Infrastructure and Energy Sector

[Indx TechStyle]

Work on Ken-Betwa river linking project to start this year

The Ken-Betwa river linking project envisages construction of a dam across river Ken in Chhatarpur district in Madhya Pradesh to irrigate 6.35 lakh hectares of land, serve drinking water in Bundelkhand region and generate 78 MW of hydropower.

NEW DELHI: The work on phase I of Ken-Betwa river linking project will begin by the middle of this year and it be completed in a time-bound manner, Union Minister Vijay Goel said today.

Minister of State for Water Resources Goel made the comments while chairing 12th meeting of special committee for inter-linking river here, an official statement said.

Goel also reiterated that the ministry had identified five priority links for inter-liking rivers.

The committee reviewed the follow up action on decisions taken during its last meeting, held on November 9.

Besides Ken-Betwa, the panel discussed various issues relating to Damanganga-Pinjal, Par-Tapi-Narmada Link Projects, Mahanadi-Godavari, surplus water in river basin for inter-linking of rivers and restructuring of National Water Development Agency.

Union Cabinet had set up the special committee in its meeting held on July 24, 2014 to discuss and expedite inter-linking projects by evolving consensus.

The Ken-Betwa river linking project envisages construction of a dam across river Ken in Chhatarpur district in Madhya Pradesh to irrigate 6.35 lakh hectares of land, serve drinking water in Bundelkhand region and generate 78 MW of hydropower.

Of this, 3.69 lakh hectares will be covered in Madhya Pradesh's Chattarpur, Tikamgarh and Panna districts. The remaining 2.65 lakh hectares falls in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh's Mahoba, Banda and Jhansi districts.

A total of 10 villages consisting of 1,585 families are likely to be affected by this project. About 9,000 hectares would be submerged, out of which 4,141 hectares are forestland in Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh.

The project comprises two powerhouses of 2x30 MW and 3x6 MW each, two tunnels of 1.9 km long at upper level, 1.1 km long tunnel at lower level and a 221 km long Ken-Betwa link canal, proposed on the left bank of the river.

The project was first mooted in the early 1980s but was actively taken up by the previous NDA government under then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It was then challenged in the Supreme Court, which finally gave the nod in 2013.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

At 9.2 km, country's longest tunnel to be opened for traffic in J&K this month

NEW DELHI: The country's longest tunnel connecting Chenani and Nashri in Jammu & Kashmir will be opened for traffic later this month.

Touted as the "Tunnel of Hope" in Kashmir, the structure ensuring all-weather connectivity will reduce the distance between Jammu and Kashmir by 38km.

Sources in the road transport and highways ministry said the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has indicated that PM Narendra Modi is likely to inaugurate the project.Top police officers of Jammu & Kashmir reportedly reviewed security at the venue and took stock of the arrangements on Wednesday.

Work for the 9.2km tunnel started in May 2011and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had laid the founda tion stone. It was originally scheduled for completion by August last year.

"This project along with the other tunnel between Quazigund and Banihal on this corridor will be a big boost to state's economy . These two projects will provide all-weather connectivity between Jammu and Kashmir and reduce the distance by at least 50km, saving at least twoand-half-hours journey ," an NHAI official said. The 8.45km Quazigund-Banihal tunnel is scheduled for completion by March 2018.

The Chennai-Nashri con nectivity will be a single tunnel with 9.3 metre width and an escape tunnel for emergency while Quazigund-Banihal stretch will have twin tubes with a width of seven metres each.

At present, it takes about 10-11hours to go from one city to the other under normal weather conditions. The two tunnels will also end traffic jam on NH-1A due to heavy snowfall during winters and landslides in monsoons.

While the all-weather tunnels will help traders transport fruits produced from this region to other parts of the country , it will also ensure seamless supply of essential items to the valley even during winter and rainy season. This will also boost food processing industry in the region and generate jobs for locals.

At present, between October and January , Kashmir supplies at least 200 truckloads of apple every day to the rest of the country. The supply of pomegranates and other fruits is also significant from this region. It is widely believed that poor connectivity of Kashmir with the rest of the country has been a major impediment in the growth of the food processing industry in the state.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

6604 km of national highway constructed till February

Gadkari has earlier said that construction could pick up the rate of 30 km per day by March this year.

MUMBAI: A total of 6604 km of national highway has been constructed till February, 2017 out of the target of 15,000 km, minister of state for road transport and highways, P Radhakrishnan said in a written reply to a question raised in the Lok Sabha today.

“The slow speed of construction of National Highways (NHs is mainly due to land acquisition, utility shifting, non-availability of soil/aggregates, poor performance of contractors, environment/ forest/wildlife clearance, ROB & RUB issue with railways, public agitation for additional facilities, arbitration/contractual disputes with contractors etc.,” Radhakrishnan said.

The road, transport and highway ministry led by Nitin Gadkari has been criticised in the past for being slow in meeting the target for construction. The rate of construction had gathered some steam at the end of January, 2017. It stood at 18.23 km/day compared with an average of 16.6 km/day in the 2015-16 fiscal.

Gadkari has earlier said that construction could pick up the rate of 30 km per day by March this year.

“The ministry has empaneled National Level Project Monitors for monitoring of critical and languishing National Highways projects all over the country,” Radhakrishnan said.

The target of 15,000 km of highways, a 50% increase from the target set for 2016-17, was adopted by the government in February, for this financial year.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Delhi-Jaipur expressway to cost Rs 18,000 crore: Nitin Gadkari

Agra-Delhi is also considered express highway but it is not as per the standard. After Mumbai-Pune express highway, Delhi-Jaipur will be the second express highway in the country, said Nitin Gadkari.

JAIPUR: The Delhi-Jaipur express highway would be built at a cost of Rs 18,000 crore, Union Road Minister Nitin Gadkari said today.

The advanced cement-concrete 225-km express highway will be the second in the country after Mumbai-Pune express highway and will pave the way for reaching Delhi from Jaipur in just one-and-a-half hour at 125 km/hour speed, the minister said after laying the foundation of road construction works in Dausa district today.

"Agra-Delhi is also considered express highway but it is not as per the standard. After Mumbai-Pune express highway, Delhi-Jaipur will be the second express highway in the country," he said.

He further said that the Haryana government has given alignment permission and if Rajasthan help in land acquisition and road alignment permission, the work can commence this year itself.

The Union minister said that Mumbai-Baroda express highway is also in the plan.

On the long-pending Ring-Road construction work in Jaipur, Gadkari said that a high-level meeting with all the stakeholders was held today and it has been decided that NHAI would complete the work in 15 months.

Gadkari said that in last three years, road construction work of Rs 50,000 crore has been done in the state and another Rs 50,000 crore would be spent in the next two years.

"We need industries to create employment for youths. Industrialists demand water, power and road. Without roads we cannot expect development. Rajasthan is progressing fast. We want industrialists to come, give employment to youths and make Rajasthan and its people prosper," Gadkari said.

The Union minister announced various road construction works in the state.

Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said, "We will take 36 castes of the state together for the development of state. With small efforts, we will make the state a better place to live. We hope that promises that Union minister has made will realise fast," Raje said.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Gurgaon to Jaipur in 90 mins?

Gadkari said the government will notify different speed limits for such super expressways.

JAIPUR/NEW DELHI: Highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday promised that work will start this year on a super expresswaybetween Jaipur and Delhi that will reduce travel time between the outskirts of Gurgaon and the outer periphery of the Pink City to 90 minutes. Gadkari made this announcement at a public function in Dausa, Rajasthan.

The distance between Delhi and Jaipur is 260 km. The proposed super expressway, between the outskirts of Gurgaon and Jaipur, will cover 200 km. It will be impossible to cover this distance in 90 minutes sticking to the notified speed limit, which is 100 kmph for expressways in India (for highways it's 90). Gadkari said the government will notify different speed limits for such super expressways.

At present, commuting between Delhi and Jaipur takes around 5-6 hours.

Urging Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje to start the process of land acquisition for the project, Gadkari said: “The Haryana government has cleared the alignment. I request Rajeji to complete land acquisition and give approval for that alignment so that we can start the work this year."

Gadkari told TOI in Delhi that the present speed limit was fixed at 100 kmph as the country has very few expressways. "We will revise the maximum speed limit. The proposed expressway will take off from the outskirts of Gurgaon and join Jaipur Ring Road (on the outer periphery of the city). We expect this total stretch to be around 200 km.Since it will be access controlled, one can maintain high speed all along the expressway," he said. National Highway Authority of India offi cials said the Delhi-Jaipur expressway can be developed with the design speed of 160-165 kmph, which is being followed for the proposed Mumbai-Vadodara expressway.

This is not the first time when Gadkari has talked of increasing speed limit on expressways. Addressing industry leaders in Gurgaon in March last year, he had said the Centre would enhance the present speed limit and people would be able to drive at 130-140 kmph on expressways.

The ambitious Delhi-Jaipur expressway project was first conceived during UPAII, but it made no headway. The NDA government has revived the project.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

UP gets another AMRUT gift from Modi: Projects worth Rs 4,239 crore for urban development

In Maharashtra, a total investment of Rs 6,759 crore will be made for improvement of basic urban infrastructure during 2015-20 with central assistance of Rs 3,534 crore.

NEW DELHI: The Centre has approved projects worth Rs 4,239 crore for improving urban infrastructure during next the three years in Uttar Pradesh under AMRUTscheme.

The latest approvals take total expenditure in the state to Rs 11,421 crore, the highest among all states, under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) with a central assistance of Rs 4,922 crore for the five-year mission period.

AMRUT aims to provide drinking water, sewerage and drainage networks and non-motorised transport, among others, in the selected 500 cities across the country.

"Ministry of Urban Development has approved AMRUT action plans of Uttar Pradesh for the next three years - 2017-20 - in one go involving an expenditure of Rs 4,239 crore," an official release said.

The ministry has approved an investment of Rs 703 crore for Telangana under the scheme over the next three financial years, taking the total expenditure to Rs 1,673 crore during the mission period. The Centre will provide Rs 832 crore for the projects.

For Tamil Nadu, an investment of Rs 4,154 crore for 2017-20 has been approved, taking the total mission investments to Rs 11,237 crore with central assistance of Rs 4,756 crore for the five-year period.

In Maharashtra, a total investment of Rs 6,759 crore will be made for improvement of basic urban infrastructure during 2015-20 with central assistance of Rs 3,534 crore.

An investment of Rs 3,280 crore has been approved for the state for 2017-20.

Haryana will spend a total of Rs 2,544 crore in improving basic urban infrastructure, including Rs 1,582 crore during 2017-20. The state will get a total central assistance of Rs 764 crore under the scheme.

In Chattisgarh, a total investment of Rs 2,192 crore will be incurred during the mission period, including Rs 879 crore during 2017-20, with a total central assistance of Rs 1,009 crore during the five year period.

Manipur will invest Rs 180 crore in improving infrastructure in the lone mission city of Imphal. The amount includes Rs 69 crore over the next three years. The state gets a total central assistance of Rs 162 crore during 2015-20.

Under AMRUT, Sikkim will invest Rs 39 crore in the lone mission city of Gangtok during 2015-20 with central assistance of Rs 36 crore. The state got approval for Rs 13 crore investment for next three years.

Under AMRUT, Ministry of Urban Development bears 50 per cent of project costs for cities with a population of below 10 lakhs each and one-third of project costs for those with a population of above 10 lakhs each.

Central assistance is of the order of 90 per cent for North-East and hilly states and 100 per cent in case of Union Territories.

The ministry has made a provision of Rs 50,000 crore as central assistance for the five-year mission period.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Government launches new scheme for developing export-linked infrastructure

Launched by Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the TIES seeks to bridge the infrastructure gap and provide forward and backward linkages to units engaged in trade activities. (Representative image)

NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday unveiled a new scheme that will finance infrastructure creation to boost exports. The Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme, which will be implemented from April 1, will have budgetary allocation of Rs 600 crore for three years with annual outlay of Rs 200 crore.

The scheme will provide assistance for setting up and upgrade of infrastructure projects with “overwhelming export linkages” such as border haats, land customs stations, quality testing and certification labs, cold chains, trade promotion centres, dry ports, export warehousing and packaging, special economic zones, ports and airports.

“It is going to be on participative basis and the focus is not just to create infrastructure and leave it but to make sure it is professionally run and sustained,” said commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman at the launch.

The scheme will help meet infrastructure funding needs of states after an earlier scheme, Assistance to States for Creating Infrastructure for Development and Growth of Exports, was stopped.

She said the ministry has sought a clear definition and linkage with export industries under this scheme. It will provide grant-in-aid up to half of equity being put in by implementing agencies, with a ceiling of Rs 20 crore per project and 5% of the grant approved will be used for appraisal, review and monitoring.

Central and state government agencies, export promotion councils, commodities boards and apex trade bodies will be eligible for financial support under the scheme and will be known as implementing agencies. Proposals of these implementing agencies for funding will be considered by an empowered committee chaired by the commerce secretary.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Maharashtra to set up infra SPV to raise Rs 1 lakh crore

Given the constraints in raising such a huge amount, there is a need to look at alternative methods to generate funds for infrastructure development, said Sudhir Mungantiwar.

MUMBAI: Envisaging an investment of Rs 1 lakh crore in the next five years in the infrastructure sector, the Maharashtra government today proposed to set up a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to raise the fund.

The SPV, 'Mahainfra', was announced by Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar while presenting the budget in the assembly today.

Mungantiwar said infrastructure development is one of the top priorities of the BJP-led government.

"However, infrastructure requires a large sum of capital. In the next five years, we envisage that about Rs 1 lakh crore will be required to finance key projects," he said.

Given the constraints in raising such a huge amount, there is a need to look at alternative methods to generate funds for infrastructure development, he added.

'Mahainfra' would help raise Rs 1 lakh crore. The SPV is proposed to act as a single window for aggregating lands, held by various departments, for securitisation. Lands which are neither in use nor expected to be developed by the holding department for 10 years will be used for projects, he said.

The SPV would be a need-based financing, fund raising and advisory agency. The government is exploring the possibility of converting Mahainfra into a non-banking financial company on lines of Gujarat State Financial Services Ltd, he added.

 

[abingdonboy]

Watch out for this (May 3-5 2017), another game changing project in the making. Modi and his team are in a hurry, what I like to see. WTF were UPA doing for 10+ years? The past 2-3 years feel like a breath of fresh air, new ideas and transformational steps are being taken left and right in all sectors. Guess this is what happens when you cast aside appeasement, are free from coalition considerations and have a vision.

Keep your put pressed to the floor Modi ji, don't let up, there are decades of intertia and rot that need to be expelled.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

$700 Billions annual expenditure, most gains to gone to infrastructure, so many good news's these days. @AbRaj
By ET
Cost to fall with integrated transport & logistics policy: Nitin Gadkari

"We’ll develop trunk infrastructure on our own and railways will be responsible for building last-mile rail routes."
The government will launch an integrated transport and logistics policy aimed at increasing the average freight speed on highways to 50 km per hour and cutting costs by half, road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari has said.

“The plan includes construction of 50 economic corridors, 35 logistics parks and 10 intermodal stations at a cost of Rs 5 lakh crore,” Gadkari told ET in an interview. Edited excerpts:

Road construction target is set to hit a record of 8,000 km this fiscal. What are your targets for the next financial year?
We are now coming out with an integrated transport and logistics framework which aims at increasing the average speed of freight transportation on the highways network from the current speed of 20-25 km per hour to 40-50 km per hour and to reduce the logistics cost by almost half.


In the budget speech, the finance minister had said that a specific programme for the development of multimodal logistics parks, together with multimodal transport facilities, will be drawn up and implemented.

The plan, being spearheaded by my ministry, will bring together road, rail, air and urban planning to provide seamless movement of freight traffic across states.


What all does this plan involve and how’s it going to be funded?
It involves construction of 50 economic corridors across the country and setting up of 35 logistics parks at the existing freight clusters at a cost of Rs 5 lakh crore. This will be the largest road construction programme ever undertaken by any government.

India is a growing economy and the high cost of logistics, currently at 14 per cent of GDP, is having a negative effect.

We’ll launch the integrated transport and logistics framework on Wednesday which will be followed by an inter-ministerial logistics summit in New Delhi from May 3 to 5 where the action plan will be finalised.

As far as the funding part of economic corridors is concerned, we’ll do it through our budgetary allocation, raising NHAI bonds and also leasing out existing national highways to pension funds for collection of toll and operations at an upfront fee.

We could easily do highway works worth Rs 2 lakh crore on our own. We’ll also be awarding some projects on the hybrid annuity model. For logistics parks, we are going to tie up with state governments that will provide land.

Also Read: BJP will prove majority in Goa: Nitin Gadkari

We’ll develop trunk infrastructure on our own and railways will be responsible for building last-mile rail routes. Private players will be brought in for development and operations at logistics parks.

How will the integrated transport and logistics policy reduce the congestion on highways and the cost for transporters?
The policy is aimed at transforming India’s logistics from a point-to-point model to a hub-and-spoke model to achieve reduction in logistics costs.

To start with, we’ll have 50 economic corridors which have already been identified and will be awarded for construction on both government-funded and PPP (public private participation) model from April.

Most of these corridors are national highway expansion plans where two-lane highways will be expanded to six lanes. The move would increase the average distances covered by the freight vehicles from the existing 200-250 km to 350 km.

Then we have identified 35 clusters accounting for 50 per cent of the total freight movement in the country for logistics parks development.

We’ll form SPVs (special purpose vehicles) with state governments where the state will provide land on the outer periphery of urban centres and the Centre will provide trunk infrastructure such as feeder highways and rail connectivity.

The private players will be invited to develop and maintain the logistics parks. The availability of such multimodal freight hubs will straightaway cut transport costs by 20 per cent.

Also, urban transportation will be an integral part of this framework where we need to bring in new technologies such as Metrino and Hyperloop to decongest our roads. Soon, I am going to make a presentation to the Prime Minister on the future of urban transportation technologies.

You’ve been pushing for electric cars ata mass scale and invited Tesla to set up a manufacturing base in India. What’s the progress on that?
Last week I had a meeting with finance minister Arun Jaitley where I sought his support to offer subsidies for people buying electric cars. I also want that e-taxis should be allowed to run without any commercial permits as needed in the case of diesel or CNG taxis.

This will immediately improve the sales of e-vehicles as the hassle of getting permits will be removed, hence reducing costs. I am in talks with several state governments for that.

To start with, a cab aggregator is launching 300 e-taxis in Nagpur. I am providing the company full infrastructure support in terms of charging points. This will be the first large-scale trial of e-taxis in the country.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

NITI to lend support in development of 10 big infrastructure projects

Infrastructure is a top priority for the government and various efforts are already on to attract more investments into the sector, especially from foreign players.

NEW DELHI: NITI Aayog will prepare a list of 10 big infrastructure projects that can be developed under the public private partnership (PPP) mode.

The proposal to short list 10 big projects on priority basis was discussed during a meeting of NITI Aayog officials and representatives from various states on March 7, a senior government official said.

Infrastructure is a top priority for the government and various efforts are already on to attract more investments into the sector, especially from foreign players.

The official said NITI Aayog would identify "ten big infrastructure projects" across sectors which can be developed through the PPP mode.

The list would be prepared after taking into consideration the details of such big projects that would be provided by the states in the coming weeks, he added.

Further, he said that having a list of big projects would help in extending all possible "developmental support" to the states concerned on a priority basis.

According to the official, the specific sectors where such projects can be pursued would be decided after collating information from the states.

"NITI Aayog will provide its expertise in advising the states on developing infrastructure, especially big projects. This will also help in streamlining the process and ensure timely completion of big projects," the official said.

The government has allocated Rs 3.95 lakh crore for infrastructure development in the Union Budget 2017-18.

In his Budget speech, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said the magnitude of investment in the space is bound to spur growth.

Infrastructure is the thrust area of the government for efficiency, productivity and quality of life and approach was to spend more on infrastructure development, he had said in February.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Marine Drive 2.0 coming up in the eastern part of Mumbai

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Shipping

21-March-2017 17:28 IST

IWAI's New Ro-Ro Terminal at Assam to Boost Cargo and Passenger Transport in North East
The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) carried out successful berthing operation of a vessel at its newly constructed permanent state-of-the-art Roll-on Roll-off (Ro-Ro) terminal built at a cost of Rs.46 crore on Brahmaputra river (National Waterway-2) in Assam's Dhubri district on March 4, 2017.

IWAI's initiative opens a new gate of opportunities in the region by paving the way for drastically bridging the distance and cost for cargo and passenger movement between Dhubri and Hatsingimari which shares its border with Meghalaya.

The Ro-Ro vessel, MV Gopinath Bordoloi which was flagged off from Haldia port (West Bengal) via the India-Bangladesh Protocol Route, successfully carried its first load from Dhubri terminal. Built at a cost of approximately Rs.10 crore, MV Gopinath Bordoloi is 46.50 metre long and 13.30 metre wide with a draft of 1.50 metre. It has a capacity to transport eight trucks and 200 passengers at a time.

The IWAI vessel will be deployed for Ro-Ro service between Dhubri and Hatsingimari having a total waterway length of 29 KM. This new service will avoid the circuitous route of 220 KM to reach Meghalaya on the opposite side. Dhubri is one of the business hubs of Assam which is connected to Meghalaya presently through a road bridge over river Brahmaputra at Jogighopa. IWAI is also exploring other sites in North East to facilitate quick movement of goods and passengers across the rivers, effectively acting as floating bridges.

…​

UM/AC

Release ID: 159642

 

[Indx TechStyle]

CCEA approves North east highway projects, widening of Mumbai harbour channel

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its nod to the project on Wednesday.

NEW DELHI: The government has given its approval for development of 403 kms of National Highways in Meghalaya and Mizoram. Out of 403 km, approximately 52 kms will be in Meghalaya and 351 km in Mizoram. The project will be executed on the government funded mode.

The estimated cost is Rs 6,721 crore including cost of land acquisition, resettlement and other pre-construction activities. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its nod to the project on Wednesday.

The projects will be taken up for implementation during the financial year 2017-18. The civil works are expected to be completed by 2021 and maintenance works are expected to be completed by 2025.

"The projects will encourage sub-regional socio-economic development by improvement of infrastructure in Meghalaya and Mizoram. It will also enhance the connectivity with inter-state roads and International Borders," a government release said.

The work for development to two lane standards are under scheme North East Road Network Connectivity Project Phase I with loan assistance of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The CCEA also approved project deepening and widening of Mumbai Harbour Channel and JN Port Channel. The cost of the project will be Rs.2029 crore. The entire project cost will be funded through internal resources of JN Port Trust (JNPT) with market borrowing, if necessary.

"The present total capacity of the JNPT for container handling is 5 million TEUs (Twenty feet Equivalent Unit). After the 4th Terminal becomes operational, this capacity will be enhanced to 9.8 million TEUs. Considering the expansion of the container vessel sizes on the main trade routes, it is anticipated that vessels of more than 8,000-12,000 TEU size will call the JN Port," the government statement said.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

India’s longest highway tunnel to be inaugurated on April 2

MUMBAI: India's longest highway tunnel at Chenani Nashri, between Udhampur and Ramban in Jammu & Kashmir is all set to be inaugurated by prime minister Narendra Modi on April 2.

The 10.89 km tunnel that has absorbed a sum of Rs 2519 crore in its construction, forms part of the proposed widening of National Highway 44 (old NH-1A) from Jammu to Srinagar will be inaugurated at 3 pm.

The tunnel is the longest highway tunnel in India boasting of features like Integrated Traffic Control System (ITCS), Video Surveillance System and FM Rebroadcast System, among others and will reduce travel time by approximately two hours, apart from promising fuel savings to the tune of 27 lakh per day.

"The tunnel has multiple economic gains as connectivity in the remote area can help transform the life of this neglected region in the hills. The credit goes to previous planners for having mooted this tunnel," S P Singh, senior fellow at the Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training (IFTRT) told ET.

However, Singh added that the delay in the time for construction and the subsequent cost escalation could have been avoided.

The project has been dubbed as a "state of the art engineering marvel in the most difficult terrain pf Himalayas".

 

[Akshay_Fenix]

Gone are the days of reading newspapers with headlines about India having only 7 days worth of coal stock to produce electricity. I hope people don't forget those days and vote back the Scamgress party.

http://www.firstpost.com/business/4...-7-days-worth-of-coal-stock-govt-1979879.html

 

[Akshay_Fenix]

India becomes net exporter of Electricity for 1st time

During the current year 2016-17 (April to February 2017), India has exported around 5,798 Million Units to Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar which is 213 Million units more than the import of around 5,585 Million units from Bhutan. Export to Nepal and Bangladesh increased 2.5 and 2.8 times respectively in last three years.

Ever since the cross border trade of electricity started in mid-Eighties, India has been importing power from Bhutan and marginally exporting to Nepal in radial mode at 33 kV and 132 kV from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. On an average Bhutan has been supplying around 5,000- 5500 Million units to India.

India had also been exporting around 190 MW power to Nepal over 12 cross border interconnections at 11kV, 33kV and 132 kV level. The export of power to Nepal further increased by around 145 MW with commissioning of Muzaffarpur (India)– Dhalkhebar(Nepal) 400kV line (being operated at 132 kV) in 2016.

Export of power to Bangladesh from India got further boost with commissioning of 1st cross border Interconnection between Baharampur in India and Bheramara in Bangladesh at 400kV in September 2013. It was further augmented by commissioning of 2nd cross border Interconnection between Surjyamaninagar (Tripura) in India and South Comilla in Bangladesh. At present around 600 MW power is being exported to Bangladesh.

Export of power to Nepal is expected to increase by around 145 MW shortly over 132 kV Katiya (Bihar)– Kusaha (Nepal) and 132 kV Raxaul (Bihar)– Parwanipur (Nepal).

A few more cross border links with neighbouring countries are in pipe line which would further increase export of Power.

http://www.ddinews.gov.in/Home - Ot...TimeIndiabecomesNetExporterofElectricity.aspx

 

[Kshatriya87]

At 9.2 km, country's longest tunnel to be opened for traffic in J&K this month

Chenani-Nashri tunnel was built by the aussie MNC i used to work for at the time. I've been to the site. Really good work done there.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

With the development of national waterways being an integral part of the Centre’s plan to upgrade transport infrastructure in the country, work is afoot on National Waterway-1 (NW-1) linking Haldia to Allahabad. The projects on the river Ganga will boost the economies of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

Under the National Waterways Act of 2016, the government has committed to developing 111 designated national waterways. Of these, NWs-1, 2, & 3 are partially operational. The national waterways would not only reduce logistics costs, but also lessen congestion on the road and rail networks, having a multiplier effect on the Indian economy.

Work on NW-1 had been pending since 1990 due to hurdles posed by siltation. The shipping ministry has finally pushed the development of the Haldia-Varanasi stretch (1620 km) with projects for construction of multi-modal terminals at Varanasi, Haldia and Sahibganj, strengthening of the river navigation system, conservancy works, and development of information systems and night navigation facilities, besides construction of a navigational lock at Farakka.

Amitabh Verma, till recently the chairman of the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), says “the Prime Minister’s project monitoring group is looking at the work on a day-to-day basis and all projects have to be completed in a time-bound manner.”

Full operationalisation of the Haldia-Varanasi stretch would allow the navigation of vessels with a capacity of 1,500-2,000 tonnes, he says. The development of the waterway, expected to cost Rs 4,200 crore, has been taken up with assistance from the World Bank. Construction work for the multi-modal terminals at Haldia, Sahibganj and Varanasi has commenced. The terminal at Haldia would become a hub for transportation of cargo to the North East. The terminal, according to Verma, has already received a commitment of 5.92 million tonne per annum of cargo once it becomes operational in 2018. IWAI also plans to build a new navigational lock and modernise the existing one at Farakka.

The terminal at Sahibganj in Bihar would further the transportation of coal to power plants. The terminal is expected to be operational by 2018. This project, according to IWAI officials, would help in the de-siltation of the river.


In Bihar, the IWAI also envisages investment in terminals at Kalughat and Gaighat, ferry and RO-RO services and dredging. The Kalughat terminal would boost transportation of cargo from Kolkata to Nepal, reducing costs by 26% and 13% compared to the railways and road, respectively. An analysis by the World Bank has concluded that the project would lead to extensive economic and social development along the banks of the Ganga in Bihar.

Work on the multi-modal terminal at Varanasi (Ramnagar) commenced in August 2016. Estimated to cost Rs 170 crore, it is
expected to be operational by August 2018.

The NW-1 projects are expected to create 1,60,000 direct and indirect jobs, Nitin Gadkari, union minister of shipping, has said. Besides being cheaper to develop than railways and roadways, waterways cost 25-30 paise per km of transport, as against R1 for railways and R1.50 for roadways. From the abysmal 3.5% at present, IWAI is aiming to increase waterway transportation of cargo in India to 15% by 2019. Even this would be low compared to countries like China, South Korea, UK, Germany, France where it is in the range of 35%-40%.



http://www.financialexpress.com/economy/national-waterway-1-linking-haldia-sahibganj-varanasi-likely-to-be-ready-by-2018/603613/

Once again, WTF were previous Indian govts doing (or not doing as is the case)?? It's actually hard to believe how many fronts the Modi govt is working on and the steps that they are taking are so basic in some areas it is beyond shocking that it is only happening now and some actually think Rahul Gandhi would be better for the country than Modi, what kind of mental illness is this?

 

[Indx TechStyle]

International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), is a multi modal transportation established in 12 SEP 2000 in St. Petersburg, by Iran, Russia and India for the purpose of promoting transportation cooperation among the Member States. This corridor connects India Ocean and Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea via Islamic republic of IRAN, then is connected to St. Petersburg and North European via Russian Federation.

The INSTC was expanded to include eleven new members, namely: Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Armenia, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Ukraine, Republic of Belarus, Oman, Syria, Bulgaria (Observer).