Highways will continue to be sluggish until the unattractive Phase IV projects are completed. With the road sector is poised to undergo a further change in the coming years, the industry as a whole, needs to continue tapping the advantages of road transportation more efficiently and optimally than ever before, writes Bhavik Damodar. The road transportation sector continues to struggle to cater to the countryÂ’s size and widely spread consumption hubs.
Author: admin (Infratructure Today)
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Prudency has returned as aggression has cooled down
Large players will continue to opt for BOT model as it provides reasonable return over long gestation period, says Sudhir R Hoshing, CEO (Roads), Reliance Infrastructure, in an interview with Sumantra Das. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has come a long way in the manner in which its roads are managed. From bringing transparency in bidding process through on-line bidding to taking steps to expedite approval and clearance process,
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The bidding process is good for small, medium and large players
Banks’ new stipulation of 100 per cent land availability for highway projects, along with poor response from bidders and financial closure difficulties among concessionaires, have hampered the awards and implementation, says JN Singh, Member—Finance, NHAI, in an interview with Sumantra Das. Major reason behind this is the poor responses from the concessionaires and in some of our bids (about 7-8) we haven’t even find any bidder. Secondly, banks also are asking our 100 per cent land availability
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Govt should review taxtion issues for better road infra
Sustaining interest of private players in India’s road sector is of paramount importance. For doing so if the government needs to make some small sacrifices in the immediate future, it is indeed worth as this will reap rich dividends in the future through overall development of the economy—and tax reforms will go a long way in this direction, proposes Hemant Kanoria.
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Electronic toll collection will reduce commute time
ETC at toll plazas with interoperability can help reduce peak-hour congestion on urban highways with faster automated toll collection, writes Girish Shirodkar. The Punjab & Haryana High Court opened a new chapter in the Indian infrastructure story, when on September 4, 2012 it forbade toll collection on the busy Delhi-Gurgaon expressway for a period of 15 days, later extended till September 30. Toll collection was restored on October 1 in non-peak hours and on October 8 in peak hours. This is th
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Coordinated efforts among government, developers needed
Lack of coordination between the various government agencies that are involved in the road/highway construction business and improper policy initiatives hamper the prospects of roads sector, experts feel. Private funding of infrastructure has become a mainstay of the Government of IndiaÂ’s policy towards infrastructure deveÂlopment.
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Are our Port Trusts relevant?
Private sector participation in development and operations of ports has increased considerably over the last few years resulting in a radical change in the organisational model of ports. The change has permeated to some extent into the Indian ports sector in the last decade. But not so when it comes to ports managed by the Port Trust system, writes Janaki Krishnamoorthi. The Government of India which administers the major ports has realised the port restructuring is essential to attract large
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Tariff Authority for Major Ports should be abolished
Differential tariffs for major and minor or private ports will have a debilitating impact on investment in major ports such as JNPT, says L Radhakrishnan, Chairman, JNPT, in an interview with Janaki Krishnamoorthi. Over the years, the Indian ports sector has witnessed structural changes, with state monopoly gradually giving way to greater private sector participation in port investÂment.
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The growth challenges
The growing aviation market in India demands for improved airport and allied infrastructure. Nitin Bhasin highlights the need for improved regulatory framework and long-term planning and investment to address the key challenges in the Indian airport sector.India is currently the ninth largest aviation market in the world and may be set for a transformational growth to become the
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JICA agrees to lend `200 bn for DFC
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) agreed to lend JPY 295 billion (about Rs 20,000 crore) for the two routes in the proposed Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) project. The agency would lend this amount under Special Terms of Economic articipation (STEP) between Japan and India. This is a soft loan with the repayment period of 40 years.