As the Union government failed to draw bids under the public-private partnership (PPP) model for road projects, the Union Road Ministry has approved 14 highway projects to be bid under the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) model to attract private investments.
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Centre to pace up expressway projects
The Union government is to fast-track a few expressway projects in the country for the development of industry, said the Union Road Transport & Highways Minister Oscar Fernandes. The Mumbai-Vadodara Expressway, the eastern and western peripheral expressways, and the Delhi-Jaipur expressway will be part of the plan, the Minister added. Addressing the inaugural function of Excon 2013, Fernandes said these expressways will provide enough opportunity for industry to grow along these express ways.
New technology
Using a new technology, called ´white topping,´the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) would construct the road from Lemon Tree hotel to Jalgaon T Point, that is 2.5 km long, in the city. AMC is introducing the technology for the first time in the city and Rs 3 crore has already been approved for construction of the road.
Green roads
In India, Zydex Technologies is looking to build up to 20,000 km of moisture-resistant green roads by 2016 using its nanotechnology. Such roads need no maintenance for about 15 years. The company has already completed about 500 km of roads in India with Border Roads Organisation and other agencies, the company said. Zydex has already built such highways in US, Europe and Africa.
Improvement of two key roads
The Gurgaon-Sohna Road and Southern Peripheral Road should be strengthened to handle more traffic before it starts building a flyover at Hero Honda Chowk on the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has said.
EGoM clears M and A rules for telecom
An empowered group of ministers (EGoM) cleared the final merger & acquisition (M&A) guidelines for the sector. The EGoM has also decided to increase the quantum of 1,800-MHz spectrum to be put up for auctions in January to 403 MHz, an addition of 118 MHz, or 41.4 per cent, to what it had proposed earlier. The addition also means that an average 18 MHz of spectrum will be up for sale in each circle enough for three to four operators.
BSNL to select vendors to set up towers in naxal areas
BSNL is likely to open the financial bids for the tender to set up mobile towers in the states affected by naxal violence.BSNL had floated the tender in August for supply, installation, testing, operation and maintenance for five years of 1,315 sites of 2G GSM network in left wing extremist (LWE) areas of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal.
Strict norms for mobile towers
The Goa government has proposed strict guidelines for the setting up of site-specific mobile base station towers (MBSTs) in the state in response to an increase in use of cellphones and wireless communication and fears over radiation to public health.
Vodafone investment
Vodafone plans to invest $3 billion in the next two years that will be deployed for network expansion in rural areas. The proposed $ 3 billion investment excludes spectrum fee the company has to pay. The British telecom major is planning for new investments at a time when it is facing a tax liability of over Rs 11,200 crore, along with interest, on its 2007 acquisition of Honk Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa´s stake in India´s telecom major, Hutchison Essar.
Japanese firms to build industrial township near Chennai
Japanese companies will build manufacturing facilities near Chennai. Japanese companies- Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ajinomoto and Takasago International Corporation are among the early players to enter into agreement with Ascendas and a Japanese consortium in setting up a 1,450-acre integrated industrial township, 50 km south of Chennai. Ascendas said that it has entered into agreements with the three companies to take up space at the township.

