Opening Remarks of Dr. C. P. Joshi at Press Conference held today
Following is the text of Opening Remarks made by the Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways Dr. C.P. Joshi at a Press Conference held here today :
“I have great pleasure in welcoming you today. I am very happy to inform you that in the financial year 2011-12, which has just concluded, the Ministry has made spectacular strides in awarding projects under NHDP and VGF scheme of the Ministry of Finance, by the NHAI and by the Ministry through state agencies. My ministry in its Press Release on March 30, 2012 had informed that we had awarded by then 7400 km in 58 projects. We had also informed that bids for 8 more projects of 982 km had been received and was under process of award. Out of the bids under process, 4 more projects for 557 km were awarded during the last year. Thus we have been able to award in all 7957 km in FY 2011-12 in 62 projects. This comprises of 6491 km by NHAI (49 projects) and 1466 km (13 projects) by Ministry through state agencies.
Miles ahead of the best ever!
I am very happy to inform you that this achievement is about 54% better than the best ever which was in the preceding year 2010-11 in which 5058 km were awarded by NHAI and 108 km by the Ministry through state agencies, totaling 5166 km.
State agencies emerging as major partners in awarding PPP projects
A very significant aspect of the success story of FY 2011-12 has been the state agencies (PWDs and State Road Development Corporations) making a giant leap in awarding projects under public private partnership (PPP) under NHDP and Ministry of Finance’s VGF scheme. From zero to 1466 km in two years is a remarkable achievement. The capacity building of the states in this field augurs well for the road sector.
Several landmarks
It is natural that achievement of this level would contain several landmarks. Let me briefly mention some:
Quality of bids:
The bids have been competitive and much more attractive than expected. Out of 49 bids awarded in NHAI 32 fetched premium. The total premium offered was about Rs 3000 crores. In the Ministry out of 13 projects awarded 5 fetched premium of a total of Rs 38 crores. Since the premium is payable yearly increasing by 5% every year, the Net Present Value (NPV) of the total premium offered is about Rs 30,400 crores.
Total Project Cost of the projects
The total project cost of the 62 projects awarded in FY 2011-12 is about Rs 68000 crores, which is the highest ever and substantially higher than the best ever. This is going to give tremendous boost to the economic growth of the country in the coming years.
· Substantial jump in expenditure
While the expenditure by the private sector in the 11 months of the year 2010-11 (till Feb 11) was Rs 13278.65 crores, in the 11 months of the financial year 2011-12 (till Feb 2012) , the expenditure is actually 24679.25 crores, which is 86% higher.
· All infrastructure majors in the field:
o Larsen and Toubro got several projects, including Beawar –Pali –Pindwara, and two major projects of NH-6.
o GMR got the prestigious Kishangarh-Udaipur- Ahmedabad project.
o GVK got Shivpuri-Devas project.
o Gammon got Patna-Buxar and several other projects as well.
o Sadhbhav, ITNL, KMC, Madhucon, Ramky, Navayuga, C and C, IRB, BSCPL etc – all major developers are partnering with NHAI and MoRTH for the 2011-12 projects.
Accelerate further in 2012-13
We want to accelerate this achievement further in 2012-13. Finance Minister had announced a target of 8800 km in his budget speech for 2012-13. We are very confident of achieving it. We already have about 1500 km whose bids are either under evaluation or due in April, May 2012. We have enough projects with feasibility reports to work on.
Support from PM, Finance Ministry and Planning Commission
I would like to acknowledge the constant support we got from the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Finance Minister and the Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission in overcoming various procedural difficulties which has made this achievement possible. This shows the commitment of this government to infrastructure which is the main driver of the economic growth of the country.
Other programmes/schemes
The above achievement is in addition to the normal plan programme of the Ministry under NH(O), SARDP-NE (Special Area Road Development Programme – North East) and LWE (Left Wing Extremist). We would provide with details of these programmes. I also prpose to meet with you to talk in detail about these programmes.
MAJOR INITIATIVES
e-tendering, transparency
A major contributory factor in the tremendous growth has been transparency and objectivity in the tendering process. NHAI has completely switched to e-tendering. All the concession documents, the CVs of the supervision consultants, engineers have been placed on the web site. Very few organisations parallel this level of transparency. We have insisted that state agencies too shift to e-tendering forthwith.
Electronic Toll Collection (ETC)
For ensuring smooth flow of traffic through the toll gates implementation of electronic toll collection has been an important initiative. I am happy to inform you that the first pilot project involving three concessionaires in Deli-Chandigarh stretch is ready for commercial operation. I plan to invite media for its formal launch very soon. In 2012-13 we plan to expand it in several parts of the country.
Use of ICT for monitoring, planning
Information and Communication Technology can play a major role in planning and monitoring. Various new initiatives such as GIS and computerised Road Information System and Finance Management and Project Monitoring System are on the anvil.
Safety
We are aware that India’s road safety record is not very encouraging. We are undertaking several measures which we have shared with media on earlier occasions. Awareness creation and education is a major component of safety measures. You must have seen we have recently launched awareness campaigns on many popular channels at prime time. We have had meetings with sate road transport ministers focussed primarily on these issues. We had meetings with states accounting for largest number of accidents and asked them to identify 25 black spots each which we plan to remedy in a planned manner. The proposed amendment in Motor Vehicles Act seeks to significantly enhance penalties for various violations. The driver’s fault is the most common cause for road accidents accounting for 78% of the accidents. We propose to establish a number of Drivers’ Training Institutes. I have no doubt that with concerted effort of all the stake-holders we should be able to arrest the increasing number of road fatalities. Media has very important role in highlighting this issue and sensitise people about the need for following traffic rules.
I would like to thank the media for their continued interest in the road sector.
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