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Modern UGD for Cyberabad

Saturday, 01 August 2009 05:41 administrator
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The Hindu - Andhra Pradesh 01.08.2009

Modern UGD for Cyberabad

Works being taken up at a cost of Rs. 40 crore cleared by the government

Nearly 90 p.c. of project is complete: HMWSSB

APIIC, HMDA, Serilingampally Municipality chip in

— Photo: P.V. Sivakumar

CIVIC ISSUES: The open sewage system in Cyberabad will be a thing of the past with the area set to get modern underground drainage.

HYDERABAD: Almost a decade after it hogged limelight as the most modern and happening hub of the city, Hitec City and its surrounding localities are now in the process of acquiring the modern underground drainage (UGD) network.

The works taken up with Rs. 40 crore cleared by the government for laying sewer mains and underground drainage in Hitec City area were grounded and have reached various stages of completion.

According to Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) officials, some of these works were in advanced stages of completion while other packages too were progressing for the initiative taken up with funds from A.P. Industrial Infrastructure Corporation, Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority and Serilingampally Municipality.

“The works are almost over and we can say nearly 90 per cent of the project is completed,” said M. Satyanarayana, HMWSSB Director (Projects).

Other projects

Meanwhile, the Board is also in the process of setting up pace for works to be taken up at a cost of Rs. 200 crore for which 35 per cent of the funds are to be provided under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). This project, which has the State government chipping in with 15 per cent of the project cost and the rest to be shared by agencies such as HMDA and APIIC, seeks to lay the underground sewage network for the entire Serilingampally Municipality spread over 42 square km.

Though host to several leading IT facilities and one of the most sought after destination for real estate, the areas of Madhapur, Kondapur and others which are part of Serilingampally have for years been without proper sewage network.

Last Updated on Saturday, 01 August 2009 05:44
 

Metro rail project back on PPP track

Saturday, 01 August 2009 05:39 administrator
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The Hindu - Andhra Pradesh 01.08.2009

Metro rail project back on PPP track

Tight fiscal scenario forces State to opt for it

 

A committee headed by Planning Commission member comes out with fresh norms for PPP

Firms of Rs. 3,000 cr. net worth and having executed Rs. 18,000 cr. works can only apply

HYDERABAD: Tight fiscal scenario has forced the government to opt once again for the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode to take up Hyderabad Metro Rail project.

It might have had to pitch in with as much as Rs. 9,000 crore if the work was to be taken up through a joint initiative with the Centre sourcing loan from the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

Loan for 50 per cent of the project, estimated to cost Rs. 12,132 crore, could be raised while the rest would have to be financed by the Centre and State.

From the Rs. 1,600-odd crore now, the State’s funding would have to be upped several times for the work which was next to impossible to expect, pointed out official sources.

Moreover, sovereign guarantee by the Centre was mandatory for JBIC funding for which fresh project appraisals becomes necessary, all of which would have taken considerable time.

Instead, it was better to bank on already available Viability Gap Funding (VGF) of Rs. 2,363 crore (20 per cent project cost) offered by the Centre as there was likelihood of an extra 10 per cent coming under JNNURM.

Delhi model

“Delhi Metro funding is a unique model. Chances of it happening elsewhere are remote,” affirm official sources. Despite recessionary trends, formation of stable governments in the Centre and State has renewed investor interest in the capital’s project, it is claimed.

“Many discussions were held at the Government of India (GoI) level on Hyderabad project’s PPP model. It was strongly felt that it was the executing agency which failed and not the model per se. A panel headed by former Cabinet Secretary and present Planning Commission member B.K. Chaturvedi came out with a set of fresh norms to tighten PPP regulations to let only serious players pitch in,” official sources said.

Firms of Rs. 3,000 crore net worth and having executed Rs. 18,000 crore works in the last 10 years can only apply.

Equity

Each member of a consortium shall each hold not less than 26 per cent of the equity, which should also be not less than 5 per cent of the total project cost or Rs.607 crore.

Time-frame

The government is squeezing the bids time-frame to four months because financial and technical bids are not being called separately as the pre-qualification tender itself enables short-listing eligible firms.

Also, the Concessionaire Agreement with Manual of Specifications and Standards remain the same which meant fresh documentation was not needed, official sources added.

Last Updated on Saturday, 01 August 2009 05:41
 

The price of delay

Thursday, 30 July 2009 12:13 administrator
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The New Indian Express 30.07.2009

The price of delay


KOCHI: The projects aimed at transforming Kochi into a dream metro will remain a distant dream if they are not implemented in a time-bound manner.

Land acquisition is a major hurdle for most of the master projects proposed under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Rural Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) scheme. Of the nearly 15 projects that fall under the JNNURM, so far only four have been completed or are nearing completion.

Work on 10 projects is still in their initial stages.

The Central Government had already given an ultimatum to the Corporation to complete the work before 2012. If the work is not undertaken on a war footing, the Corporation will fail to reap the full benefit from it.

As per the JNNURM plan, out of the total project estimate, the Centre will bear 50 percent of the total cost, 30 percent will come from the State Government and the Corporation must find sources to fund 20 percent of the cost. With nearly 10 projects proving to be non starters, the Corporation is yet to utilise nearly Rs 650 crore that have been sanctioned under the JNNURM and Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Plan (KSUDP).

The projects that have been completed include the Brahmapuram solid waste treatment plant. The fund allocation was Rs 63.47 crore. Among the other projects, building of new houses under the DSUP project, which is intended to provide basic services to the poor, is progressing. The total fund allocation is Rs 130 crore.

The Corporation has initiated steps to speed up the implementation of public transport system project under which it will run 200 buses to improve the transport system. The total JNNURM allocation is Rs 73 crore.

The main project that is yet to start is the Maradu water treatment plant.

The total fund allocated for the plant was Rs 201 crore. Even though the Kerala Water Authority awarded the tender, land acquisition for laying the pipeline is a big challenge. An official from the Corporation said that the main obstacle in front of them was finding a source for the enhanced cost. “Land acquisition is a major barrier for which the Corporation will have to find an additional amount of nearly Rs 1000 crore. So there should be provisions for long-term loans.

Otherwise the projects will face unexpected delay,” he said.

Among the other major projects that are yet to be initialised is the sewerage project plan for which Rs 78.40 crore has been allocated under the JNNURM scheme. Some other projects like Atlantis Railway Overbridge are still in the initial stages.

The total estimate of the project was Rs 10.30 crore. The Corporation has set aside Rs 50 lakh for land acquisition, but so far no steps have been taken in this regard.

Opposition leader A B Sabu said that the main reason for the delay was the absence of a time-bound mechanism in implementing the projects.

“The delay in executing projects and finding revenue for the extra amount are affecting the progress of the projects,” he added.

Last Updated on Thursday, 30 July 2009 12:39
 
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