The Indian Express 15.04.2013
Rs 2.3-crore LED street light project of RUDA lights up
With the inauguration of Rs 2.3-crore LED (light emitting diodes)
street-lighting project of Rajkot Urban Development Authority (RUDA) by
state Energy Minister Saurabh Patel, it became operational from Sunday
evening.
RUDA has installed more than 400 LEDs to light up around
six-kilometre long stretch of a four-lane road connecting Rajkot with
Metoda GIDC (Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation) on the western
outskirts of the city. The Rs 2.3-crore project has been implemented by
Philips Electronics India Limited.
By this project, RUDA aims to saving on its electricity bill
while also generating revenue through selling space for public
advertisement.
“We have made only the capital expenditure of Rs 2.3 crore for
the project. For the next five years, Phillips will operate and maintain
street-lights on this stretch, including paying the electricity bill.
Not only this, the company will also pay Rs 15,000 per pole to RUDA for
allow it to put its advertisements on them,” RUDA chairman Ajay Bhadu.
There are around 250 lampposts on the stretch and the authority is
expecting Rs 3.75 lakh per annum for the next five years.
The chairman said the LEDs would save on energy as well. “A
conventional sodium lamp used in street-lights uses 250 watts. But the
LEDs in this project will consume only 100 watts. So, we shall be using
40 to 50 per cent less electricity on this segment,” said Bhadu, adding
this was the first-of-its-kind project on such a large scale in the
state.
The LEDs will have eight-year lifespan and it will be replaced
after that. Bhadu said the design of lampposts and lighting will also
add to the beauty of the road which starts from Cosmoplex Cinema and
leads to the industrial area in the Metoda.