Home Blog Page 7

Haryana Government Approves Metro Connectivity Between Faridabad And Palwal

0

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday (25 June) announced that his government has given approval for Metro connectivity from Faridabad’s Ballabgarh to Palwal.

The declaration was made by the CM who was addressing Gauravshali Bharat Rally at Gajpuri village in Palwal on Sunday (25 June). The aim of the project is to improve the development of the area and ensure better connectivity.

The satellite city of Faridabad is the fourth NCR (National Capital Region) town to be connected to the Metro after Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad. The Violet Line runs between Kashmere Gate in Delhi and Ballabgarh in Haryana connects Faridabad with the national capital.

Khattar expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the metro and National Highways projects in Haryana.

He also mentioned that the construction of Jewar Airport and the Mumbai Expressway passing through the districts of Palwal and Faridabad will further improve development in the area.

The advent of major state highways has already led to unprecedented development in these regions.

Faridabad-Gurugram Metro

The Haryana Mass Rapid Transport Corporation Limited (HMRTC) is currently considering a Metro link between Faridabad and Gurugram via a “double decker viaduct” in arrangement with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

The proposed 30.8 km long alignment will run from Gurugram’s Sector 45 to Bata Chowk on the Badarpur-Escort Mujesar Metro corridor in Faridabad.

A double decker viaduct is a three-tier transportation solution with the Metro rail at the top, highway flyover at the middle level and the existing road at ground level.

The project was announced during the 51st meeting of the HMRTC board in February 2023 and is currently with the State government for approval.

India’s First Hydrogen Train: Northern Railway To Run Prototype Between Jind-Sonipat Section By March 2024

0

In a major boost towards greening the national transporter’s network, Indian Railways’ first Hydrogen train is expected to start from Haryana’s Jind district by March 2024.

The general manager (GM) of Northern Railway, Shobhan Chaudhry, said this during his visit to Jind district in Haryana on Thursday (22 June).

In addition, Jind will also be home to the country’s first hydrogen plant. The plant being set up near the railway junction in Jind has entered the final phase of development and is likely to be completed by December 2023..

Hydrogen trains use hydrogen fuel cells instead of diesel engines. These cells produce electricity by combining hydrogen and oxygen, which generates the electricity used to power the train’s motors. Among the by-products are water and a little heat.

Hydrogen trains do not emit harmful pollutants such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, or particulate matter, which makes them a more environmentally friendly option than trains that run on diesel.

The Northern Railway has set its sights on launching the first prototype of the Hydrogen fuel-based train of eight bogies between Jind-Sonipat section in the ongoing fiscal 2023-2024.

This will be a groundbreaking project for the country, as trains currently run on diesel and electricity. The introduction of hydrogen-powered trains will not only reduce carbon emissions but also pave the way for a cleaner and greener future.

GAIL Emerges As Successful Bidder For 175 Km Natural Gas Pipeline To J&K

0

GAIL (India) Ltd, the country’s largest gas distributor, has emerged as the successful bidder for the Gurdaspur-Jammu Natural Gas Pipeline.

The 175-km natural gas pipeline from Gurdaspur in Punjab to Jammu City via Pathankot, Kathua and Samba will cater to the natural gas requirement in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Map of Gurdaspur-Jammu Natural Gas Pipeline

Earlier in January 2023, the Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) had invited bids for Gurdaspur-Jammu Natural Gas Pipeline under Regulation 5 of PNGRB (Authorising Entities to Lay, Build, Operate or Expand Natural Gas Pipelines) Regulations, 2008.

Two bidders namely, GAIL (India) Ltd and Indian Oil Corporation had submitted their bids for the Jammu pipeline. Both bidders were found to be technically qualified and financial bids were opened on 21 June.

“As per preliminary evaluation of the financial bids, it appears that GAIL (India) Limited has the highest composite score and is the successful bidder for the Gurdaspur-Jammu Natural Gas Pipeline,” the regulator PNGRB said in a statement.

Originally, the PNGRB had granted authorisation for laying natural gas pipeline along the route of Bhatinda (Punjab)-Kathua (J&K)-Jammu (J&K)-Srinagar.

The Bhatinda-Jammu-Srinagar natural gas pipeline was awarded to Gujarat State Petronet Limited (GSPL)-led consortium.

However, the consortium failed to lay the pipeline within the stipulated time, following which PNGRB cancelled the authorisation and suo-motu invited bids for the Gurdaspur-Jammu pipeline.

The initial capacity in the Gurdaspur-Jammu natural gas pipeline shall be  at least equal to 2 million standard cubic metre per day. However, no timeline has been specified for the completion of the pipeline.

Mumbai Metro Line-3 Gears Up For Phase-1 Operation With Two Additional Trainsets; Fleet Strength Reaches Five

0

The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) has received two more trainsets for Mumbai Metro line-3.

These trainsets have been assembled at Aarey Car depot and will be used for launch of Phase-1 operations.

With this, the MMRCL has now a total of five trainsets — four more train sets are required for Phase-1 commissioning which are in manufacturing process.

The Mumbai Metro Line-3 is a 33.5-km-long underground stretch connecting the busiest and congested regions in Mumbai.

The metro line will connect Cuffe Parade business district in the extreme south of the city to SEEPZ in the north-central with 26 underground and one at-grade station.

Line-3 will be the first underground metro line in Mumbai and will be one of the biggest underground continuous stretches in India.

Earlier, in September 2018, Alstom, a French manufacturer had been awarded a contract worth approximately 315 million Euros to supply 248 metro cars for Mumbai Metro Line-3 by the MMRCL.

This contract comprises the design, delivery and commissioning of 31 lightweight, fully-furnished modern passenger train sets of eight cars each.

It is also the first time that the metro cars will have 75 per cent motorisation, enabling quick acceleration and deceleration thereby bringing about greater efficiency in operations.

In addition to the above features, it will be also the first UTO (Unattended Train Operation) project in Mumbai and second in India after Delhi Line Line-7 and 8.

While the complete designing and development of the metro cars is being undertaken out of Alstom’s Bangalore engineering centre, the 248 metro cars are being manufactured from its state-of-the-art rolling stock manufacturing unit at Sri City in Chennai.

The Mumbai Metro Line-3 is currently under construction with 87 per cent of the work finished and is expected to be operationalised in parts, from the end of this year onwards.

The first phase of the project between BKC and SEEPZ is expected to be ready and open to the public by December this year.

Akasa Air Expands Fleet With Order Of Four Additional Boeing Aircrafts, Reaching A Total Of 76

0

Late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Akasa Air, the new entrant in the Indian civil aviation sector, has announced that it will purchase four additional Boeing 737-8 jets at the ongoing Paris Air Show.

Earlier in November 2021, Akasa had placed an order for 72 Boeing 737-8 Max family of aircraft at list prices of $9 billion order.

With the order of four additional aircrafts, the Indian carrier’s order book comprises 76 jets, which include 23 737-8s and 53 high-capacity 737-8-200 airplanes.

The Boeing 737 Max airplanes, powered by CFM fuel-efficient, LEAP-1B engines offers excellent economics, reducing fuel use and emissions by 20 per cent compared to the airplanes it replaces.

Moreover, the Boeing 737 is a quieter aircraft, creating a 50 per cent less noise footprint and offering 20 per cent lower airframe maintenance costs.

“As the world’s fastest growing airline, we are excited to add four more Boeing 737-8 airplanes into our fleet, taking our initial order of 72 aircraft up to 76 jets which will be delivered over the next four years.

In addition to supporting our rapid domestic expansion, these airplanes allow us to take full advantage of the category leading 737-8 aircraft with its unparalleled range, as we prepare our foray into international routes,” said Vinay Dube, Founder and CEO, Akasa Air.

Deliveries

Akasa has followed the low-cost carrier model of ordering aircraft in bulk, which gets the customers a significant discount on list prices from OEMs like Boeing.

The airline took delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in Seattle, USA on 16 June 2022 and over the next four years, the airline will get the remaining aircrafts, taking its total fleet size to 76 aircraft.

International Operations

The purchase of four new 737-8s will strengthen Akasa Air’s expansion strategy as they aim to commence international operations by the end of 2023.

Since its first commercial flight on 07 August 2022, Akasa Air has become the fastest-growing airline in the country, operating a fleet of 19 aircraft today. It has served more than 3 million revenue passengers, operating more than 900 weekly flights across 36 unique routes, connecting 17 cities.

The airline plans to make another significant aircraft order for a fleet of aircraft which will be in three digits by the year-end.

Mumbai-Pune Expressway ‘Missing Link’ Project To Get Ready By July 2024

0

The “missing link” project on the Mumbai-Pune expressway is nearing completion and is scheduled to be unveiled by July 2024.

The 12.1-kilometre-long Missing Link project, is an alternative route that bypasses the 19 km Khandala ghat section of the Expressway and comprises two sets of twin tunnels, and two viaducts, one of which is a cable-stayed bridge.

Once completed, those driving from Mumbai to Pune will get on to the ‘missing link’ stretch at Khopoli, bypass the expressway and drive 840 metre on a viaduct, before entering Tunnel 1 (1.75 km long).

Once out of this tunnel, vehicles will cover 640 metres on a cable-stayed viaduct bridge, before entering Tunnel 2, which is 8.9 km long. A part of this tunnel plunges around 170 feet below the ground, under the Lonavala lake, to finally emerge on the Sinhgad Institute side.

The Rs 6,695-crore project, undertaken by the Maharashtra State Road Development (MSRDC) will shorten the distance between Mumbai and Pune by more than 6km and cut travel time by approximately 30 minutes.

This reduction will yield substantial savings in terms of fuel consumption and carbon emissions, as the ghat section currently consumes fuel due to uphill travel and traffic congestion.

The construction work of the Missing Link project is at 71 per cent complete with the tunnel works nearing the 90 per cent milestone. The construction of the bridge section is being carried out by Afcons, while Navayuga Engineering, a prominent infrastructure company, has taken up the responsibility of tunnel construction.

Once open to traffic, the missing link will prevent bottlenecks at Khandala, providing for a seamless travelling experience on India’s first Expressway.

Many Firsts

  • World’s widest Tunnel: Two sets of twin tunnels, each 23.75 metre wide
  • India’s highest cable-stayed road bridge – the bridge will be at a height of 132 metre from ground level, which will be the highest for any road project in the country.

Chennai Port-Maduravoyal Elevated Expressway: J Kumar Infraprojects Emerges As Lowest Bidder For All 4 Packages, Work To Commence By August

0

The completion of this project is expected to alleviate traffic congestion in Chennai by segregating local traffic movement onto one tier of the elevated highway.

After winning the first, second and fourth packages earlier this month, J Kumar Infraprojects (JKIL) has now also emerged as the lowest bidder to construct 4.485-km-long third package of the 19.88 km Chennai Port-Maduravoyal Expressway project in Tamil Nadu.

The firm placed a bid of Rs 865 crore, emerging as the lowest bidder for the third package, as reported by the MetroRailGuy.

Bridge & Roof–Braithwaite Burn joint venture (JV) bid at Rs 1,376 crore, the highest among the bidders, among whom were also NCC, Tata–SP Singla JV, Afcons Infrastructure, P&C–Evrascon JV and G R Infraprojects.

Four Packages

Earlier in July 2022, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had invited tenders for the expressway project through four EPC packages with a 910-day construction deadline.

A total of 13 bidders, including Afcons, Tata Projects and Kalpataru Power Transmission were in fray to construct Maduravoyal Expressway.

These firms had submitted a total of 24 bids for four packages of the project. Out of the 13 bidders, Afcons Infrastructure Limited and J Kumar Infraprojects are the only two to have bid for all the four packages.

Project

The 20.6 km double-decker elevated highway between Madurvoyal on the Chennai-Bengaluru highway and Napier Bridge, adjacent to Chennai port, is being built at a cost of Rs 5,855 crore.

The project entails constructing a four-lane elevated corridor.

Route Alignment.

The first level of the corridor will facilitate movement of light motor vehicles between Koyambedu and Chennai Port, with ramps in 13 places — seven entries and six exits.

The second tier has been designed only for heavy motor vehicles between Chennai Port and Maduravoyal.

The project is specifically designed to manage the expected increase in port-bound traffic, which is predicted to double by 2040 from current levels.

At present, trucks to and from the port ply through the port’s northern end in Royapuram. However, the elevated project will allow entry and exit through the port’s southern end in the heart of the city.

Crossing at Maduravoyal Interchange.

The completion of this project is expected to alleviate traffic congestion in Chennai by segregating local traffic movement onto one tier of the elevated highway. Additionally, it will double the handling capacity of the port, reduce waiting times at the port, and decrease travel time for vehicles bound for the port, by an hour.

The foundation stone of the project was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May 2022 under the Bharatmala Pariyojana program.

Sarbananda Sonowal, Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, on 23 April had said that work for the greenfield project under the Bharatmala Pariyojana would be awarded by June-end.

After the letter of acceptance is issued, the contractor will mobilise the necessary personnel, materials and machinery, which officials estimate will take place by August-September.

The work to construct the two-tier corridor is scheduled to begin after the contract is signed.

The Southern Railway has given approval for the general area drawings of the two road-over bridges situated at Chintadripet and Nungambakkam, both of which are part of the alignment. However, approval is still pending for the final drawings.

According to sources, the NHAI has already acquired around 98 per cent of the land required for the project, with only the Navy portion yet to be physically taken over.

The source also mentioned that after the construction of 64 houses that are meant for the Naval officers, they will be able to take possession of the property.

Restarting Vedanta’s Copper Plant At Tuticorin Will Alleviate Copper Supply Crisis

0

Vedanta-owned Sterlite Copper has come out with a fresh expression of interest (EoIs) for supply of raw materials as part of its preparatory measures to restart production at its Thoothukudi unit in Tamil Nadu.

The EoI for procurement includes materials like 1.4 million metric tonne (MT) per annum of copper concentrate, 700,000 MT of imported thermal coal, 700,000 MT of rock phosphate, 60,000 MT of petroleum products, 7,000 MT of liquefied petroleum gas, 120,000 MT of quartz fines, 42,000 MT of quartz chips, 20,000 MT of limestone among other.

Earlier on 12 June, the Company had invited EoIs for carrying out plant ‘restart activities’ – the plant was shut down in May 2018 following an order by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB).

The scope of that EoI included safety assessment and audit of the structures and building, repair and rectification, replacement and commissioning of plant and machinery to enable achieving the designed capacity.

Floating these tenders is considered a standard procedure due to the lengthy timeline involved in procuring and deploying the materials and resources needed to restore and restart the plant.

India’s Largest Plant

Sterlite Copper plant was set up in 1996 at Thoothukudi (Tuticorin) as a zero-liquid discharge plant.  This integrated Copper smelter and Refinery plant has a capacity of 4,00,000 Metric Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA) with another 4,00,000 MTPA under expansion.

When the plant was operational, it had been catering up to 40 per cent of India’s demand for refined copper and was the single largest producer of Sulphuric acid and Phosphoric acid in South India.

Further, the plant was the largest employer in Thoothukudi providing employment to over 5,000 people directly and to another 25,000 indirectly through the value chain and contributed around Rs 2,500 crore to the State’s exchequer.

The smelter was closed on 28 May 2018 on orders from the Tamil Nadu government following the death of 13 persons when police opened fire on villagers protesting the pollution emanating from the factory.

Vedanta then approached the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which granted permission to reopen the plant in a December 2018 verdict. However, the Tamil Nadu government swiftly appealed to the Supreme Court, resulting in a stay on the NGT order.

Subsequently, in April this year, the three-member Supreme Court Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Justice DY Chandrachud allowed Sterlite Copper to carry out the upkeep of the plant.

The court ruling paved the way for the company to get access to the plant for upkeep works, following which the June 12 EoI was floated for upkeep and maintenance of the unit.

Failed Attempt

In a surprising move, the Vedanta Group in June 2022 had invited expression of interest for the sale of its copper plant along with its other units.

Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta, however, dropped plans to sell its copper smelter at Tuticorin due to poor response to its attempt to find a credible suitor for the plant.

Local Resources

As part of its effort to engage with local community during the restart process, the Company intends to engage with local contractors and offer jobs to local people.

“Local suppliers from Thoothukudi and other parts of Tamil Nadu will be given preference. Vendors with relevant experience, expertise, financials, delivery capabilities and strong commitment to environmental sustainability are invited to participate,” the 12 June EoI said.

Further the EoI stipulates that interested contractors should have potential to employ upto 4000 individuals in and around Thoothukudi for deployment at Sterlite Copper in various categories ranging from highly skilled to unskilled.

What Next

Copper is the third most used industrial metal after steel and aluminium.

The government’s emphasis on infrastructure development, combined with a robust resurgence in economic activities across various sectors such as real estate, consumer durables, and electric vehicle manufacturing, has significantly boosted the demand for the red metal.

India used to be a net exporter of copper until FY18 when the Tamil Nadu plant was shut down and since then the country has become net copper importer for a fifth year in a row.

The country’s copper import in FY 21 and FY 22 stood at 2,38,483 tonnes and 2,38,694 tonnes, respectively. However, copper imports of 2,75,341 tonnes in FY23 were still lower than the pre-Covid high of 3,57,423 tonnes recorded in FY20.

London-based Vedanta Group is now making one last-ditch effort to restart the plant under the Supreme Court supervision as various green energy projects happening in India are set to boost domestic copper demand.

This plant which is likely to restart operations if a Supreme Court verdict goes in favour of the company, will alleviate the copper supply crisis and contribute to India’s green growth objectives.

CNG, Other Clean Fuel Taxis Granted 15-Year Validity To Operate In Delhi

0

To give a push to the concept of ‘Green Mobility for Clean Air’, the Delhi government on Tuesday (20 June) extended the permit validity of taxis running on cleaner fuels such as compressed natural gas (CNG), or those powered by electricity — from 8 years to 15 years.

According to an order issued by Transport Secretary Ashish Kundra, the Contract Carriage (Delhi-NCR) Permit of the taxies plying on CNG or clean fuel “shall remain valid for 15 years subject to the fulfilment of all other prescribed conditions as stipulated in Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, CMVR, 1989, and DMVR, 1993”.

Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said the move will help “thousands of taxi drivers”. “It is an initiative towards providing cleaner and greener modes of transportation while ensuring the welfare and convenience of taxi owners and operators in the city”, he added.

Legal Battle

Officials familiar with the matter stated that the transport department had received a number of representations from various taxi union demanding to implement uniformity in respect of validity of the permits issued under Section 74 of the Motor Vehicles Act,1988, known as Contract Carriage Delhi NCR Permit.

Earlier, taxis registered under the City Taxi Scheme 2015 with DL1RT (commercial taxis which have a yellow number plate) had a permit validity of eight years.

However, all other taxis, including black and yellow cabs, enjoyed a validity of 15 years, corresponding to the vehicle’s age as defined by the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988.

Some of these unions had even approached the Delhi High Court to seek the removal of disparity in respect to validity of permits. The Delhi high Court had directed the Transport Department to consider the grievances of the petitioner and pass necessary orders.

Flip-flops

Earlier, the permit used to be valid for 15 years for taxis running on cleaner fuels as well. However, in 2017, the government made an arbitrary decision to decrease the validity to five years. As a result of significant protests, the duration was subsequently extended to eight years in 2019 and has now been restored to the original 15-year period.

The move to extend the permits for the clean vehicle has been applauded by one and all.

The implementation of this measure will bring about a significant improvement in the lives of taxi owners who would have otherwise been compelled to sell their cabs and purchase new ones within the eight-year timeframe, even if the old vehicles were in compliance with environmental laws.

“The decision by the Delhi government to increase the operational limit for clean para transit vehicles is a positive step. However, it would have been even more beneficial if the increased limit applied exclusively to zero-emission vehicles such as electric vehicles,” said Amit Bhatt, managing director (India), International Council of Clean Transport (ICCT).

Madhya Pradesh: Agreement Inked For State’s First Multi-Modal Logistics Park At Indore; Phase 1 By 2025

0

The special purpose vehicle (SPV) formed for developing the multi-modal logistics park (MMLP) at Indore inked an agreement with the developer GR Infraprojects on 19 June to build and operationalise the first phase by 2025.

The first MMLP of Madhya Pradesh is being developed in an area of 255.17 acre near Pithampur in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh.

The concession agreement was executed by GR Logistics Park (Indore) Private Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the GR Infraprojects which won the rights to construct MMLP Indore in February 2023.

The project is being implemented on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis wherein the concessionaire will develop and operate the MMLP at an estimated cost of Rs 1,110.58 crore.

Under the terms of the contract, the developer will complete the project within two years from the appointed date and will operate the MMLP for 45 years.

SPV

In order to develop the logistics park, a tripartite SPV has been formed amongst the National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLML), Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) and Madhya Pradesh Industrial Development Corporation (MPIDC).

The SPV will provide land for the MMLP, external rail, road connectivity as well as water and power supply. The MMLP is being provided with a four-lane access from Mhow-Neemach four lane state highway and 6.5 km long rail siding from Sagore Railway Station.

Pratul Sinha, executive director, MPIDC said, “An agreement was signed on Monday with the developer GR Logistics Park Ltd appointed with a concession period of 45 years for developing and operating the MMLP and the SPV. The project will improve logistics efficiency and multimodal connectivity for enhanced efficiency and seamless movement of goods services as envisioned under PM Gati Shakti. MMLP will create employment opportunities as well as promote the growth of industrial activities.”

Phase-Wise Development

The MMLP will be developed in three phases — Phase I is targeted to be completed in two years, that is, by 2025, leading to commercial operations.

The MMLP will cater to 12.79 million metric tonne (MMT) cargo in the horizon period of 45 years and will give huge boost to the industrial zones in the catchment region such as Indore, Ujjain, Dewas, Dhar, Pithampur, Khandwa and Barwani.

This state-of-the-art logistics park will fulfill most of its energy requirement through ‘green energy’ and is expected to generate 10,000 jobs.

Reducing Logistics Cost

MMLP is an integrated facility within which all activities relating to logistics and the distribution of goods, both for national and international transit can be carried out across multiple modes of transport.

These mega establishments are targeted to reduce logistics costs to 8-9 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). Currently, logistics account for 14 per cent of GDP — making India far less competitive on the global stage.

The NHLML, which is a 100 per cent owned subsidiary of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is the nodal agency for implementing the MMLP projects. The foundation stone of the country’s first MMLP at Jogighopa in Assam was laid in October 2020 and is slated to be completed by December 2023.