Meeting of Planning Commission and HRD on PPP in Schools

Source : Times of India

These are few excerpts from TOI report on this meeting.

While Haldea brought about some changes like putting the burden of land and infrastructure on the private entity, it was felt that the proposed schools cannot start from class I. HRD minister Kapil Sibal said in the meeting held on Wednesday that these schools have to be from class V. Haldea's proposal that these schools should also be in urban areas was also not approved, with the minister saying that they should be in backward areas.

Haldea's new proposal said land for schools will have to be acquired by the private entity and that the state government will only facilitate the process. It also said that the private entity will have to bear the capital expenditure as well as pay for uniforms, textbooks and annual health check-up of students.

The financing formula proposed by Haldea said that of the total capacity of 2,000 students, 50% should be supported by the government. And at least 50% of the students should be from SC/ST/OBC while the remaining may be children of non-income tax payers. Besides, 25% of the students should be girls.

The recurring support in respect of academic activities should be fixed at Rs 1,600 per month per student based on the average expenditure being incurred by the government on a student in Kendriya Vidyalayas in 2009. Government support should last for 10 years and should vary between locations. Graduated support should be provided for different locations: 75% in metropolitan towns exceeding 30 lakh population, 90% in cities exceeding 10 lakh, 100% in towns exceeding one lakh, 120% in rural areas and 140% in north-east, J&K and tribal areas.

Mr. Haldea's model appears to be a very rigid and fixed formula. Wonder what would be the bidding criteria  for these PPP schools?

Another issue is what to do with the non performing schools? There should be some thought as to how these can be transformed using PPP models.

Why cant HRD ministry appoint a few transaction advisors to propose a few models or even hold workshps with private sector to get right feedback?

PPP in Primary Education ??

Government had announced its plans to bring Public Private Partnership Model into primary education. This is one area where we see that private sector already has a lot of players. But problem with our primary education policy which doesnt allow profit taking from primary education and hence there is no legitimate business for primary education.

Currently all private schools are also being run as not-for-profit institutions. Question is as to why and how private sector players benefit from it. In that case one would have to look deeply into the fee structure of these schools and their way of procuring services for the school.

Given this scenario and motive of the government to woo private sector to partner in the PPP of schools one wonders as to if government would be able to make necessary adjustments in legal frameworks so as to allow private sector to make legitimate profits from the investment they are being asked to make.

Current sparring between planning commission and HRD ministry over the blueprint of PPP model in primary education does not seem to address this important issue at all

This news item in telegraph gives us the latest on current row :

Fissures on education partnership - Planning Commission stonewalls HRD ministry’s objections; meeting today

CHARU SUDAN KASTURI

as per this report:

The Planning Commission has stonewalled most objections raised by the human resource development ministry and experts to its blueprint for public-private partnership (PPP) in school education, setting the stage for a possible confrontation.

Ahead of a key meet with HRD minister Kapil Sibal and a panel of experts, the commission has circulated a blueprint that has not incorporated objections raised to an earlier draft, top officials told The Telegraph.

The meeting, scheduled for tomorrow, was initially planned to vet a “revised” Planning Commission blueprint that was to incorporate concerns raised by the experts and the HRD ministry.

But the talks could now witness panel members and the ministry questioning the commission on why it had only made “superficial” changes to the blueprint while ignoring substantive concerns, sources said.

One has to look at this model from Right to Education bill's perspective also. This bill would require government to foot a big fat bill of primary education and also redefine roll of private schools in it.

If one looks at the motive behind PPP option for primary schooling, ideally it should ensure :

• Increase Availability of service
• Improvement of quality of service
• Decrease cost of delivery of service

As one can see that private sector definitely can bring improvement of quality of service and that might add premium to the cost. Decrease of cost can be hoped if inefficiencies of government system are  done away with by replacing more accountable and efficient delivery of service. One needs to balance these 2 issues to see both qualitative and quantitative value for money from PPP options.

Last but not the least is increasing availability of service. This is crucial as critical business decision for private sector is at stake. Better business and lesser cost can be worked out if one chooses location where other physical infrastructure exists. Quandry is that in such places some sort of private and government school infrastructure exists and might be giving par or somewhat below par performance. The actual challenge for government would to work out a model which would attract private sector to provide better quality education at lesser cost and in far flung areas. This brings demand risk and also higher cost of service delivery into play for the private sector and government would have to find model to meet private sector half way on these issues.

One solution could be bundling of schools with a mix to provide cross subsidy. Other could be to allow local entrepreneurs to participate in the process with linkages to some common service provider to ensure better quality of service.
 

BIAL pulled up by House Committee - The Hindu

PPP is used to to get more efficient delivery systems from private sector. private sector is supposed to bring not only financial resources to the partnership but also technical and managerial expertise.

This news item in Hindu shows as to how BIAL has not lived upto expectations. Good to see that some monitoring is happening in these projects. More user feedback chanels should be opened by government to ensure that all PPP projects are forced to meet service level agreements stipulated in contracts.

Indian private sector needs to change its mentality of short changing government if they would like to participate in long term PPPs.
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Source : http://www.hindu.com/2009/12/22/stories/2009122257720100.htm

Bangalore: A joint House committee of the Karnataka State Legislature has recommended blacklisting L&T, Siemens and Unique Zurich Airport for a minimum period of five years citing “poor quality of workmanship” in the construction of Bengaluru International Airport (BIA), and “appropriate action” against those involved in important decisions on the project, including Infosys Chief Mentor N.R. Narayana Murthy and Rajeev Chandrashekar, MP.

 The committee found serious lapses in drafting the Concession Agreement to construct the greenfield airport on a public-private partnership (PPP) model, which was heavily loaded to benefit the private participants.

 BJP MLA D. Hemachandra Sagar, who headed the 21-member (15 MLAs and six MLCs) Joint Legislature Committee (JLC), tabled the report on “Examination of Construction of BIA” in the Legislative Assembly on Monday.

 The 124-page report said: “Considering the poor quality of workmanship executed, the trading of shares for profit without showing an iota of concern for the general public, the arrangement of entrustment of all airport works among the private players in BIAL and total apathy towards the needs of the users, the partners in the project, viz. L&T, Siemens and Zurich should not be considered for entrustment of any work by both the governments or their agencies for a minimum period of five years.”

 The panel said that in October this year, one of the promoters, Unique (Flughafen Zurich AG) Zurich Airport, Switzerland, made a profit by off-loading 12 per cent (Rs. 46.15 crore) of its 17 per cent (Rs. 65.38 crore) stake at whopping value of Rs. 484.60 crore. “The private promoter walked away with an over 1,050 per cent return in just four years. This indicates that the private players have set their eyes on huge multiplication of their investment and have cut many corners for the sake of short-term profit.”

 The panel gave a list of officers involved in important decisions for initiating “appropriate action” and it included Mr. Narayana Murthy, who was chairman of BIAL till 2005; Rajiv Chandrasekhar, Chairman and CEO, BPL Innovations Business Group; K. Siddappa, former Vice-Chancellor of Bangalore University; B.K. Das, former Chief Secretary; and K. Jairaj, who was MD, BIAL, and is now Principal Secretary, Energy Department. It said the Centre should withdraw the order permitting BIAL to impose a user development fee of Rs. 260 on passengers as BIAL had failed to provide adequate facilities of international standard to the users.

 The Union and State governments should not consider the release of any amount to BIAL, until the recommendations of the committee are met and the amount of Rs. 100.26 crore following reduction of project cost, is refunded by BIAL.

Power ministry, Planning panel spar over transmission bidding - Economic Times

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/energy/power/Power-ministry-Planning-panel-spar-over-transmission-bidding/articleshow/5345847.cms

The power ministry has rejected the standard bidding procedure suggested by the Planning Commission for public-private partnership in transmission projects arguing the new procedure would create confusion among investors.

The commission has shot back saying the model transmission agreement (MTA) has been drafted after inter-ministerial discussions and stakeholder consultations, and is based on the model issued by the finance ministry for PPP projects.

The ministry has argued that the bidding process in the power sector is governed by procedures laid down in the Electricity Act and cannot be replaced by the procedure followed for other PPP projects in the infrastructure sector.

The ministry’s objection comes after the Planning Commission circulated a MTA for PPP in intra-state transmission projects where private investment is invited.  

Read More at Source  .....

Jaipur Development Authority Advertises EOI for Sector Road Development in PPP Mode

This advertisement has been issued by Jaipur Development Authority for developing sector roads in PPP Mode.
Interestingly proposals sought are said to be "suo-moto" and "swiss challenge". It doesnt seem to fit the definition for swiss challenge as government is advertising it as a project.

PPP Projects - India group in Linkedin

PPP Projects - India group in Linkedin has been created with a view to bring together professionals from PPP environment in India to exchange news, views and analysis of PPP projects in India.

EOI for the IT Park in Guwahati.

Assam Electronics Development Corporation (AMTRON)  has released EOI for the IT Park in Guwahati.

Last date of Submission : 21st January 2010

Details at :  http://amtron.in/itpark/index.html

CAG to audit PPP Projects in India - Financial Express

Source(s) : http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Infra-projects-under-PPP-model-to-face-CAG-audit/554994/
 http://www.cag.gov.in/ppp-project.pdf

 CAG in India has issued guidelines of PPP Projects audit. As per this all PPP projects, SPV and books of private partner would be brought in the purview of CAG audits.

The rationale is to ensure that all stakeholders get ‘value for money.’ The CAG of India Vinod Rai has said the guidelines will ‘help auditors in determining whether government and other public authorities have got the best possible deal.’ More importantly, with the private sector expected to pitch in about 30% of the $ 494-billion investments in infrastructure though the PPP route, the Planning Commission and the finance ministry have been keen to ensure that such projects do not get disrupted because of any discrepancies by the private player.

 Read More at : Financial Express   & CAG PPP Audit Guidelines

MCA for using PPP for Training - Financial Express

Source : http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Centre--India-Inc-to-follow-PPP-model-for-training/555003/

MCA is planning to use fiscal credit points as incentive to encourage Corporate Social Responsibility. 

Corporate affairs minister Salman Khurshid said, “We are working on the concept of CSR where we would award special credit points to companies that undertake CSR activities. Infact, we foresee that we may have a CSR credit exchange one day. We will be in a public-private partnership with the corporates in which we will spend money on the training programmes and get people employed in the corporate sector. This way we can find a solution to the problem of unemployment and also address the lack of skilled workforce in India.”

It is not clear as to what PPP model will be employed for achieving the main goal of training people and combing CSR with it?

Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure approves 4 laning project on Dehradun-Haridwar route

Source : http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=56105

The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure today approved the implementation of the project of four laning of Haridwar-Dehradun section from the existing 211 Km. to 218 Km. on NH-58 and from 196.82 Km to 165 Km on NH-72 in the State of Uttarakhand under NHDP Phase III on Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) Basis in Annuity mode. 

The total project cost is estimated at Rs.478 crore under the DBFOT pattern. The concessionaire will make all expenditure to complete the project and will recover the same from the Government at fixed semi annual annuity for 18 years after development of the project in 2 years. Besides, the Government would also meet the expenditure amounting to Rs.92 crore for land acquisition and other pre-construction activities for the project.

More at : Press Information Bureau India

Public - private partnership needed for the development of cold chain - FnBnews.com

Source : http://www.fnbnews.com/article/detnews.asp?articleid=26641&sectionid=1

“The government is committed to reforms in agriculture, which will facilitate large-scale private investment in every stage of value chain, “ reassured K V Thomas, minister of state for agriculture, GOI at the inauguration of the Cold Chain Summit 2009, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) jointly with the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Food Processing.

Emphasising on the necessity of a strong public-private partnership, Thomas urged both the industry and the state to play a pivotal role in the agriculture sector.

More at FnBnews.com 

Hyderabad Metro RFQ dates exttended

Source :http://www.hyderabadmetrorail.in/html/tenders.htm
New bidding schedule has been announced for Hyderabad Metro project .

RFQ Stage
1 Application Due Date              :January 16, 2010
2 Announcement of short-list      : January 28, 2010
Bid stage
1 Sale of Bid Documents            :January 28, 2010
2 Last date for receiving queries  : February 11, 2010
3 Pre-Bid meeting-1                   : February 25, 2010
4 Authority response to queries latest by :  March 05, 2010
5 Pre-Bid meeting-2                   :  March 26, 2010
6 Bid Due Date                          :  April 09, 2010
7 Opening of Bids                      : April 09, 2010

Interestingly enough .. there are 2 pre bid meeting planned for this project.

France earmarks millions to digitise treasures - AFP

Source : http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jfeof5_idKgIQTiBk0_U8oEQBxhQ

France said,it would spend 750 million euros to digitally scan its national treasures, vowing to protect its heritage at a time of suspicions over Google's digitisation drive.
"We are going to launch a big public-private partnership" to digitise national holdings such as archives and museum pieces "while still staying in charge of our heritage," President Nicolas Sarkozy said in a speech.

It is not clear as to what will be the PPP Model for this program but as the news item suggests 750 million Euro program would be a huge spending earmarked for digitization process.

Uttarakhand Organic Board EOI for Green Restaurant

Uttarakhand Organic Commodity Board has been created to promote and aid Organic Agriculture in Uttarakhand. As a forward extension of their vision, with an aim to promote organic agriculture products of Uttarakhand, they have planned a "Green Restaurant" concept. Board is seeking private participation for such restaurants and has advertised EOI in newspapers on 13/12/2009.

Last date for EOI Submission : 12-01-2010 till 4 pm
EOI Details can be downloaded here : EOI DOCUMENT

Government to award 17 port projects to private players

Source : http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report_government-to-award-17-port-projects-to-private-players_1323184


The government is planning to award 17 major port development projects to private players, under its ambitious National Maritime Development Programme. "We would like to have more private participation in the maritime sector under the NMDP. As per the current plans, 17
projects will be awarded to the private sector," ministry of shipping, secretary, K Mohandas told PTI.

These 17 projects, once completed, will enhance the cargo handling capacity in the country by 183.5 million tonne per annum, Mohandas said.

NMDP envisages to increase the capacity of major ports across the country by 410 million tonne per annum (MTPA), which would be needing an investment of Rs62,000 crore, he said. "We are ready to provide support to all the private sector players to set up ports and other maritime development projects," Mohandas said.

Designed as public-private-partnership project, NMDP was launched in 2005 to implement 276 projects by March 2012.Under NMDP, the government also plans to set up a mega container terminal at Chennai, with an estimated cost of Rs3,686 crore, which would increase the Chennai port's capacity by 48 MTPA.
The project also calls for investing Rs1,136.63 crore in Kandla Port, to enhance berthing and allied facilities.

Confederation Bridge: Canada's most successful public-private partnership - 07 Dec 2009 - TheGlobeAndMail.Com

Source : http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/confederation-bridge-canadas-most-successful-public-private-partnership/article1391905/

To most people (excepting construction aficionados), having the world's top public-private partnership investors and operators bestow their highest honour on Canada's Confederation Bridge last week may come as a surprise.

But, on Prince Edward Island, the defining feature of the province's identity is the 13-kilometre ribbon of concrete – a vast, engineering marvel of steel, cement and electronic wizardry that measure tides, ice flows, wind, air pressure, snow flurries and anything that affects the elements. From New Brunswick, the Confederation Bridge looks more like a highway that rises more than 100 feet above the treacherous water; from PEI, however, the bridge is far more majestic, a sweeping stretch of 44 suspended pillars like a vast Roman aqueduct, joining the mainland to the island.

So this gold award from the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships is no surprise in Atlantic Canada. The only question is why we have taken so long to recognize both the remarkable engineering and the even more remarkable public policy innovation that went into this great feat.

Transportation has been an island obsession for two centuries. Governor Walter Patterson commissioned a boat to take the mail across to Pictou in the 1780s. Regular service began in the 1820s. After Confederation, steamer service became a priority – indeed, George-Étienne Cartier, on his trip to Charlottetown in 1869, argued for a strong steamship for continual communication. When the island joined the Dominion in 1873, the “better terms” included a pledge for year-round communications.

The first advocate was senator George Howlan in the 1880s; he proposed a subway on top of the seabed. Father Alfred Burke led the charge in the late 1890s, calling for a tunnel. Vast ice-breaking ferries such as the Abegweit (which carried train cars, trucks, campers and automobiles) and a causeway, promoted by Walter Shaw and John Diefenbaker were all attempts to deal with this transportation challenge. In the 1965 federal election, Lester Pearson promised to build a causeway/bridge/tunnel that would cost $148-million – which ballooned to twice that by engineering consultants.

The Northumberland Strait, as an extension of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, is a fast-flowing waterway that deceives the eye. Below the water is a staggering diversity of God's marine jewels – oysters and lobsters, herring and bluefin tuna. Clearly, a causeway or a bridge or some form of link would attract stakeholders who prefer PEI as an island. But infrastructure requires financing engineering prowess because, in some winters, the frozen ice could strand even the famed Abegweit for up to 30 hours. The huge tourist market and the movement of goods by trucks and trains eventually led to the practical issues of ferry replacement and the huge upkeep of the terminals at Borden and Cape Tormentine. This was the problem facing the Mulroney government in 1984. Replace the aging ferries, or find another means of transportation.

By happenstance, the issue came to a head during a breakfast meeting at 24 Sussex Dr. Brian Mulroney was playing host to Japanese prime minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, and the conversation moved to Japan's experience in dealing with large deficits. Mr. Nakasone said his government was getting the private sector to undertake finance projects such as the bridge across Tokyo Bay. The bridge, he indicated, was 57 kilometres, and the cost $7.5-billion. Two hours later, at a budget meeting, Mr. Mulroney recounted this story and wondered about potential projects in Canada. My response was the bridge to PEI and airport terminals. Suddenly, the wheels were set in portion, and the Clerk of the Privy Council, Paul Tellier, requested a memo on the PEI link.

When Don Mazankowski, the minister of transport, first heard about the initiative, he thought it was an idiotic idea, especially given the ballpark cost of $1-billion. Within a week, however, he learned that replacement ferries would cost $400-million each if built in a Canadian shipyard (but only $175-million if built in South Korea). Eventually, the federal government received six formal proposals (one involving a combined causeway/train system). It took eight years of financial negotiations, prolonged political protests that divided PEI, and a provincial plebiscite in 1988. Premier Joe Ghiz was against a fixed link, but islanders voted 59 per cent in favour.

The Confederation Bridge opened in 1997 and remains a testament to Canadian engineering ingenuity. Today, it's hard to find islanders who were originally against the fixed link, because that link has enhanced small business, exporters and the tourist market.

The bridge is a great case study of a truly successful public-private partnership. It cost $840-million, built by Strait Crossing Inc., financed entirely by the private sector using the revenue stream from tolls, the former ferry subsidy and the financial obligations of the federal government for maintenance. In two decades, ownership reverts to Ottawa.

So what lessons are to be learned, given Canada's crumbling infrastructure?

The first is that large-scale infrastructure usually involves a combination of multiple stakeholders arguing the merits or demerits on political grounds, without much serious economic analysis, or other groups (often corporations) arguing the merits of the project on productivity grounds, with little understanding of the political hurdles.

A second lesson is that infrastructure (roads, bridges, railways, ports, terminals, airports and subways) are neither public ventures alone nor private-sector responsibilities – they are two sides of the same coin.

Canada has within its grasp a rare opportunity to be a global transportation leader. Properly positioned, we have the potential to build world-class infrastructure to serve all of North America. This opportunity to lead is ours to lose.

Charles McMillan, professor of international business at York University and author of Eminent Islanders, served as senior policy adviser to prime minister Brian Mulroney.

West Bengal seeks medical colleges in public-private partnership - 04 Dec 2009 - Thaindian.com

Source : http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health1/west-bengal-seeks-medical-colleges-in-public-private-partnership_100284483.html

Kolkata, Dec 4 (IANS) The West Bengal government is in talks with the central government and the Medical Council of India (MCI) to explore the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model for developing medical colleges in the state, an official said. The state government will provide the hospital infrastructure including grants for free beds while the private entity will run the college, state Health Minister Surya Kanta Mishra said here Friday.

“This has been proposed to bring down the investment requirement on the part of the private players and make the whole proposition more attractive to the private sector,” Mishra said while speaking at the fourth CII Health Care East programme. He said the government needed to play a pro-active role in improving the state’s healthcare services.

Ruing that enough land was not available in and around Kolkata for big medical projects, the minister urged the private sector to spread out to the districts in a bigger way. The state’s ruling Left Front has beefed up its initiative to revive the ailing health sector following its string of electoral setbacks over the past one and half years. The shortcomings in the health sector has been a favourite campaign point of the opposition in the state.

Orissa Government signs MOU for setting up of 14 new ports - 10 Dec 2009 - Orissadiary.com

Source : http://www.orissadiary.com/ShowBussinessNews.asp?id=15693

Report by Orissadiary correspondent; Bhubaneswar: With vast coast line of 480 km, Orissa is all set to be the gateway for the industrialization of mineral rich states of the country. While Orissa Government has signed MoU for setting up of 14 new ports in its coastline, the state can bring fortune to its neighbours primarily Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh and Jharkhand.

“Orissa will play a vital role in the overall development of the country due to its rich natural resources and maritime endowments. For its immense natural resources like iron ore and other minerals and rapid industrialization, ports in Orissa shall be the natural exit apart from serving land locked states such as Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh and Madhya Pradesh,” Said Mr Sanjeeb Sahoo, Minister for Transport and Commerce, while inaugurating the “Port Conclave”, organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Orissa Chapter, here on Wednesday.

The Conclave was held keeping in mind the heightened level of activity in the port sector that has made Orissa a critical node along the East coast and to provide a forum to different players to discuss and debate the various issues related to the port sector and its development. Industry captains deliberated on various issues ranging from the benefits of Public Private Partnership to special economic zones.

Stressing the importance of public private partnership (PPP) in this sector, Mr Satyabrata Sahu, Commissioner-cum-secretary to Commerce and Transport Department, Government of Orissa, said, “The creation of world class infrastructure is key to attaining the country’s projected growth rate of 9 per cent, which is believed to be necessary to make a progress in eliminating poverty and achieving a quantum jump in the quality of life of its citizens. However, the investment required for overcoming the existing deficit in infrastructure quality and quantity is so large that it cannot possibly be met by relying only the public sector. It is, therefore, necessary to explore the scope for building infrastructure through PPP at both the Center and state level.”

He further added that in the wake of the significant interest shown both by domestic and foreign investors in this sector in the state, the commercialization of ports in a planned and phased manner through optimal utilization of resources together with the adoption of international best practices can surely secure value for public money and can provide efficient and cost effective services to the users.

Suggesting ways to remove some of the impediments to the growing port sector in the state, Mr Micheal Pinto, former Secretary Shipping, said that besides setting up a PPP approval board in the ministry of finance that will be responsible for the PPP projects, there should also be a separate authority or clearing point for the benefit of logistics providers.

Mr S.S. Nandurdikar, Chairman, Orissa State Council, Mr D Bose, Chairman, CII Infrastructure and Logistics sub-committee and Mr Santosh Mohapatra, CEO, Dhamra Port Company Limited were also present at the conference.

J&K - K Government focuses on world class tourist infrastructure to restore its pristine glory in tourism - Groundreport.com

Source : http://www.groundreport.com/World/JK-Government-focuses-on-world-class-tourist-infra_1/2913252

Jammu, December 08 (Vijay Kumar) –Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah Tuesday said that state government focuses on creation of world class tourist infrastructure in the J&k state to restore its pristine glory in tourism sector. “There are numerous health resorts and places of natural beauty like Bangus Valley which the government wants to showcase globally”, he said adding that venturing in this sector by investors could be highly beneficial both for them as well as for the state. “Health and education sectors could be other fields of mutual interests”, he said.

The Chief Minister was addressing a meeting where Hindustan Construction Corporation (HCC) gave power point presentation of the projects it is constructed in the state. He said that state government is also looking for befitting partnership with big industrial and construction houses to raise dependable infrastructure in the sectors of power, transportation, water supply and tourism. “Other works of high class engineering construction like bridges, tunnels and higways can also be worked out with the reputed private investors and companies in partnership or public-private partnership mode in the state to give considerable fillip to the re-construction of public utility and economy sectors”, he added.

Omar said that the high class expertise of HCC in engineering and construction, infrastructure development, real estate building and urban development management provides a good scope for the partnership or public-private partnership mode projects. The Chief Minister while appreciating the work of Hindustan Construction Corporation on Mughal Road project expressed the hope that the tunneling of Pir Panchal for Railways and construction of Chutak, Uri and Nimoo Bazgo Hydro-electric power projects executed by the HCC would be put on fast track for early completion. “People are eagerly waiting for these projects”, he said highlighting the importance of these in the economic development of the state.

In the energy sector, HCC is executing 330 MW, Rs.2726 crore Kishanganga Hydro-electric project, 240 MW, Rs.575 crore Uri-II Hydro-electric project, 44 MW, Rs. 410 crore Chutak Hydro-electric project and 45 MW, Rs.384 crore Nimoo Bazgo Hydro-electric project. The Corporation is also constructing 84 km Mughal Road Project and 11 km Pir Panchal rail tunnel at the cost of Rs.580 crore.

The Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Construction Corporation,. Ajit Gulabchand presenting the resume of status of various projects Corporation is executing in the country especially in Jammu and Kashmir said that HCC had five decades association with the Jammu and Kashmir which started by the construction of a bridge on river Chenab in 1966. He said the construction of Salal Hydro-electric project also goes the credit of HCC. He said as many as five power projects, two tunneling projects and construction of Mughal Road is being looked after by the HCC at present in the state.

The Chairman also gave details about the Lavasa Plan- a Rs.1400 billion project led by HCC to build a Hill City over an area of 12500 acres, nestled amidst the majesty of the Sahyadri Mountains along the contours of Warasgaon Lake in the periphery of Pune.

Gulabchand said that HCC is presently engaged in the construction of dams, barrages, tunnels, power houses, pumping stations, treatment plants, highways, bridges, utility buildings, industrial structure, underground caverns, ports, railway project, canals, pipelines etc. in the country.

The meeting was among others attended by the Minister for R&B, G. M. Saroori, Minister of State for power, Shabir Ahmed Khan, Minister of State for R&B, Javaid Ahmed Dar, Political Advisor to Chief Minister, Devender Singh Rana, Principal Secretary, Power Development Department, B. R. Sharma, Commissioner/Secretary, R&B, Mehboob Iqbal, Managing Director, Jammu and Kashmir State Power Development Corporation, Bipul Pathak and senior officers of various departments.

PM: PPP model can boost urban mission - 04 Dec 2009 - Financial Express

Source : http://www.financialexpress.com/news/PM--PPP-model-can-boost-urban-mission/549679/

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Thursday that the government is open to allocate more resources for the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). On the fourth anniversary of the launch of the mission Singh emphasised the need to execute more projects on PPP basis. The ministries of urban development and housing and urban poverty alleviation have approved projects and buses for urban transport worth Rs 1,03,462 crore for which the Centre has committed assistance of Rs 55,625 crore.

About 90% of projects have been sanctioned for schemes related to basic services. Urban development minister, Jaipal Reddy, pointed out that the bulk of funds are committed for water supply, sewerage, drainage, solid waste management and housing for urban poor. Under the economic stimulus package, the Centre has sanctioned 15,260 buses for 61 mission cities and the bulk of it is expected to be supplied by this month and all of it by the end of this financial year.

In its effort to address housing and civic amenities the housing ministry has sanctioned more than 14.6 lakh houses. Housing minister, Kumari Selja said that out of a total allocation of Rs 34,000 crore for these houses central assistance committed is Rs 18,500 crore. Under this scheme, 1.8 lakh houses are complete while 4.38 lakh houses are in progress.

While the greater portion of funds has been sanctioned and utilised, there is around Rs 7,800 crore still left. Out of this the Centre is examining detailed project report (DPR) worth Rs 1,000 crore, so in effect around Rs 6,800 crore is left to be sanctioned.

Govt inks deal with Germany's development bank - 28 Nov 2009 - Times of India

SOurce : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Govt-inks-deal-with-Germanys-development-bank/articleshow/5276809.cms

NEW DELHI: The government has partnered with Germany's development bank KfW for skill upgradation of at least 4,000 key officials at different levels engaged in implementation of public private partnership (PPP) projects. The joint initiative will help officials gain familiarity with PPP projects in properly conceiving, developing and implementing them.

One of the bottlenecks identified by the government in using PPPs in infrastructure is the lack of familiarity and detailed know-how of officials at different government levels. This initiative is intended to help the departments in capacity building and gaining from German expertise.

The department of economic affairs in the finance ministry is developing a National Public Private Partnership Capacity Building Programme as part of the joint initiative. The initiative would be delivered through state administrative training institutes and Central training institutes.

The agreement between India and KfW was signed on November 23, 2009. The German government through KfW will provide a grant of Euro 700,000 (around Rs 50 million) to support the initiative, according to a finance ministry note.

The national PPP capacity development programme will be implemented in two phases and is expected to be completed at the end of 2012. The first phase, lasting about 22 months, will create the necessary capacity for carrying out PPP training in a number of institutions through a process of training needs assessment, curriculum design and content development, a training of trainers programme and the roll-out of training programmes.

This will be followed by a second phase of about 15 months. The German government through KfW will provide financial support for Phase I of the programme. I-Cap will be the project executing agency for the programme.

Bengal okays Singur for Railways - 09 Dec 2009 - Economic Times

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/Bengal-okays-Singur-for-Railways/articleshow/5317103.cms

The West Bengal government on Tuesday gave its consent to Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee’s proposal to set up a railway coach factory at the abandoned site of Tata Nano factory in Singur. The state government’s response came on the heels of the railway minister’s recent statement that the Indian Railways was ready to set up a coach factory in Singur jointly with the state government or under a public-private partnership.

Chief Secretary Ashok Mohan Chakraborty told newsmen at Writers Buildings: “On behalf of the state government, I have written to the Railway Board chairman yesterday giving consent to the railway minister’s proposal. We have also sought details of the project from the Railway Board chairman.”

Railways to set up infra planning panel - 10 Dec 2009 - DNA India

Source : http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report_railways-to-set-up-infra-planning-panel_1322055

New Delhi: The railway ministry has decided to constitute a high-powered committee to deal with infrastructure planning, business development and monitoring of projects. The ministry is also setting up a public-private partnership implementation cell to be headed by railway board chairman S S Khurana. The high-powered committee will be headed by Shri Prakash, member (traffic), who is set to retire by the end of this month. It will have two part-time members.

"The committee will identify business opportunities and assist the ministry of railways in implementing and developing new strategies to improve market shares in existing business segments," said an internal rail ministry circular.

The committee will be looking at infrastructure development on both short-term as well as long-term basis. According to the circular, "it will suggest strategic directions for immediate (next year) and long term (up to 2020) periods in terms of infrastructure, technology and business strategy."

The committee will also assist the railways in speedy implementation of the dedicated freight corridor project and advise the ministry on the implementation of public-private partnership projects.

The committee has also been entrusted with suggesting measures to fast track implementation of high priority and quick payback projects. As per ministry officials, the tenure of the committee will be for a period of two years from the date of the chairman taking charge. The terms and conditions to be applied to the chairman and members of the committee will follow soon.

Another committee, serving as an interface between the railways and industry, has already been formed. One of its key recommendations of late has been the setting up of auto hubs. In line with its recommendations, the ministry has lined up 15 auto hubs in the country.

Work for Kannur Airport to begin by March: Balakrishnan - 01 Dec 2009 - PTI News

Source : http://www.ptinews.com/news/402787_Work-for-Kannur-Airport-to-begin-by-March--Balakrishnan

Kannur, Dec 1 (PTI) The Dubai World crisis would not have any impact on the plans to build an airport here and Kerala government would pool the required working capital if needed, state Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said today. Talking to reporters here, he rejected suggestions that the recent economic crisis in Dubai would affect the progress of the airport work planned on Public Private Participation (PPP) mode.

He said the work on the airport would commence by March next year. The authorities were engaged in the final stage of acquiring 1,200 acre of land at Moorkhanparamba. The preliminary steps for developing seven road networks connecting the airport had begun, Balakrishnan, also Chairman of the Kannur Airport Action Committee, said.

Experts stress on easing norms for port development - 10 Dec 2009 - Business Standard

Source : http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/experts-stresseasing-norms-for-port-development/379060/

With the projected traffic of the port sector in the country pegged at 1570 million tonne per annum (mtpa) by 2011-12, the government will have to remove various impediments to achieve overall growth of the ports.

The impediments include both procedural and infrastructural like dispensing with the system of referring all the public-private-partnership (PPP) projects to PPP Approval Board of the Union finance ministry, insistence on up-front fixation of tariff for the developers and insistence on using a model concession agreement. Simultaneously, a clearing point needs to be set up for the benefit of the logistic providers, Micheal Pinto, former secretary of shipping, Government of India (GoI) said.

Delivering the keynote address in the Port Conclave organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), he said, the major ports are required to create additional capacity of 493.2 mtpa, the non-major ports 345 mtpa by 2011-12. While the existing capacity of the major ports in the country is estimated at 530 million tonne, the capacity of the non-major ports is 202 mtpa. However, after the proposed capacity expansion, the major ports will have a total capacity of 1023.2 mtpa and the non-major ports 547 mtpa by 2011-12.

Pinto said, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the traffic of the ports in the country was 5.88 percent during the last 58 years since 1950-51 and this increased to 10.77 percent during the last five years from 2003-04 to 2007-08.

The traffic handled by the non-major ports increased from 6.72 mtpa in 1990-91 to 202 mtpa in 2008-09. On the other hand, the share of container cargo has also increased to 17.59 percent in 2008-09 from 5.26 percent in 1990-91.

Private players to get 17 ports for development - 09 Dec 2009 - Financial Express

Source : http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Private-players-to-get-17-ports-for-development/551584/

New Delhi: The government targets to allot 17 port development projects to private players under its ambitious National Maritime Development Programme, which envisages increasing the capacity of the major ports by 410 million tonne per annum, with an investment of Rs 62,231 crore.

The 17 projects would increase the cargo handling capacity of 12 major ports by 183.5 million tonne per annum at an investment of Rs 15,446.3 crore. However, only two projects were awarded till November-end. “Many projects are in the process of being awarded and we are hopeful to meet this year’s target. For the overall programme, we are sure to award the listed projects by March 31, 2012. The same could be completed in the next 3-4 years,” a senior official in the shipping ministry told FE.

Visakhapatnam Port accounts for the maximum number of projects at five, followed by Kokata Port, Kandla Port and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), each having two capacity addition projects. The biggest project is construction of fourth container terminal at JNPT with an investment of Rs 6,700 crore to add 57.6 MTPA to the existing capacity of the port, an internal note of the ministry stated.

The ministry has also a planned manufacturing of a mega container terminal at Chennai, which would increase the port’s capacity by 48 MTPA with an investment of Rs 3,686 crore. Kandla Port would receive berthing and allied facilities, which are to be developed with Rs 1,136.63 crore.

Other key projects are development of standalone container handling facility with a 330-metre quay north of Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal of JNPT, setting up of single point mooring and allied facilities off Veera in Gulf of Kutch at Kandla Port, construction of second cargo berth at Tuticorin and a multi-purpose berth at Paradip Port.

NMDP, which is a public private partnership project, was launched in 2005 with a view to award 276 projects by March 2012 for expanding the capacity of major ports from around 400 million tonne in 2004-05. The ministry projects requirement of port capacity of 918 MTs by 2013-14. At present, the major ports handle just over 570 MTs of cargo. Earlier this year, the government dropped 22 projects from the programme, trimming its total size to 254 projects.

Since 2005, the government has awarded 116 projects. Out of these, 46 projects have been completed at an investment of more than Rs 5,000 crore. Another 15 projects are approved...

PPPAC approves new projects at Jawaharlal Nehru, Vizag ports- 03 Dec 2009 - Net Indian

Source : http://netindian.in/news/2009/12/03/0004271/pppac-approves-new-projects-jawaharlal-nehru-vizag-ports

The Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC) has granted approval to a project of the Ministry of Shipping for the development of a fourth container terminal at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Mumbai at a cost of Rs 6600 crore. At its 29th meeting here on November 11, the committee, chaired by Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla, approved three projects of the Ministry of Shipping with a total estimated cost of Rs 7661.65 crore.

The other two proposals include one develop a standalone container handling facility with a quay length of 330 metres towards north at a cost of Rs 600.08 crore at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Port. The third project is for development of a mechanism of coal handling facilities and upgradation of general cargo berth at the outer harbour of the Visakhapatnam Port to cater to 200,000 DWT vessels on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis.

Since its constitution in January, 2006 the the PPPAC has granted approval to 137 projects with an estimated cost of Rs 144,687.27 crore. These include 122 National Highway projects, 11 port projects, two airport projects, one tourism infrastructure project and one railway project, an official press release added.

Another impetus to ports PPP in the offing - 07 Dec 2009 - Indian Express

Source : http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Another-impetus-to-ports-PPP-in-the-offing/550690

To give a fresh impetus to public private partnerships in the moribund ports sector, the shipping ministry is considering a number of changes to the request for qualification (RFQ) document, the basic bidding document. Further, the modifications are intended to prevent private players from resorting to unhealthy or anti-competitive practices in major ports. Government officials said the RFQ would be amended such that it allows port developers to bid for two consecutive berths in the same port. At present, this is not permitted. The officials pointed out that in the past a number of players were disqualified from bidding for the development of a single terminal if they owned a berth that was adjacent to the one being bid out. However, under the current system the players are allowed to bid for alternative berths.

“The clause was inserted so as to prevent monopolisation within the port. But we have found that it really does not promote monopoly as the number of berths a developer could handle would still remain the same even in the case of bidding for alternate berths,” a senior government official told The Indian Express. For instance, if a player is the concessionaire for berth number 5, then it cannot bid for adjacent berths 4 and 6. This will now be changed as the ministry is in the process of refining the document and will consequently seek Cabinet approval for the same.

The other major change being considered is placing a restricting clause in the RFQ to prevent minor ports located in a radius of 150 km from bidding in major port projects. This will prevent players operating minor ports from bidding for berths in nearby major ports and then squatting on berths. The officials said this move was proposed after instances of minor port developers squatting on berths of major ports were reported. The players resorted to such unhealthy practices to restrict work and divert traffic to their own minor ports. “This was reported in the case of Kandla and Vizag. The port was losing on revenue with traffic being diverted to minor ports by the players,” said an official who did not want to be quoted.

This is just the beginning of a number of changes being proposed in the ports sector as the model concession agreement formulated by the ministry of shipping has come under the scanner. The MCA for ports was approved by the Cabinet in January 2008. The Planning Commission has also made several observations regarding the MCA. Private players did not participate in large numbers in projects bid out in the recent past. The officials said only about 4-5 players participated in bids last year. Moreover, the ministry managed to award only five of the nine bids carried over from last year. Only two from the current year’s 17 have reached the final stages.

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