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Sino-India Border : BRO Starts Work On 135-km Chushul-Demchok Road To Counter Chinese Aggression

By
Amit Mishra
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0

In a major strategic push along Indo-China border, a 135-km-long highway is slated to come up between Chushul and Demchok in the next two years.

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has invited bids for constructing the Chushul-Dungti-Fukche-Demchok highway, also known as the CDFD road.

According to the bid documents, the existing dirt track will be converted into a single-lane national highway in two years at a cost of Rs 400 crore.

The new road will run almost alongside the Indus River and virtually parallel to the Line of Actual Control (LAC), very close to the India-China border in Leh.

Hanging Fire

Chushul is located in southeastern Ladakh, south of the famous Pangong Lake. In Chushul lies one of the main approaches that China can use for an offensive into Ladakh. Demchok village is the last inhabited area along the Zero line on the border with China.

For many decades, much of this key route has been a dirt track. In the absence of the proper road connection, the security forces has been posted too far from the LAC, leaving them vulnerable to the attack from the neighbouring country.

It was only in March 2016 that the Jammu & Kashmir Government gave its approval for the construction of the strategically-important road.

This came after the BRO asserted that the road was strategically important for the nation’s security in view of China’s repeated incursions in the area.

CDFD Highway

As the project passes through Changthang Cold Desert Wildlife Sanctuary in the State, the proposal was recommended to the National Board of Wildlife (NBWI) which in January 2017 gave its go-ahead for this project.

Part of the Hindu Kush Himalaya, Changthang Cold Desert Wildlife Sanctuary is the home of two of the world-famous high altitude water lakes, Tsomoriri and Pangong Tso.

In addition the majestic River Indus flowing through the sanctuary, dividing it into two parts.

The BRO completed the Detailed Project Report of this road in 2018.

The new road will ensure better movement of logistics for Army along LAC and also help tourism by converting this area into a circuit.

Explained : India’s First-ever Sovereign Green Bond Auction And What Does It Mean For Environment

By
Amit Mishra
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0

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is holding its maiden auction of sovereign green bonds (SGrBs) worth Rs 8,000 crore on Wednesday (25 Jan).

This is the first of two auctions that the RBI will conduct during the current financial year, with the total value of SGrBs being auctioned at Rs 16,000 crore.

Swarajya explains what are the Green Bonds and why they are being issued?

What is a Green Bond?

A “green bond” is differentiated from a regular bond by its label, which signifies a commitment to exclusively use the funds raised to finance or re-finance “green” projects, assets or business activities.

Like any other bond, a green bond is a fixed-income financial instrument for raising capital from investors through the debt capital market.

Typically, the bond issuer raises a fixed amount of capital from investors over a set period of time (maturity), repaying the capital (principal) when the bond matures and paying an agreed amount of interest (coupons) along the way.

Why Government of India is issuing these bonds?

India has committed to reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by 45 percent by 2030, from 2005 level and achieve about 50 per cent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.

The country’s climate actions have so far been largely financed from domestic resources and it is now targeting generation of additional global financial resources to meet its climate goals.

In keeping with the ambition to significantly reduce the carbon intensity of the economy, the Union Budget 2022-23 announced the issue of Sovereign Green Bonds.

The issuance of Sovereign Green Bonds as part of the overall market borrowings will help the government in tapping the requisite finance from potential investors for deployment in public sector projects aimed at reducing the carbon intensity of the economy.

What is the Sovereign Green Bond Framework?

The Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance issued the Sovereign Green Bond Framework on 09 November 2022 which sets forth the obligations of the Government of India as a Green Bond issuer.

The framework applies to all Sovereign Green Bonds issued by the Union Government and is designed to comply with the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) Green Bond Principles.

Payments of principal and interest on the issuances under this Framework are not conditional on the performance of the eligible projects. Investors in bonds issued under this Framework do not bear any project related risks.

What are the salient features of green bonds up for auction today?

The RBI is auctioning two green bonds worth Rs 4,000 crores each with a tenure of 5 and 10 years. The two bonds to be auctioned today are New GOI SGrB 2028 and New GOI SGrB 2033.

The auction for these bonds are being conducted on the RBI’s Core Banking Solution (E-Kuber) system and the results will be announced today itself.

The Central Bank will conduct the auction for next tranche of green bonds on 9 February 2023.

Which projects are eligible for financing?

The Central Government will use the proceeds raised from Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrB) to finance or refinance expenditure (in parts or whole) for green projects falling under ‘Eligible Categories’ (see below).

  • Renewable energy
  • Energy efficiency
  • Clean transportation
  • Climate change adaptation
  • Sustainable water and waste management
  • Pollution prevention and control
  • Green buildings
  • Sustainable management of living natural resources and land use
  • Terrestrial and Aquatic Biodiversity Conservation

Work On First River Bridge On Bullet Train Corridor Nearing Completion

By
Amit Mishra
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0

In a significant achievement, the first river bridge on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) corridor is getting ready and is just four pillars away from completion.

The bridge being constructed over Par River in Valsad in Gujarat is 320 metres-long and consist of 8 full-span girders, each 40 metres long. The heigh of pier on which these girders will rest ranges from 14.9 to 20.9 metres.

Among the most complex of the substructures being constructed on the high speed corridor are the bridge structures over rivers.

“Laying piers on a river is complex. It involves complex geotechnical investigation. First, the well foundation has to be laid. Then piers will be put, over which the girders will be launched. Finally, the track will come on the girder,” said a senior official overseeing the construction of the bridge on the Tapi River.

A total of 20 bridges will be constructed under this project as the bullet train will cross over rivers like Narmada, Sabarmati, Mahi, Par, Kaveri, Purna Ambika, Daroatha, Daman Ganga, Tapi, Kim, Vishwamitri, Mohar, Vatrak and Meshwa.

The longest will be a 1.2-kilometre-long bridge over the Narmada river in Bharuch city of Gujarat followed by Tapi and Mahi which will be of around 720 meters.

India’s First Bullet Train Project

Presently, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail is the only sanctioned high-speed rail project in the country.

The High-Speed Rail operating at 320 kmph will traverse along west India’s landscape, covering 508.17 km distance between Mumbai and Ahmedabad in just about two hours. This will save time compared to current travel time between the two terminal stations by about nine hours (by bus) or six hours (by conventional railways).

It will cover 155.76 km in Maharashtra, 4.3 km in the Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and 348.04 km in Gujarat, with 12 stations en route.

The government is yet to determine a final deadline for the entire 508-km project, but the completion time for a 50-km stretch between Surat and Bilimora in Gujarat has been set for August 2026.

58 Per Cent Work On Gorakhpur Link Expressway Over, Connectivity To State Capital Finally In Sight

By
Amit Mishra
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0

The 91.35-km-long Gorakhpur Link Expressway that connects Gorakhpur with Purvanchal Expressway has achieved overall progress of 58 per cent on the main carriageway.

While clearing and grubbing (C&G) in the main carriageway is completed, the earthwork is completed on 78 per cent of the main carriageway.

Activities related to civil work including Granular Sub Base (GSB), Wet Mix Macadam (WMM) and Dense Bituminous Macadam (DBM) have been completed to the extent of 56 per cent, 56 per cent and 53 per cent respectively.

The granular subbase forms the lowest (bottom) layer of the pavement structure, and acts as the principal foundation for the subsequent road profile. Wet Mix Macadam (WMM) work includes laying and compacting aggregates premixed with water to a dense mass on a prepared GSB layer.

Alignment

The four-lane (expandable up to six lanes) Gorakhpur link expressway starts at Jaitpur on NH-27 in Gorakhpur district, and ends by merging with the Purvanchal expressway near Salarpur in Azamgarh district.

The access-controlled expressway spans across four districts of the state, namely, Gorakhpur, Sant Kabir Nagar, Ambedkar Nagar and Azamgarh.

UP Expressway Development Authority (UPEIDA) which is the nodal agency for the project is executing this project on Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) mode.

The project has been divided into two packages for implementation. While APCO Infrastructure Pvt Ltd is developing Package-1 of this project, Package-2 with a length of 43.03 km is being built by Dilip Buildcon.

Work on the Gorakhpur Link expressway commenced in February 2020 and is expected to complete March 2023. The approved greenfield project will cost Rs 5,876.67 crore, including the land cost.

Epicenter of Expressways

Gorakhpur, the city known for its handloom and terracotta craft, is on a transformation tip. The city located in the North-eastern part of Uttar Pradesh and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s hometown has received special attention in infrastructure development.

The under construction Gorakhpur Link Expressway will provide faster connectivity and a better commuter experience. The state government also plans to connect the expressway to Varanasi through a separate link road.

Also, the Central government has granted its approval to build a greenfield expressway from Gorakhpur to Siliguri in West Bengal, passing through districts in north Bihar.

The 519-km-long Gorakhpur-Siliguri Expressway will run from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh to Siliguri in West Bengal via Bihar. Around 84 km of this four-lane expressway would pass through Gorakhpur, Deoria and Kushinagar districts in Uttar Pradesh before entering Bihar.

Proposed Alignment of Gorakhpur-Siliguri Expressway

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has finalised the alignment for the expressway and work tender for the project shall be awarded in the next year.

The expressway, once operationalised will provide a direct link for out bound traffic from Northeast region towards northern India including the national capital, Punjab and Haryana.

Digital Highways Ahead: Road Transport Ministry To Set Up 25,000 km Fibre Network In Three Years

By
Amit Mishra
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0

The Union Ministry of Road Transport has drawn an elaborate plan to have OFC (Optical Fiber Cable) infrastructure along 25,000 km of national highways in the next three years.

In this regard, bids have been invited for laying OFC ducts for a total length of about 2000 Kms at a total cost of Rs 500 crore. This includes one brownfield and one greenfield pilot project, namely, Hyderabad-Bangalore National Highway & Delhi-Mumbai Expressway (DME).

Delhi-Mumbai Expressway passes through 23 districts impacting population of approximately 6.58 crores, and Hyderabad-Bangalore National Highway impacts population of approximately 3.6 crore.

“Given the financial sustainability of the OFC model through initial investment from the Government, the Government plans to scale up the leased OFC infrastructure from ~2000 kms to 25,000 kms in the next 3 years,” the Ministry said.

Need for OFC

Large stretches of National Highways in the country currently have a total lack of mobile network connectivity, which is a serious cause of concern since the same leads to issues in connecting to emergency services as well.

Besides the safety aspect, having basic mobile connectivity while travelling is getting more and more important in the modern times, with navigational services and several other forms of important communications relying on on-the-go mobile connectivity.

A Parliamentary Committee, taking note of this fact had recommended to the Road Ministry to take suitable measures to ensure good mobile connectivity for NH users, in coordination with the Department of Telecommunications and other organizations concerned.

50 lakh km OFC

The government in 2019 had announced National Broadband Mission to enable fast track growth of digital communications infrastructure.

Accelerating Fiberization is one of the key components of this initiative which entails developing 50 lakh kilometers of OFC infrastructure by 2024 in India.

The Road Transport Ministry which is one of the key stakeholders of this initiative is closely working with Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to create smart and digital highways by providing dark-fibre connectivity along the national highways allowing for a direct plug-and-play model for users.

This initiative will empower the Government to provide internet connectivity to remote locations and far-flung areas all across the country where users like private players, village panchayats, can get connectivity from the tapping point from the nearest highway section.

The OFC infrastructure has been designed to cater to increased data volumes till 2050.

This initiative will significantly boost 5G roll-out across the nation and also aid in providing various value-added services like booth-less toll collection, surveillance, speed limiting radars and controls, smart highway lighting, connectivity on demand.

Kota : India’s Coaching Hub To Soar With Construction Of New Greenfield Airport

By
Amit Mishra
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0

Commercial flights to Kota, which is home to the coaching industry worth Rs 6000 crore, will soon be a reality.

The Central Government has accorded its approval for diversion of 466.59 hectares of forest land thereby clearing the decks for construction of new greenfield airport at Kota.

Forest Advisory Committee (FAC), a statutory body of the Ministry of Environment Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), which is tasked with granting approval for diverting forest land beyond five hectares granted its approval to the proposal on 28 December 2022.

Existing airport

Kota already has an existing airport suitable for smaller aircrafts (Code-B). Commercial flights from Kota Airport were discontinued in 1995 after the passenger flow dried up following the industrial recession there.

However, with the advent of coaching industry, there has been fairly consistent demand for air travel to and from Kota.

In a failed attempt, recommencement of domestic air flight from Kota to Jaipur was kicked off by the then CM Vasundhara Raje in 2017. However, the continuity could not be sustained for more than seven months.

Due to landlocked nature of the current airport and its unsuitability for operation of A-320 type aircraft, the State Government in 2021 requested the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to develop a greenfield airport at Kota.

The State Government has provided 1250 acres of land free of cost for the development of greenfield airport. Also, as per the master plan, it has been asked to reserves 360 hectares of land for future expansion. With forest clearance in place, the work on the new airport will start soon.

Phased Plan

The greenfield airport located in Bundi district in Rajasthan is being planned phase-wise.

In Phase- I, the airport will be developed for a peak hour capacity of 800 passengers which is expected to serve smoothly till 2034-35. In Phase- II, the airport will be expanded to include cargo facilities, MRO operations and support for CAT landing.

The new airport will serve 1.5 lakh students studying across various coaching centers in the city as well as tourists visiting Ranthambore Tiger reserve.

Jaipur Metro: DMRC To Lead Metro Extension Project For Phase 1C And 1D

By
Amit Mishra
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0

The Jaipur Metro Railway Corporation (JMRC) last week cleared the decks for starting work on the extension of Jaipur Metro, by appointing the DMRC as the general consultant for Line 1C and Line 1D.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), being the consultant will now float tenders and commence the work on the extension project.

This process will save a huge amount of time and would help the extension work to get over quickly.

This is for the second time that DMRC will get the responsibility to make metro lines in the Pink City. Earlier, the metro agency has acted as a consultant for development of Phase-1A from Mansarovar to Chandpole.

However, for the extension project under phase 1B, the JMRC itself had floated tenders and then awarded it to a Taiwan-based turnkey contractor.

While the DMRC took less than four years to build the first phase covering a length of 9.63 kms, the second phase extension of 2.4 km with a separate contactor took over five years. This prompted the JMRC to hand over the project to DMRC rather than JMRC floating tender and appointing a turnkey contractor by itself.

Jaipur Metro

The comprehensive mobility plan for Jaipur involves development of high-capacity metro lines along the east–west corridor from Mansarovar to Badi Chaupar, and the north-south corridor of from Ambabadi to Sitapura.

The East-West Corridor with a route length of 11.64 kms and 11 stations has been opened in two phases.

Route Map of Jaipur Metro

The 9.63 km Phase-1A (Mansarovar to Chandpole) was successfully opened on 3 June, 2015 and the 2.01-km Phase-1B (Chandpole to Badi Chaupar) was successfully opened on 23 September, 2020.

Expansions of East-West Corridor

The State government had announced the expansion of Jaipur Metro from Badi Chaupar to Transport Nagar (Phase 1C) and from Mansarovar to Ajmer Road intersection (Phase 1D) in the budget for the fiscal year 2022–2023.

The DPR for extension of existing line beyond Badi Chaupar up to Transport Nagar under Phase 1C has been prepared and submitted by DMRC. The project with a route length of 2.85 Kms will be built at an estimated cost of Rs 993.51 crore.

Similarly, the DPR for extension of existing line beyond Mansarovar upto Ajmer Road under Phase 1D has been prepared by DMRC. The project has a route length of 1.35 Kms and an estimated project cost of Rs 204.81 crore.

With the appointment of DMRC as the general consultant for Phase 1C and 1D, the project is expected to get a boost and 4-5 months of savings is expected on commissioning the project.

Centre Starts Work On 22-km Road With Tunnel For Improving Access To Amarnath Cave Shrine

By
Amit Mishra
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0

The Union government has put in motion its plan to construct an all-weather, 22-km road between Chandanwadi and Sangam Top, including a 11-kilometer Sheshnag Tunnel under the Ganesh top, to ease the journey of Amarnath pilgrims.

Additionally, this new road will allow commuters going from Jammu towards Ladakh to by-pass Srinagar town.

National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), a specialized agency under the Ministry of Road, Transport & Highways (MoRT&H), has invited proposals for selection of Technical Consultant for construction of the 10.8-km-long twin Tube Uni-directional Tunnel under Ganesh top hill including approach road.

The consultant will prepare Detailed Project Report (DPR), Pre-construction activity and supervise the project during construction as well as maintenance period.

According to the bid documents also, the consultant will be given 10 months for the preparation of Detailed Project Report and pre-construction activity will take about another two months. A period of 60 months – five years- has been earmarked for the construction of the road.

The 22.3-km-long Chandanwadi- Sangam Top greenfield highway lies on Khanabal-Baltal section of NH-501 in Jammu & Kashmir. The new stretch will connect the South and North yatra routes via the highway tunnel.

Amarnath Shrine

Amarnath cave shrine in South Kashmir is considered to be one of the major Hindu Dhams and is the abode of Lord Shiva.

Inside the main Amarnath Cave is found the Amarnath Ice Lingam of Lord Shiva.  This naturally formed Ice Linga grows in size during the months of May through August. During this time, pious people come from around the world for the annual pilgrimage and festival of the Amarnath Linga. The Amarnath Lingam is said to grow and shrink with the phases of the moon, reaching its height during the summer festival.

The Yatra Route

Situated in a narrow gorge at the farther end of Lidder Valley, Amarnath Shrine stands at 3,888 metres above sea level, and can be reached only on foot or by pony.

There are two routes by which pilgrims can visit the holy site – through Pahalgam in South Kashmir’s Anantnag and Baltal in Central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district.

The Baltal route is 14-km trek from Baltal to the shrine along a steep, winding mountain trail and can be covered in a day. Most people take the Baltal route because of its shorter distance.

Amarnath Yatra Route Map

The other is the Pahalgam route, which is approximately 46 km from the cave and takes 3-5 days to cover with night halts at Chandanwari, Sheshnag and Panchtarani. While this is a longer journey, it is a little easier and less steep.

The construction on the project is expected to start once the paper work is completed which will take about two years and will provide much needed all-weather connectivity to the region.

20 Stations In South Central Railway Zone To Be Upgraded Under Amrit Bharat Scheme

By
Amit Mishra
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0

The South-Central Railway (SCR) has identified 20 railway stations that will be upgraded under the Amrit Bharat Station.

The selected stations include Karimnagar, Hi-tech city, Hafizpeta, Tandur, Vikarabad, Lingampalli, Parli Vaijnath, Zahirabad, Bidar, Bhadrachalam Road, Khammam, Madhira, Mahabubabad, Warangal, Manchiryal, Ramagundam, Peddapalli, Kazipet, Jangaon and Yadadri.

As part of this exercise, the SCR zone has issued Request for Proposal (RFP) for selection of technical consultant for preparing master plan, technical feasibility report, estimate, construction drawings etc. for redevelopment of the 20 identified Railway stations.

In Phase-I, three stations namely, Kazipet, Jangaon and Yadadri of Secunderbaad division will be taken up for redevelopment under the scheme.

The South Central Railway is one of the zones of Indian Railways and predominantly serves Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and to a limited extent, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh. It has six divisions – Secunderbaad, Vijayawada, Guntakal, Guntur, Hyderabad and Nanded.

Amrit Bharat Station Scheme 

The Ministry of Railways, as part of its station redevelopment drive, has formulated a new scheme to modernize over 1000 small stations over the coming years.

Under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, stations will be equipped with facilities inspired by the mega-upgradation of marquee stations such as New Delhi and Ahmedabad, albeit at a lower cost.

The scheme aims at preparation of Master Plans of the Railway stations and implementation of the Master Plan in phases to enhance the facilities including and beyond the Minimum Essential Amenities (MEA) and aiming for creation of Roof Plazas and city centres at the station in long run.

Scale of amenities and facilities to be provided shall be finalized based on the broad guiding principles of the scheme, footfall at the station, stakeholder consultations including end-users and local authorities and with approval of Divisional Railway Manager (DRM).

Navi Mumbai International Airport : Adani Group On Track To Complete Phase 1 By Dec 2024

By
Amit Mishra
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0

The work on the first phase development of Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) will be completed by December 2024, reports Economic Times.

“With just one runway (main) available at Mumbai International Airport, the scope of expansion at the airport remains limited. The target for Navi Mumbai International Airport is December 2024 and we are on course to achieve it,” said Arun Bansal, CEO, Adani Airport Holdings Limited in an interview with ET on the sidelines of an ASSOCHAM’s conference.

NMIA which will be the second airport in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) will address the capacity constraints at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA).

Mumbai – the financial capital of India, and the capital city of the state of Maharashtra forms the largest urban center within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

With a set of two cross runways, the existing Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport was handling more than its peak capacity of 4.8 crore passengers per annum before Covid struck in March 2020.

The NMIA project will be developed in phases with a capacity to handle 60 million passengers per annum (MPPA) and 1.5 million tonnes cargo per annum.

In the initial phase, NMIA will implement passenger capacity of 20 MPPA and 8,00000 tonnes per annum of cargo handling.

The project is being implemented by Navi Mumbai International Airport Limited (NMIAL) which is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) with equity participation of Adani Airport Holdings Limited (AAHL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Limited and CIDCO (City and Industrial Development Corporation) in 74:26 ratio.

In March 2022, Adani Enterprises achieved financial closure for the development of the greenfield project, with the public sector lender, State Bank of India (SBI), underwriting the entire debt requirement of Rs 12,770 crore for the project.

Adani Group is also looking to make Navi Mumbai International Airport as the most digitized airport in the world.

“We are creating a roadmap to make every single airport 4.0 with automation, AI (artificial intelligence), machine learning, metaverse,” Bansal said.

Last year, the Adani Group successfully acquired 5G telecommunication spectrum and will utilize the same for enterprise applications across its businesses.

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