Infrastructure News & Discussion

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 09 Apr 2009 03:21

As far as the Dam proposal goes just dont take the negative example of Three Gorges, just look at what the South Koreans have done and achieved.

Also if the Bridge is built(not sure if it is there in the toned down proposal) the distance between Bombay/South Gujarat and Saurashtra would be reduced by half.I think the money saved on the reduced Oil cost over the years alone would justify the hefty investment on the project.

SaraLax · Post by **SaraLax** » 16 Apr 2009 16:55

Private port at Karaikal begins its operations

KARAIKAL: The private MARG Karaikal port at Vanjore in Karaikal district, started functioning on Wednesday and received its first project cargo vessel, M.V.Beluga Fanfare, which was berthed in the newly built facility.

.........Mr. Reddy said that the state-of-the-art, all weather, deep water port with two berths had a combined capacity of five million metric tonnes per annum and a back-up area of 2.40 lakh square metre.

The project would act as an agent of change and will bring inclusive growth to coastal central Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

Mr. Reddy pointed out that MARG had acquired a cutter suction dredger with a dredging capacity of 2,000 cubic metre per hour for the port, which would be developed in three phases. The draft would be increased continuously to 13.5 to 16.5 metres in stages for handling all types of vessels.

With the completion of phase-III of the project by 2015, the port would have a cumulative capacity to handle 45 million metric tonnes per annum. It was poised to serve as a congestion-free port and would serve customers with advanced cargo handling equipment, suitable warehouse facilities, appropriate and damage-free storage and faster turnaround of ships due to mechanisation.

Salient features
Special features of the port included single window professional service, paperless working, cost effective technology, best logistics support for door-to-door and online update for all customers to facilitate efficient handling cargo. It would provide services such as bunkering and repair of small ships.

Website Link

anishns · Post by **anishns** » 05 Jun 2009 06:23

Anyone know if the Worli-Bandra sealink is open to the public yet?

Omar · Post by **Omar** » 05 Jun 2009 07:28

Sea Link will open 3rd week of June

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 05 Jun 2009 19:05

At long last one great piece of infrastructure that "Maximum City" can boast of

. Now on to Metro, Monorail, MTHL, New Bombay Airport in the next 2-5 years.

Gaurav_S · Post by **Gaurav_S** » 06 Jun 2009 09:58

Govt lines up Rs 1 lakh cr for Metro projects

Currently, Metro rail projects are in progress at various stages in Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, while projects are under evaluation for Pune, Lucknow, Kochi, Ludhiana and Jaipur among others.

With increasing number of projects under implementation for modern mass transportation, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is now eyeing to offer its consultancy to other nations.

...

Commenting on the viability of Metro project in Ahmedabad, he said that it can be viable only if extra land can be accessed for the commercial development. It may be recalled here that the Gujarat government formed a company Metro-link Express for Gandhinagar-Ahmedabad (MEGA) with share capital of Rs 200 crore.

Meanwhile, DMRC is also eyeing consulting projects overseas. Mr Sreedharan said that countries in South East Asian region are seeking the expertise of DMRC. "We have been approached even by Pakistan and I, along with my team members, visited Lahore recently. Some of them are even pursuing us to take the responsibility of project execution also, but we lack necessary resources and trained manpower for the same. Indonesia for Jakarta and Syria, too, have approached us," said Mr Sreedharan. Sri Lanka is also very keen for support from DRMC and the corporation recently sent its team to study the plans there.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 06 Jun 2009 12:52

their discussion with one herr wagner who sold a maglev train between karachi to pindi didnt pan out it seems

vsudhir · Post by **vsudhir** » 06 Jun 2009 15:36

We have been approached even by Pakistan and I, along with my team members, visited Lahore recently.

With all due respect Sreedharan Saar, I fear for your personal safety in TSP. The Packees can go to *any* extent to hurt Yindia.

Gaurav_S · Post by **Gaurav_S** » 07 Jun 2009 10:17

BTW, ET has good slideshow of Savali plant Baroda from where DMRC coaches are rolled out.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/art ... 624276.cms

These coaches are more comfortable and cheaper then previous ones.

VinodTK · Post by **VinodTK** » 21 Jun 2009 07:45

Driving through the Sea

Bandra to Worli in 360 seconds

Promising a safe and swift ride

Bridge stats
A bridge of steel

Rishirishi · Post by **Rishirishi** » 22 Jun 2009 06:05

VinodTK wrote:Driving through the Sea

Bandra to Worli in 360 seconds

Promising a safe and swift ride

Bridge stats
A bridge of steel

In other parts of the world, such developments have just moved the traffic jams. I fear that Worli and Bandra will be choked. Can the infrastructure there handle the 4 lanes of traffic?

The total cost of the project was arround 1600 crores. It can move 125 000 cars per day. For that money the city could have built a metroline (costing approx Rs 80 crors per km) of 20 km. What about a line from Nariman point, via Mahim and all the way to Andheri. That would have been able to move some 600 000 passengers per day, in each direction. Would have made a difference to the millions of ordinary people.

Roads is not a solution for Mumbai. Mumbai requires a very good public transport sytem.

VinodTK · Post by **VinodTK** » 27 Jun 2009 03:35

Cameras, cops on bikes will monitor sea link security

Dileep · Post by **Dileep** » 01 Jul 2009 10:30

An industrial park exclusively for electronics hardware is coming up in Cochin. Here is a flash movie:

SHQ was left in awe at the tech parks in Bengaluru. Maybe I should move in to this one.

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 01 Jul 2009 17:15

Dileep wrote:An industrial park exclusively for electronics hardware is coming up in Cochin.

ഇത്‌ വല്ലതും നടക്കുമോ, മാഷെ? സ്മാർട്ട്‌ സിറ്റി ഒക്കെ 'ഗോവിന്ദ' ആയില്ലേ?

Dileep · Post by **Dileep** » 02 Jul 2009 10:48

Sachin wrote:
Dileep wrote:An industrial park exclusively for electronics hardware is coming up in Cochin.
ഇത്‌ വല്ലതും നടക്കുമോ, മാഷെ? സ്മാർട്ട്‌ സിറ്റി ഒക്കെ 'ഗോവിന്ദ' ആയില്ലേ?

The land is handed over. What remains is to find money to build, and tenants to occupy. Not that it is easy.

SmartCity got Brahmossed because of politics. This project is private enterprise, so no chance of that. Business downturn is the only killer.

The promoters already occupy around 150K sqft in CSEZ, and expanding. So, the captive demand itself is considerable.

Jamal K. Malik · Post by **Jamal K. Malik** » 02 Jul 2009 22:04

$500 bn infrastructure spending difficult
http://www.business-standard.com/ecosur ... 6315&tp=on

The government's $500 billion infrastructure spending plan by 2012 is a tough one to achieve as fund availability is proving a problem, the Economic Survey said

p_saggu · Post by **p_saggu** » 02 Jul 2009 22:09

Bandra Worli Sea Link

Abhijeet · Post by **Abhijeet** » 03 Jul 2009 02:03

Many nice pictures in this slideshow:

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/slidesho ... on_1270322

Perhaps the best of the lot:

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/slidesho ... 1270322-14

suryag · Post by **suryag** » 03 Jul 2009 05:19

Pic10 is indeed funny
http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/slidesho ... 1270322-10

the sealink doubling up as a local spot to take a pic

Jamal K. Malik · Post by **Jamal K. Malik** » 04 Jul 2009 00:35

Bandra-Worli Sea Link: Bridge to somewhere?
A good salvo!

Jamal K. Malik · Post by **Jamal K. Malik** » 04 Jul 2009 00:38

Infrastructure firms seek cheaper funds

Jamal K. Malik · Post by **Jamal K. Malik** » 12 Jul 2009 10:44

CABINET COMMITTEE ON INFRASTRUCTURE CONSTITUTED

Yash · Post by **Yash** » 12 Jul 2009 23:34

Dileep wrote:An industrial park exclusively for electronics hardware is coming up in Cochin. Here is a flash movie:
...

This design is logic defying. There is a hospital, an entertainment center, a manufacturing facility, a hotel/conf center, AND a residential complex -- all in a few square blocks. For proper development and scope for future expansion, these things need to be spaced out. Why are we trying to cram an entire downtown into a small area? We need to build sustainable cities; I'm not a big fan of such townships. The grassy area seems to indicate additional parking spots underneath. I'd love to see how much underground parking they've tried to muster.

Yogesh · Post by **Yogesh** » 13 Jul 2009 00:48

Rishirishi wrote:
The total cost of the project was arround 1600 crores. It can move 125 000 cars per day. For that money the city could have built a metroline (costing approx Rs 80 crors per km) of 20 km. What about a line from Nariman point, via Mahim and all the way to Andheri. That would have been able to move some 600 000 passengers per day, in each direction. Would have made a difference to the millions of ordinary people.

Roads is not a solution for Mumbai. Mumbai requires a very good public transport sytem.

With all due respect to sane thoughts, common man comes latter in the ladder saar jee

rachel · Post by **rachel** » 13 Jul 2009 20:48

Apologies for repeating something that probably has been mentionned many times before.. bt Mumbai Sea Link SHOULD have been constructed with provisions for rail/metro line running down the center .. rather than just vehickle traffic.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 16 Jul 2009 03:26

Amitabh Kant may head $90 billion DMIC project

Amitabh Kant, the man behind the ‘Incredible India’ campaign, may soon be appointed to lead one of the country’s largest industrial-cum-infrastructure projects — Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC).

Mr Kant, who is known for his tenure as joint secretary in the tourism ministry for almost six years beginning 2001, may be appointed as the CEO of the newly-created DMIC Development Corporation (DMICDC), the nodal agency to handle the proposed $90-billion project in collaboration with Japanese government.

According to an official in the ministry of personnel, who did not wish to be identified, the order of his appointment may be issued soon as the government has now decided to move ahead with the project which got stuck last year over the delay on Japan's release of a part of the project development fund (PDF) worth $250 million, or Rs 1250 crore.

rachel · Post by **rachel** » 16 Jul 2009 20:58

Subways are Infrastructure, so I guess I can ask this question here.

I love Delhi Metro, except I was shocked on their website.. they say trains arrive every 8 mins peak, every 12 mins non-peak.

Why so infrequent? In Toronto, every 5-6 mns off-peak, and peak is every 130 secs.

And even that is considered not good enough, they are thinking of putting in Automated Train Operation to increase frequencies to about 1.5 minutes for rush hours.

Does DMRC not have enough trains? Why so infrequent?

Virupaksha · Post by **Virupaksha** » 17 Jul 2009 00:03

rachel wrote:Subways are Infrastructure, so I guess I can ask this question here.

I love Delhi Metro, except I was shocked on their website.. they say trains arrive every 8 mins peak, every 12 mins non-peak.

Why so infrequent? In Toronto, every 5-6 mns off-peak, and peak is every 130 secs.

And even that is considered not good enough, they are thinking of putting in Automated Train Operation to increase frequencies to about 1.5 minutes for rush hours.

Does DMRC not have enough trains? Why so infrequent?

rachel, cost. With more than 5 min difference, there can be some amount of manual backup. If you reduce that, you cannot use manual backups.

Also delhi metro has not been completely built. There are only 1-2 lines running now. and why should we compare with others? If you are in delhi, just go to a metro station. Are you observing so much rush that even if you are on platform, you cant get on the train. Is this the case? If so, I agree with you. If not, the money can be better spent.

Katare · Post by **Katare** » 17 Jul 2009 01:11

What constraints do you feel while executing a big infrastructure project like this?

There is a big shortage of contractors. Some of the big contractors like L&T don't want to look at a work that's for less than Rs 300-400 crore. Most of our tenders are Rs 100-120 crore. All of them have got such a lot of work in the country and are so stretched. In the Badarpur line, which was the last line to be sanctioned by the government before the Commonwealth Games, when we called for tenders for the last 10 stations, there was no response.Then we had to retender and even then only one contractor came forward — Gammon. We have got 2-3 contractors who are not coming up to our expectations. But no one is available to replace them.

In this situation where good contractors are scarce, do you end up settling for the second best contractor to meet the deadlines?

We always shortlist contractors before actually starting the selection process. We call global tenders and call for tenders from about 7-8 parties. After that, the lowest bidder is selected.

Contractors also have a serious problem, which the country should understand. Engineers are available but technical workers like masons, bar benders, shuttering people, electricians are very hard to find. The shortage is so acute that a lot of poaching is going on.
That's one constraint. What are the others impeding India's effort to build world-class infrastructure?

There is a critical shortage of cement and steel. Power is not enough. Would you believe if I tell you that every contractor working with us has his own genset? They just can't depend on power from the city. I went to Shanghai recently and found that they are able to construct tunnels much cheaper than us. And one of the main reasons was assured quality power. That alone brings down the energy cost by at least two-thirds. Energy costs account for about 15% of the cost of the project, so if power is available, cost can be reduced by 10% straightaway. Another problem is that of quality engineers, which we are addressing by training them in-house.

Metro mishap not due to crack but design fault: Sreedharan

It seems we have sever shortage of skilled workers, technicians and civil engineers. L&T chief had similar complains in his interviews a year or so back, he even claimed that he is letting go good business because he can't find enough talent to handle new projects. He said I can't compete with IT companies who have 30% margins on salaries while margins in my industry is ~10%. Recent sobering up of IT mania would provide some breathing space for public sector, govt and core industries in competition for human talent.

It is extremely disappointing to note that at the beginning of “massive infra spending push” we have a sever skilled workers crunch in a nation of billion+ people known for its highly educated/skilled labor force in western world.

suryag · Post by **suryag** » 17 Jul 2009 02:53

Guys just a passing thought can the Delhi metro tunnels be used in case of an attack on NewDelhi?

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 17 Jul 2009 03:06

Kamal Nath gets aggressive. Let's see how well he does
Next decade will be of infra: Nath

Addressing the investors at ‘Building India: India Infrastructure Summit’ today, Nath said India’s next decade would be of infrastructure. He said infrastructure would be the defining sector for India in the coming decade as was information technology in the 1990s and the present decade.

He also invited the investors to come out with suggestions to make the present process more attractive for them. Stressing on the vast investment potential in the road sector, he said that his ministry aimed to construct 7,000 km of roads a year.

The minister told investors that with a projected traffic growth of 7 per cent and vehicle growth of 12 per cent per annum along with vast demand from the booming rural sector, India’s road sector presents great potential for growth and private sector participation.

Nath also informed the investors that the ministry was taking steps towards reforming the processes, carrying out structural changes at the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and also planning for capacity building for both the contractors and the authority.

Hailing public-private partnership (PPP) as one of the most suitable models for the road sector, he said that of the 12,000 km road aimed for the next year, 7,000 km will be built on the BOT toll basis, while the remaining 5,000 km will be on the annuity and engineering procurement construction basis.

CalvinH · Post by **CalvinH** » 17 Jul 2009 05:35

Katare wrote:

It seems we have sever shortage of skilled workers, technicians and civil engineers. L&T chief had similar complains in his interviews a year or so back, he even claimed that he is letting go good business because he can't find enough talent to handle new projects. He said I can't compete with IT companies who have 30% margins on salaries while margins in my industry is ~10%. Recent sobering up of IT mania would provide some breathing space for public sector, govt and core industries in competition for human talent.

It is extremely disappointing to note that at the beginning of “massive infra spending push” we have a sever skilled workers crunch in a nation of billion+ people known for its highly educated/skilled labor force in western world.

Dont blame IT for shortage of skilled workers like masons, technicians, engineers etc. Most of such talent in construction got sucked out of India due to construction boom in gulf. I personally know a company where half of the workforce (at various level from skilled crane operators to DGM) moved out to Gulf in a span of 1 year in 2007-2008 even though the company is a construction MNC and is known to pay well.

Muppalla · Post by **Muppalla** » 17 Jul 2009 06:11

Katare wrote: It seems we have sever shortage of skilled workers, technicians and civil engineers. L&T chief had similar complains in his interviews a year or so back, he even claimed that he is letting go good business because he can't find enough talent to handle new projects. He said I can't compete with IT companies who have 30% margins on salaries while margins in my industry is ~10%. Recent sobering up of IT mania would provide some breathing space for public sector, govt and core industries in competition for human talent.

It is extremely disappointing to note that at the beginning of “massive infra spending push” we have a sever skilled workers crunch in a nation of billion+ people known for its highly educated/skilled labor force in western world.

This is sad and I read in some article about an year ago that industries are trying to get back folks who left for Middle East to India with the same salaries etc.

What has IT to do for this situation? I am confused about this link. Hope you clarify what you meant. May I guess you mean that all the Engineers from trades like Civil, Mechanical etc. are falling for IT jobs and hence the shortage. It may be partially true as folks moved to where they get good money. Call center operators are paid more as compared to Civil Engineers from mid range companies.

I do not think the cost of Infrastructure projects is just due to high labor cost. The material costs and taxes on the manufacturing those may be reason for high costs. The government is not able to fix the cement shortage problems.

In India occupations like Masons, carpenters etc. are still very traditional and are hereditary. Most of these occupations still align with the persons caste and the caste's occupation. India did not have a large scale vocational training institutes or certification cources for such skills. We have Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and most of them concentrate on workshop mode skills like fitters, welders etc.

It is time to start training institutes across many poor districts using NRGES type funds and train the folks in these trades. The Industry can pitch in and do campus hires from such institutes. This is win-win for both government and industry.

vera_k · Post by **vera_k** » 17 Jul 2009 07:00

Katare wrote:It is extremely disappointing to note that at the beginning of “massive infra spending push” we have a sever skilled workers crunch in a nation of billion+ people known for its highly educated/skilled labor force in western world.

The government did not invest in infrastructure when it should have. Every employer took advantage of this lack of demand by paying very very low salaries to employees outside the IT industry. The signal it sent to students studying for a degree was to head to the IT industry for good wages. The shortage will be fixed gradually when infrastructure projects are priced correctly with labor costs rising 3-6x from current levels.

vsudhir · Post by **vsudhir** » 17 Jul 2009 16:43

Most of such talent in construction got sucked out of India due to construction boom in gulf. I personally know a company where half of the workforce (at various level from skilled crane operators to DGM) moved out to Gulf in a span of 1 year in 2007-2008 even though the company is a construction MNC and is known to pay well.

Lets hope that trend reverses as quickly as it formed. The construction sector in the gulf has gone bust. Its no secret that several mega building projects lie stagnant in various stages of incompletion thanks to a miraculous (mirageous?) disappearance of all funding only.

Personal anecdotes, well I know of a pipeline construction firm back in 2001 that saw many pipeline engineers and technical staff get poached by the gulf.

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 18 Jul 2009 01:51

Andhra government in Mosque row

HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh government has given alternate land for a mosque demolished during the construction of the international airport at Shamshabad on the city outskirts and also promised to bear the expenses of building it. However, a Muslim political party has rejected the gesture and called for rebuilding the mosque at its original site.
...
..

Owaisi demanded that the demolished mosque be rebuilt at its original site. He said Muslims would never accept land for the mosque at any other place. He fears that this could also set a precedent for the authorities to demolish mosques or other places of worship and provide alternate lands at other places.

vsudhir · Post by **vsudhir** » 18 Jul 2009 02:05

RaviBg wrote:Andhra government in Mosque row

Owaisi demanded that the demolished mosque be rebuilt at its original site. He said Muslims would never accept land for the mosque at any other place. He fears that this could also set a precedent for the authorities to demolish mosques or other places of worship and provide alternate lands at other places.

Bollox.

Someone should ask Sri Owaisi if it will take an injunction from the holy land of Saudi Arabia for the practice he so decries in AP. Several mosques and islam pasand historical sites have been casually demolished to make way for modernity there.

rachel · Post by **rachel** » 18 Jul 2009 05:34

Do you think culture may be a factor in terms of shortages of certain skilled workers? Some have commented that India's educated classes tend to all want their kids to be doctors, IT-Vity, etc etc .. and show a certan disdain for technicians and certain occupations which are skilled, but somewhat 'blue-collar'.

Is this a factor? I remember working at IBM in New York once, and a female engineer had married an electrician (who happened to earn more than her). And I remember my family's reaction ... it ran something like 'only a white woman could do something like that'..... 'Americans have lots of money but no class' etc etc.

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 18 Jul 2009 06:26

There are lots of unemployed youth in towns and villages. They don't have an opportunity though. The government and private industry should join hands and open institutes like ITI and train them. I remember reading an year or so back that L&T and TN govt together opened some such institute in TN. More such initiatives should take place.

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 18 Jul 2009 18:16

Longest railway bridge in Kochi.

Come November and people in Kochi can take pride in their city having the longest railway bridge in the country, cutting across an island over the Vembanad lake.

The 4.62 km-long Vallarpadam bridge will beat the current record for the longest rail bridge held by the Nehru Setu Bridge near Dehri on river Sone in Bihar by more than a kilometre.

"It will be the longest bridge built in the shortest possible time of 18 months," G Kesava Chandran, deputy general manager, Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. (RVNL), which is executing the works, said.

The basic idea behind building this huge elevated structure, being completely funded by the Centre, was to reduce land acquisition at nearby Vaduthala, which is a very thickly populated area, he said.

The bridge is part of the nearly nine km railway link being built for Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT).

The total cost of the Rail link for the Vallarpadam project, including the railway station and goods yard at Edappally near here was Rs 245.67 crore, but had shot up to Rs 297.10 crore due to escalation of steel prices, he said.

Chandran said 11,000 tonnes of ordinary steel, 3,000 tonnes of high tensile steel and 36,000 tonnes of cement have so far been consumed to build the 133 span bridge, which will have 133 pillars. These pillars are built on piles sunk to depths ranging between 45 to 55 metres, he said.

"We are also laying the foundation for double track and expecting a huge increase in traffic once the ICTT becomes operational," Chandran said.

RVNL is a public sector unit under the railway ministry, created to implement large projects like the present one, he said.

Just as ambitious a project as the railway bridge is the Vallarpadam transhipment terminal project that is expected to handle three million TEUs of containerised cargo a year once commissioned.

The terminal will be run by India Gateway Terminal Ltd, part of Dubai Ports World.

A total of Rs 3,000 crore, spread over two phases, will be invested in the project, which will have a capacity to receive vessels upto 8,000 TEUs.