In a bid to clear large number of stalled highway and roads project, the ‘Smart City’ initiatives of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government will work as a boon for the sector, a recent report of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industries mentioned.
According to the report, “As the banks gear up to clear large number of stalled projects to minimise their NPAs, a likely beneficiary of this move will be road and transport sector as high-quality highways, long road project connecting borders is likely to get maximum importance as it will push the ambitious `smart city’ initiative of the NDA government.”
“In the last financial year, 33 road projects targeted to construct 3,500 kilometer could not take off due to dearth of funds and equity,” said Rajnish Goenka, Chairman, PHD Chamber – Delhi.
According to an estimate 189 projects worth Rs 60,000 crore were escalated further due to delay in execution. “But shift in government policy from PPP to EPC is making things move in good direction for road and transport sector,” said Goenka.
“Out of Rs 60,000 crore stalled projects, road and surface transport ministry is hopeful of clearing nearly 80 per cent of the total amount,” he added.
In last General Budget government has allotted Rs 37,881 crore for building 8,500 km of highway. Plans are on the anvil for an Rs 5,000 crore 16-lane road connecting Delhi with Ghaziabad and Noida on the outskirts in a major bid to ease traffic congestion in the capital.
The PHD Chamber informs that the work on the project for widening of NH-24 up to Dasna in Uttar Pradesh (UP) to 16-lanes as part of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway package is expected to begin in three months.
It further says that the two expressways – each about 135 km long – were planned in 2006 to form a ring road outside Delhi for channeling non-Delhi bound traffic bypassing the national capital will be completed by 2018.
To emphasise on the opportunities an challenges in this segment, PHD Chamber will organise a two-days long, Smart Transportation Infra Summit and Expo, on 3-4 July 2015 in the capital.
According to press release issued by PHD chamber, Union Minister for Road & Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari is expected to inaugurate the summit.
The conference will deliberate on issues related to modern transportation in the light of smart city initiative. The questions such as, why public private partnership (PPP) model hit a roadblock and is engineering procurement construction (EPC) model a better solution for a faster implementation of road projects, are likely to be discussed in details.
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