET. The two agencies, which have been keeping a low-profile during the DF rule, compared to the 1995-1999 Shiv Sena-BJP government’s period, want to make up for the lost time. “We will have many more projects to showcase before the people,” Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh had said earlier.
Road works amounting to more than Rs 3,000 crore have been initiated by these two agencies across the state. All projects are being undertaken on build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis and the state agencies are collaborating with the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). Such is the project’s volume that the PWD, MSRDC and NHAI would upgrade around 900 km of roads across Maharashtra.
“Most of the roads under construction would be completed in a year or so. We are following a strategy of aggressive development in the road sector, which is one of the main drivers of socio-economic growth. Roads not only connect but also bring investment,” PWD secretary DB Deshpande told ET.
The state is using the Rs 2,000-crore grant sanctioned by the Union government to upgrade the corridors of national highways, which pass through Maharashtra. This allocation has to be used in the 2008-2009 fiscal. The work includes six-laning of the 90-km corridor between Dahisar-Talasari on Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway, the 275-km corridor between Satara-Karad-Kagal, which leads to Bangalore, the 86-km stretch between Igatpuri and Pimpalgaon and construction of an elevated 5.5 km long corridor bypassing the Nashik city.
“Maharashtra has always been regarded as the leading state as far as quality of road is concerned. But good roads have utility beyond the obvious connectivity point of view. The World Bank has estimated that an investment of Rs 20 lakh in road works creates one perpetual job.
We are looking at employment generation and economic potential of roads, which would be give an edge to Maharashtra in these industrially competitive times,” an MSRDC official said. Lot of action is also visible on the state highways. The PWD has got Cabinet approval for the Rs 800-crore four-laning of Shirur-Nagar-Pune-Aurangabad state highway, which is 300-km long. “Work has started on this project and should be completed by May 2009,” Mr Deshpande added.
Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com
A consortium led by Anil Ambani group company Reliance Energy Ltd (REL) has emerged top bidder for the Rs6,000 crore Mumbai trans-harbour link project.Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) today opened financial bids for the 25-km six-lane project. However, no confirmation could be obtained from either MSRDC or REL.
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries group was also in the race for the project to build a trans-habour link between Sewri in Mumbai and Nava-Sheva across the creek in Navi Mumbai.
Sources said the REL-Hyundai combine quoted a lower concession period for the build-operate-transfer (BOT) project of nine years and 11 months as against 75 years quoted by the Mukesh Ambani-controlled Sea King Infrastructure.
Phase-I of the project will comprise a six-lane dual carriageway linking Nhava to Sewri and Phase-II, which is expected to be added in 2015 -18, will consist of a double track rail link that will run parallel to the road link on the north side.
The Rs6,000 crore project is slated for completion in five years. The REL-led consortium can charge Rs250 per heavy vehicle and Rs120 for cars and light commercial vehicles as toll charges.
Source: domain-b.com
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