BackGovt sets deadlines for completion of key infra projects
PM-appointed panel also sets timelines for intermediate steps required for completing projects
Premium(Hindustan Times)
New Delhi: A panel appointed by the Prime Minister to boost investments in key infrastructure projects, including the Mumbai Rail Corridor, Navi Mumbai airport, Eastern Peripheral Expressway and 14 others involving an investment of ₹ 1 trillion, has set deadlines for their completion in an attempt to revive activity in the sector.
The steering group is chaired by Pulok Chatterji, principal secretary to the Prime Minister, and was set up to monitor major infrastructure projects.
The group has even set timelines for intermediate steps required for completing projects.
Contracts for the construction of the Mumbai Rail Corridor, Eastern Peripheral Expressway, Navi Mumbai airport, and the Cheyyar (Tamil Nadu) and Bedabahal (Orissa) ultra mega power projects have to be awarded by 31 January.
“If these projects are implemented in the timelines set they will have a positive effect on the economy," said Abheek Barua, chief economist, HDFC Bank Ltd. “They can have a fairly high multiplier effect as these are employment-intensive projects that could lift consumption."
The panel also decided that the issue of whether a request for qualification (RFQ) needs to be reinvited for the Mumbai Rail Corridor, which is stuck because of differences between the state government and the railway ministry, will be resolved by the latter within a week.
The railway ministry has also been asked to provide exact timelines for the completion of the Khurja-Kanpur, Kanpur-Mughalsarai and Mughalsarai-Sonnagar stretches of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor.
The ministry of road transport and highways has been directed to work on the financial model for the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway, for which the pre-feasibility deadline has been set for mid-October.
A senior government official who attended the meeting said, “ The idea is to push for the award of contract of these projects and the rest will follow. What happens next will depend on the what is done on the ground. Even issues like environmental clearances will only come up after the project is awarded." He did not wished to be named.
A new set of standard bid documents have been formulated to attract developers to bid for new power projects. For ultra mega power projects, for which RFQs were invited as per old documents, these will be now based on the new standard. The government wants to set up 16 such projects.
The group also identified 13 transmission projects for awarding within “agreed timelines". India last year witnessed the worst grid failure in the country that left 620 million people without electricity. The move is intended to help evacuation of power through the grid.
In addition to the Navi Mumbai airport, the ministry of civil aviation will also pursue the Goa (Mopa) airport, the PMO said. The ministry has also been asked to work towards awarding operate-maintain-transfer contracts for 4-5 airports by March 2014.
A nominated nodal officer of the rank of a joint secretary will be required to report on a weekly basis on the progress of their department’s project(s).
Utpal Bhaskar contributed to this story.
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