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irse
Forum Admin
India
553 Posts |
 Posted - 06/05/2008 : 02:51:49
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http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1168854
Thursday, June 05, 2008 03:00 IST
MUMBAI: Dedicated Freight Corridor Ltd (DFCL), the railway ministry’s
special purpose vehicle, held a meeting with the interested parties
in the construction sector two days back to discuss issues and
options for awarding engineering, procurement and construction (EPC)
contracts in the upcoming freight corridor.
The meeting focussed on understanding the needs and expectations of
the companies participating in the ambitious project, which will be
undertaken on EPC basis. DFCL also sought suggestions on eligibility
and qualification criteria for the various projects.
R K Sinha, director-finance, DFCL, said, “Since it is the first time
that an EPC kind of a contract is being done, we wanted to know if
the participating companies were comfortable with it or not, and
whether they are interested in this kind of format before we float
the request of proposal (RoP).â€
Various other issues like risk allocation, price variation, size of
tenders and quoting a lump sum amount while bidding were also
discussed. “We also enquired about the time frame in which this kind
of a work could be completed so as to design the tenders that way,â€
Sinha said.
DFCL management met most of the 48 groups that had submitted
expressions of interest (EoIs) for the 300-km stretch of Kanpur-
Khurja section of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor Project.
Companies such as Kalindee Rail Nirman Engineering Ltd (KRNL), Larsen
& Toubro, Gammon India, Punj Lloyd, Alstom Projects India have shown
interest for this first phase of the project.
EoIs were sought for projects including track laying, new lines,
upgradation of signals with newer and faster technology, rolling
stocks and conversion of meter gauge to broad gauge.
This 300-km stretch is part of the eastern dedicated rail corridor
which will connect Ludhiana-Kolkata. The total project comprising
western and eastern corridors, for a total track length of 2,763 kms,
will cost around Rs 28,200 crore in the first phase.
While one of the issue
irse
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irse
Forum Admin
India
553 Posts |
Posted - 06/13/2008 : 00:05:44
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Rail freight corridor tenders by Sept Options
Local: Fri 6 Jun 2008 07:33
MUMBAI: Dedicated Freight Corridor Ltd (DFCL), the railway ministry�
��s
special purpose vehicle, held a meeting with the interested parties
in the construction sector two days back to discuss issues and
options for awarding engineering, procurement and construction (EPC)
contracts in the upcoming freight corridor.
The meeting focussed on understanding the needs and expectations of
the companies participating in the ambitious project, which will be
undertaken on EPC basis. DFCL also sought suggestions on eligibility
and qualification criteria for the various projects.
R K Sinha, director-finance, DFCL, said, “Since it is the first time
that an EPC kind of a contract is being done, we wanted to know if
the participating companies were comfortable with it or not, and
whether they are interested in this kind of format before we float
the request of proposal (RoP).��
Various other issues like risk allocation, price variation, size of
tenders and quoting a lump sum amount while bidding were also
discussed. “We also enquired about the time frame in which this kind
of a work could be completed so as to design the tenders that way,��
Sinha said.
DFCL management met most of the 48 groups that had submitted
expressions of interest (EoIs) for the 300-km stretch of Kanpur-
Khurja section of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor Project.
Companies such as Kalindee Rail Nirman Engineering Ltd (KRNL), Larsen
& Toubro, Gammon India, Punj Lloyd, Alstom Projects India have shown
interest for this first phase of the project.
EoIs were sought for projects including track laying, new lines,
upgradation of signals with newer and faster technology, rolling
stocks and conversion of meter gauge to broad gauge.
This 300-km stretch is part of the eastern dedicated rail corridor
which will connect Ludhiana-Kolkata. The total project comprising
western and eastern corridors, for a total track length of 2,763 kms,
will cost around Rs 28,200 crore in the first phase.
While one of the issues raised by the companies was that there was no
need for conducting a similar survey for a project by each company,
Sinha said it is part of the format. “We are following the FIDIC
form
of contracting, which has issued certain formats under which
contracting can be done. The companies may or may not look at doing a
survey after following the survey provided by us,�� Sinha said.
Belgium based International Federation of Consulting Engineers
(FIDIC) is renowned organisation which produces standard forms of
contract for engineering construction and provision of mechanical and
electrical plant.
Sinha said that the meeting served the purpose and based on the
suggestions, DFCL would come up with a request of qualification by
the end of this month. Post this, the RoPs, would be floated by
September this year.
s.Ravi
irse |
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2008 : 19:49:22
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World Bank team to assess Eastern Corridor project
New Delhi (PTI): A six-member World Bank team will be here this month to hold discussions with Indian Railways about the funds for the ambitious dedicated Eastern Freight Corridor project.
Indian Railways, which has approached the World Bank for funding the Rs 12,000 crore Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) project, will present a detailed report of the plan to the visiting team.
While the World Bank team will be here on July 14, another delegation from Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) will also visit India on July 8 to assess the engineering and environment aspect of the Western Corridor of the DFC.
The JBIC is expected to fund the 1,483 km long Western Freight Corridor project estimated to cost about Rs 16,000 crore.
The DFC to be commissioned as part of the long term railway strategy aims at separating freight and passenger corridor, a senior Railway Ministry official said.
The corridor will be used exclusively for operating freight trains at a maximum permissible speed of 100 kmph.
There are certain World Bank guidelines which need to be adhered for receiving any fund, said the official.
All the procedures including land acquisition, compensation, tendering process, procurement involved in the Eastern Freight Corridor are expected to be discussed with the World Bank officials during their visit, said the official.
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irse
Forum Admin
India
553 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2008 : 05:47:58
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Indian Railway FDC sees huge cost blow out
BS reported that with prices of inputs like steel and cement sky rocketing in the last 2 years, the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited will have to put in an additional INR 11,000 crore to fund the ambitious eastern and western freight corridor project.
As per report, the initial investment envisaged by RITES Limited in its feasibility study report submitted in 2006 was INR 28,181 crore for constructing nearly 2,762 kilometers long rail corridor. However, the project cost has now gone up by a staggering 40%.
The prices of steel have increased by 77% from INR 26,951 per tonne in 2006 to INR 47,800 per tonne in 2008. Similarly the prices of cement up went by 44% from INR 163 to INR 235 per 50 kilogram bag. These 2 commodities together constitutes nearly 40% of the total input cost of the project.
Mr Kuljeet Singh partner Ernst & Young said that "This is not an unusual thing. It is happening across the sectors. But when it comes to government funded project, the initial study report may ignore the future inflation or may incorporate a nominal 3% to 4% inflation level. With this kind of cost escalation, the financing stream will have to be expanded. And getting a proper funding system in place in time will be quite challenging for the railways."
A senior official of Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited said that "The proposal to electrify the western corridor route comprising 1,483 kilometer from JNPT to Dadri alone has put an additional burden of nearly INR 2,000 crore on us. But we are confident of raising sufficient amount from various multilateral agencies."
The Indian Railways are still negotiating with Japan International Cooperation Agency, which had shown interest in financing a portion of the 700 kilometer route between Rewari and Baroda on the western corridor. For the remaining portion of the eastern and western corridors, the committee constituted by the World Bank to conduct a financial feasibility study had finished its task and submitted its report to the World Bank.
irse |
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2008 : 21:26:29
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Imperative of new rail freight corridors
12 Jul, 2008, 0000 hrs IST,Raghu Dayal,
Convinced of an imperative need for dedicated rail freight corridors (DFC), one of 1,483 km in the west from Mumbai (JN port) to Delhi (Dadri) and another of 1,279 km in the east from Ludhiana to Son Nagar, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the project ‘in principle’ two years ago at the cost of Rs 28,181 crore — Rs 16,592 crore for the former and Rs 11,589 crore for the latter. An SPV, Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd (DFCCIL) was incorporated in October 2006.
Rail Budget 2007-08 provided Rs 1,330 crore but the crucial project has remained almost a non-starter. For a 300-km long Bhaupur (near Kanpurt) — Mandrak (near Aligarh) segment of the eastern corridor, a design-cum-build contract valued at about Rs 3,000 crore is currently being processed.
While the rail traffic volume continues to increase, Indian Railways’(IR’s) share in transport of country’s passengers and freight has been decreasing. From a freight market share of 89% in 1950-51, IR currently hauls not more than 30-35% of country’s total freight. Even in respect of long distance bulk traffic, IR’s tally is only 65% of the total offering.
IR can safely target 80-85% of this segment besides significantly stepping up its share of non-bulk traffic through an accelerated, market oriented programme of containerisation. IR has been losing their share because of constraints of carrying capacity, low level of customer satisfaction, and distorted pricing structure.
In the overall socio-economic interest including energy and ecology conservation, rail transport capacity in the continental economy of India’s size and potential needs be built to cater for an optimal 50% of the country’s freight. IR needs to learn from Chinese Railways (CR) and proactively augment capacity for the buoyant economy. In spite of massive development of infrastructure in China, CR is unable to carry more than 40% of total freight, that too notwithstanding much higher productivity and expansion of network than on IR. The net tonne km per route km on IR is only 4.21 million versus 23.4 million on CR.
Major growth impulses in India, concentrated around the metropolitan centres, are linked by the “golden quadrilateral” and its diagonals aggregating 16% of IR’s network but carrying more than 50% of its freight and passenger traffic. And these arteries are saturated and stressed. DFC will generate substantial carrying capacity, release capacity on existing routes to fulfil unsatisfied passenger demand, operate longer and heavier trains with fewer staff, at higher speeds yielding better productivity and higher fuel efficiency.
New DFC tracks would enable wider, higher and lighter wagons to ply with much higher net payloads. Freight cars with higher axle load up to 30 t against the current 20-22 t will by itself enable at least 20% of additional haulage per unit.
India’s most ambitious rail project ever, DFC will usher in a new era of technological upgradation and technical parameters, which will steadily impact even the existing rail network for qualitatively higher cost-effective output. DFC will have the potential to catapult IR among world’s leading rail systems, helping IR gain larger share of the total land transportation of goods, offer guaranteed schedules and reliable transit time. Also, DFC will have high potential of a catalyst for industrial growth and myriad value-added services through logistics parks and industrial hubs along its alignment.
Particularly germane to western DFC, international container traffic at ports is assumed to grow at a CAGR of 8.6%, to 43 million TEU in 2031. With an estimated, rather conservative, 35% rail share, western DFC will be called upon to carry 10 million TEU per annum within 25 years, requiring as many as 300 up and down container trains per day (each of 90 TEU).
Container transport is, in fact, an important aspect of western DFC, which has elicited divergent views from Rail India Technical and Economic Services and Japan International Cooperation Agency: the former opting for DSC (double stack container) operation with diesel traction on flat wagons, against the latter’s preference for electric locomotives on well type wagons. The JICA study recommends well type DSC for western corridor and SSC (single stack container) trains for the eastern sector.
Again, whereas the preliminary engineering-cum-traffic study by RITES estimated cost for the western corridor at Rs 16,592 crore and Rs 11,589 crore for the eastern corridor, the feasibility study by JICA has pegged the overall cost at Rs 55,919 crore. The latter estimates the construction cost to be Rs 26,920 crore and adds additional costs, for example, of Rs 10,006 for electric locomotives, besides provisions for land acquisition, interest during construction, contingency, general administration, consulting services, etc. Social and environmental aspects have been stressed as never before.
Against the RITES’ recommendations for 1,500 metre loop length, JICA opts for 750m loops. Similarly, against RITES’ plea for replacing all level crossings by road overbridges, JICA prefers level crossings to be equipped with automatic train detection and alarm system. JICA has further advocated management of DFC to be separated from IR’s, freight trains to have firm time tables, single crew locomotive operation, maximum speed of 100 km/h for all trains, maximum speed at the diverted side of the turn-outs to be over 60 km/h, elimination of brake van (reflective disc to be installed instead on the last wagon).
No doubt, massive outlays required for the project need to be garnered ingenuously. Japan’s Special Terms for Economic Partnership scheme was expected to help such large infrastructure projects. The divergent concepts and views reflected in the preliminary feasibility studies by RITES and JICA may well be resolved by mutual understanding.
JIBC has evinced active interest in the western corridor and will probably be funding the initial phase to cover the Rewari-Vadodara stretch. IR has committed its one-third equity contribution for the work to begin on the eastern side. There is a strong likelihood of World Bank stepping in with funds for the eastern corridor.
To boldly seize the opportunity is not our forte; carpe diem has hardly ever been an article of faith with us. Do we ponder why we repeatedly get upstaged by large competitors like China and small competitors like Singapore? When opportunity comes knocking, it finds us unprepared — dithering in our decision-making, timorous in our resolve, and bickering among ourselves. Our reaction to stimulation is tardy, our response to change and challenge is always late. We are, as it were, only chasing the tail-lamp, seldom catching the train.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2008 : 21:29:35
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Rlys to tie up funds for freight corridor soon
BS Reporter / Hyderabad July 11, 2008, 16:35 IST
The Indian Railways is in the process of achieving financial closure for its proposed Rs 30,000-crore dedicated freight corridor shortly, said Satish K Vij, member (engineering), Railway Board.
The railways will pump in short-term investment of Rs 3,300 crore in the project and the rest will be through borrowings. The Japan Bank of International Corporation (JBIC) is keen on investing Rs 12,000 crore and is currently examining the western corridor, while the World Bank is assessing the eastern stretch. The railways is hopeful of fully tying up the funds in the next nine months, he said here on Friday.
Vij said the railways had already formed a core team headquartered in Delhi that would associate closely with the consulting firms in executing the 3,000-kilometre double-line project. It had received around 40 applications from within India and abroad, including construction and bridge design companies, evincing interest in the project and would see the commencement of physical activity during the current year.
"We have obtained necessary approvals that will enable us to acquire land much faster. Construction work on the project, bridges to start with, will begin during this year. We expect the freight corridor to be completely ready in seven years from now and the first train would move through this much before that," Vij said.
According to him, the Indian Railways would spend Rs 12,000 crore on gauge conversion and doubling of rail lines to further strengthen the Golden Quadrilateral that links all the four metropolitan cities in the country during this year. "Till last year, we used to do 300 kilometre of doubling. It will be 1,000 kilometre this year," he said.
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irse
Forum Admin
India
553 Posts |
Posted - 07/15/2008 : 00:09:43
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some thing more about present status with brief back ground of DFC
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Editorials/Imperative_of_n
ew_rail_freight_corridors/articleshow/3224771.cms
12 Jul, 2008, 0000 hrs IST
Convinced of an imperative need for dedicated rail freight corridors
(DFC), one of 1,483 km in the west from Mumbai (JN port) to Delhi
(Dadri) and another of 1,279 km in the east from Ludhiana to Son
Nagar, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the
project `in principle' two years ago at the cost of Rs 28,181 crore —
Rs 16,592 crore for the former and Rs 11,589 crore for the latter. An
SPV, Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd (DFCCIL) was
incorporated in October 2006.
Rail Budget 2007-08 provided Rs 1,330 crore but the crucial project
has remained almost a non-starter. For a 300-km long Bhaupur (near
Kanpurt) — Mandrak (near Aligarh) segment of the eastern corridor, a
design-cum-build contract valued at about Rs 3,000 crore is currently
being processed.
While the rail traffic volume continues to increase, Indian
Railways'(IR's) share in transport of country's passengers and
freight has been decreasing. From a freight market share of 89% in
1950-51, IR currently hauls not more than 30-35% of country's total
freight. Even in respect of long distance bulk traffic, IR's tally is
only 65% of the total offering.
IR can safely target 80-85% of this segment besides significantly
stepping up its share of non-bulk traffic through an accelerated,
market oriented programme of containerisation. IR has been losing
their share because of constraints of carrying capacity, low level of
customer satisfaction, and distorted pricing structure.
In the overall socio-economic interest including energy and ecology
conservation, rail transport capacity in the continental economy of
India's size and potential needs be built to cater for an optimal 50%
of the country's freight. IR needs to learn from Chinese Railways
(CR) and proactively augment capacity for the buoyant economy. In
spite of massive development of infrastructure in China, CR is unable
to carry more than 40% of total freight, that too notwithstanding
much higher productivity and expansion of network than on IR. The net
tonne km per route km on IR is only 4.21 million versus 23.4 million
on CR.
Major growth impulses in India, concentrated around the metropolitan
centres, are linked by the "golden quadrilateral" and its diagonals
aggregating 16% of IR's network but carrying more than 50% of its
freight and passenger traffic. And these arteries are saturated and
stressed. DFC will generate substantial carrying capacity, release
capacity on existing routes to fulfil unsatisfied passenger demand,
operate longer and heavier trains with fewer staff, at higher speeds
yielding better productivity and higher fuel efficiency.
New DFC tracks would enable wider, higher and lighter wagons to ply
with much higher net payloads. Freight cars with higher axle load up
to 30 t against the current 20-22 t will by itself enable at least
20% of additional haulage per unit.
India's most ambitious rail project ever, DFC will usher in a new era
of technological upgradation and technical parameters, which will
steadily impact even the existing rail network for qualitatively
higher cost-effective output. DFC will have the potential to catapult
IR among world's leading rail systems, helping IR gain larger share
of the total land transportation of goods, offer guaranteed schedules
and reliable transit time. Also, DFC will have high potential of a
catalyst for industrial growth and myriad value-added services
through logistics parks and industrial hubs along its alignment.
Particularly germane to western DFC, international container traffic
at ports is assumed to grow at a CAGR of 8.6%, to 43 million TEU in
2031. With an estimated, rather conservative, 35% rail share, western
DFC will be called upon to carry 10 million TEU per annum within 25
years, requiring as many as 300 up and down container trains per day
(each of 90 TEU).
Container transport is, in fact, an important aspect of western DFC,
which has elicited divergent views from Rail India Technical and
Economic Services and Japan International Cooperation Agency: the
former opting for DSC (double stack container) operation with diesel
traction on flat wagons, against the latter's preference for electric
locomotives on well type wagons. The JICA study recommends well type
DSC for western corridor and SSC (single stack container) trains for
the eastern sector.
Again, whereas the preliminary engineering-cum-traffic study by RITES
estimated cost for the western corridor at Rs 16,592 crore and Rs
11,589 crore for the eastern corridor, the feasibility study by JICA
has pegged the overall cost at Rs 55,919 crore. The latter estimates
the construction cost to be Rs 26,920 crore and adds additional
costs, for example, of Rs 10,006 for electric locomotives, besides
provisions for land acquisition, interest during construction,
contingency, general administration, consulting services, etc. Social
and environmental aspects have been stressed as never before.
Against the RITES' recommendations for 1,500 metre loop length, JICA
opts for 750m loops. Similarly, against RITES' plea for replacing all
level crossings by road overbridges, JICA prefers level crossings to
be equipped with automatic train detection and alarm system. JICA has
further advocated management of DFC to be separated from IR's,
freight trains to have firm time tables, single crew locomotive
operation, maximum speed of 100 km/h for all trains, maximum speed at
the diverted side of the turn-outs to be over 60 km/h, elimination of
brake van (reflective disc to be installed instead on the last
wagon).
No doubt, massive outlays required for the project need to be
garnered ingenuously. Japan's Special Terms for Economic Partnership
scheme was expected to help such large infrastructure projects. The
divergent concepts and views reflected in the preliminary feasibility
studies by RITES and JICA may well be resolved by mutual
understanding.
JIBC has evinced active interest in the western corridor and will
probably be funding the initial phase to cover the Rewari-Vadodara
stretch. IR has committed its one-third equity contribution for the
work to begin on the eastern side. There is a strong likelihood of
World Bank stepping in with funds for the eastern corridor.
To boldly seize the opportunity is not our forte; carpe diem has
hardly ever been an article of faith with us. Do we ponder why we
repeatedly get upstaged by large competitors like China and small
competitors like Singapore? When opportunity comes knocking, it finds
us unprepared — dithering in our decision-making, timorous in our
resolve, and bickering among ourselves. Our reaction to stimulation
is tardy, our response to change and challenge is always late. We
are, as it were, only chasing the tail-lamp, seldom catching the
train.
irse |
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 07/28/2008 : 20:00:13
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Prep work tenders for freight corridor floated
Archana Shukla
Tuesday, July 29, 2008 03:46 IST
NEW DELHI; Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation Ltd, the SPV for construction of Indian Railways’ eastern and western Dedicated Freight Corridors, has floated two small tenders for preliminary work on both the corridors. The tenders precede the first round of tenders for the corridor between Kanpur and Khurja.
The first of the two small tenders is a civil engineering one that opens on August 8, 2008. It calls for formation laying—levelling of land and preparing it for track laying—on the eastern corridor between Sonagar and Mugalsaray. The project cost is estimated at about Rs 581 crore.
The second tender, which calls for construction of multiple bridges between Vaitarna and Vapi on the western corridor, will open in September this year. The project cost is pegged at Rs 419 crore.
V K Kaul, DFCCL’s managing director, said that the preliminary activities would begin before this year ends. “The important preparatory work, once complete, will reduce the actual construction project time by about 3 years,” he added. The civil engineering work is expected to take about three years and construction of bridges 30 months. Both the projects would be funded internally through Indian Railways’ equity.
Meanwhile, DFCCL is in the process of finalising a consultant to help draft the price tenders for the 300-km Kanpur-Khurja section of the eastern corridor.
The consultant will be finalised by August 15. The qualification bids for the turn-key contract on this stretch will be called in a few days. After evaluating these bids, the company will release price bids by December this year.
DFCCL’s Kaul said, “Keeping in mind the processing time, the bids will be opened only by March 2009. The work will begin by June 2009.”
The Kanpur-Khurja route is expected to take six years to complete.
s_archana23@dnaindia.net
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irse
Forum Admin
India
553 Posts |
Posted - 08/16/2008 : 03:53:49
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MARGAO- The managing director of Konkan Railway Coporation, Mr Anurag Mishra,
chairman of the railway board, Mr K C Jaena and the general manager of South
Western Railways, Mr Pravin Kumar on Friday said that the work on the Eastern
Freight Corridor will begin by October or November, while, the work on the
Western Corridor will also be taken up shortly as the process is in the final
stages.
They said that for the railways, the freight corridor is very important as it is
the major revenue earners and further added that the high speed corridor for
passengers is also on the anvil.
Mr Jaena said that the high speed trains, which will have speeds of around 300
km per hour, will be comparatively expensive as compared to other trains.
He said that the railways have identified five routes between Delhi-Amritsar,
which is being studied by a consultant on the feasibility, commercial aspects,
etc, while the other routes include Mumbai- Ahmedabad, Mumbai-Pune,
Chennai-Coimbator-Ernakulam and Chennai-Sikandrabhad.
He also said that the high speed trains will also require high tracks in order
to avoid manning of the lines and said that it will cost the railways around Rs
500 to 1000 crore.
He said that the corridors will be built on private-public partnership and that
the state governments will have to invest 50 per cent of the cost.
The top railway officials were in Goa for the laying of the foundation stone for
the railway employees holiday home opposite the Konkan Railway Station.
Speaking further, Mr Kumar informed that the doubling of the railway line from
Hospet in Karnataka to Vasco will also be taken up at a whooping cost of Rs 3000
crore as the line will pass through difficult terrains of the Western Ghat, etc
and will be financed by the Asian Development Bank.
He said that after the doubling of lines more trains can be introduced on this
route and added that at present only three trains are operating on this route.
Mr Mishra informed that more lines are being planned to be laid between
Sawantwadi and Pernem.
It also informed that though the railways can take up doubling of lines, the
present tracks can accommodate 20 more trains and that the railways are also
planning to connect Ankola and Suratkar to Vasco and the work will be completed
in three years.
With regard to the sky bus, Mr Mishra said that a global expression of interest
will be floated within two months and global consultants will be invited to
study the project.
http://www.navhindtimes.com/story.php?story=200808169
irse |
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irse
Forum Admin
India
553 Posts |
Posted - 08/25/2008 : 00:41:32
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thehindubusinessline.com/2008/08/25/stories/2008082550190600.htm
Even as Indian Railways tries to tie up finances for the dedicated
freight corridor project, the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation
of India Limited (DFCCIL) has started initial work on the project
that includes taking up certain segments to be built and short-
listing vendors for those works. DFCCIL is a public sector body set
up for implementation of the dedicated freight corridor.
The Railway Ministry plans to construct the Dedicated Freight
Corridor (DFC) covering about 2,762 route km on two corridors —
Eastern Corridor from Ludhiana to Sonenagar-Dankuni, and Western
Corridor from Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Mumbai to Tughlakabad-Dadri,
along with inter-linking of the two corridors at Khurja.
The project entails construction of mostly double-track railway
lines, capable of handling 32.5-tonne axle load, longer trains and
also double-stack containers.
RFQ FOR Rs 3000-cr PROJECT
Anticipating World Bank funding for about 300 kilometre (km) link on
the Kanpur-Khurja section of the Eastern dedicated freight corridor,
DFCCIL is likely to invite request for qualification (RFQ) for
design, engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of
double-track electrified rail lines with signalling and
telecommunications systems and other related infrastructure.
The 300-km link concerned is Bhaupur-Mandrak, on the Kanpur-Khurja
section. The project is valued at Rs 3,000 crore.
"We are likely to get World Bank funding for this (Bhaupur-Mandrak)
project soon. As soon we get the go-ahead, we would invite request
for qualification applications," DFCCIL Managing Director, Mr V. K.
Kaul told Business Line. Railways is trying to get the entire Rs
3,000 crore from World Bank.
Incidentally, DFCCIL had invited expressions of interest (EOI) for
engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the
same project earlier, to which some 60 companies had responded.
"However, we will now issue an RFQ, that will be open for all
companies including those firms that did not participate in the
EOI," Mr Kaul said.
Meanwhile, DFCCIL is also close to finalising the tender for another
project, valued at Rs 558 crore, to be taken up on 105 km on
Mughalsarai-Sone Nagar section in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. "This
work will be funded by Indian Railways," Mr Kaul said.
The project entails design and construction of formation including
blanketing, major bridges, minor bridges, rail over- and under-
bridges, supply and spreading of ballast and other related
infrastructural works. Five companies including Ircon, Gammon and
Punj Lloyd are in race for this project.
BRIDGES TENDER
DFCCIL has also issued a tender for design and construction of 54
major bridges to be built on the Western Freight corridor between
Vaitarna and Utran (approximately 200 km) on Vasai-Bharuch section
in the States of Maharashtra and Gujarat.
The project cost is at an estimated Rs 419 crore, which will also be
funded from the internal accruals of Railways. The project has to be
completed in 30 months.
The Western corridor is estimated to have an expenditure of Rs
23,680 crore. The Railways expects to put in Rs 6,200 crore from
internal accruals, Rs 1,250 crore from gross budgetary support, and
raise Rs 16,230 crore as debt. The Railway Ministry is trying for
Japan Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC) funding for this
project.
JBIC has said it would consider funding only if the Western corridor
being built on electric traction. JBIC further says it would "first
consider" the loan only for the Rewari-Vadodara section of the
corridor.
The Eastern corridor is estimated to cost Rs 19,613 crore. Of this,
Rs 7,800 crore will be through internal generation, Rs 1,250 crore
through gross budgetary support and Rs 10,563 crore will be raised
as debt from multilateral agencies such as the World Bank and the
ADB.
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irse
Forum Admin
India
553 Posts |
Posted - 09/01/2008 : 23:27:15
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11. Dedicated Freight Corridor: Carrying benefits to the hinterland
R. C. Acharya
thehindubusinessline.com/2008/09/01/stories/2008090150200600.htm
Covering about a dozen SEZs on its route, the Delhi Mumbai
Industrial Corridor will use the high-speed Freight Corridor to
transport finished goods to Mumbai or other west-coast ports for
export, and elsewhere in the vast Indian sub-continent.
Mumbai enjoys the distinction of perhaps the only city in the world
which has grown along a Railway system in this case, not one but
two of them! The GIP (Great Indian Peninsula) Railway and the BB&CI
(Bombay Baroda and Central India) Railways, which had set up shop in
the 1850s, were the catalyst for the City's phenomenal growth over
the next 150 years, and continue to drive its development even now.
History repeats itself as the 1,483-km long Dedicated Freight
Corridor along the Western Railway's alignment goes into operation
by 2013. In this case, however, development along the route will not
wait for completion of the line, but will simultaneously see the
DMIC (Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor) taking shape to utilise the
high speed rail network to transport finished goods to Mumbai or
other west coast ports for exports, and elsewhere in the vast Indian
sub-continent.
Involving about a dozen SEZs (Special Economic Zones) each in Phase
I and Phase II, it will usher in an era of unprecedented growth in
the beneficiary States the NCR, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan,
Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Being developed entirely in the joint sector, with participation of
such big names as Reliance, etc., the proposed SEZs will also have
six logistics parks, including container depots. The western sector
will have four at Navi Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Vapi, and NCR (Rewari)
while two will come up on the eastern sector near Ludhiana and
Kanpur, owned and managed by DFCC, again as joint ventures.
Export Promotion Zones
India's first EPZ (Export Promotion Zone at Kandla) was created as
early as in 1965, followed by SEPZ (Santacruz Export Promtion Zone)
in 1973, five more at Noida (Uttar Pradesh), Falta (West Bengal),
Cochin (Kerala), Chennai (Tamil Nadu) and Visakhapatnam (Andhra
Pradesh) in the 1980s.
The last one, at Surat, especially set up for precious stones,
became operational in 1998, but the EPZs' growth has been dismal,
with their contribution to foreign exchange earnings remaining at
less than 5 per cent!
The concept itself received little encouragement from successive
governments, perhaps under pressure from the indigenous
manufacturers, till the story of the Asian tigers and, in
particular, the phenomenal economic growth made possible by a string
of SEZs in China got the North block mandarins to sit up and take
note.
World over, from 176 zones across 47 countries in 1986, the EPZ
phenomenon has grown to over 3,000, across 116 countries, by 2003, a
very large number of them being in developing countries, and it was
about time India joined the race.
With the launch of the Exim Policy, 2000, SEZs in India became the
flavour of the season. Under this scheme the EPZs at Kandla, Santa
Cruz, Cochin and Surat were converted into SEZs and, by 2003, other
EPZs at Noida, Falta, Chennai and Vizag were also similarly
converted.
In addition, now approval has been given for setting up of 26 new
SEZs in various parts of the country, which include the ones at
Singur and Nandigram in West Bengal which have, of late, been in the
news for the wrong reasons. Fortunately, the ones in the DMIC appear
so far to have had smooth sailing and are likely to be operational
as per the schedule
DMIC Corporation has ambitious plans to set up a 4,000-MW power
plant, three greenfield ports and six airports. It will also link 10
cities with an over 10 lakh (1 million) population, including
Faridabad, Surat, Delhi, Greater Mumbai, Meerut, Jaipur, Ahmedabad,
Pune and Nashik.
Industrial corridor
A 150-km broad swath on both sides of the proposed rail corridor,
which is proposed to be developed as the "industrial corridor",
will, in the first phase of its implementation, see the creation of
four industrial nodes Palanpur-Mehsana, Ahmedabad-Dhoera, Vadodara-
Ankleshwar and Bharuch-Dahej while two more such nodes will be
established between Surat and Jazira, Valsad and Umargam in the
second phase. It is proposed to develop these industrial nodes
as "global manufacturing hubs"
In the meantime, the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India
(DFCC) is chugging along hoping to appoint a business plan
consultant very soon, while, of the 18 quotes received for the
general consultant for construction work on the 105-km stretch from
Mughalsarai to Sonnagar, companies grouped into three consortia have
been short-listed, with lead players Mott McDonald, Parsons, or
RITES.
Though adequate land for laying another pair of tracks is available
along the existing right-of-way on both the western and eastern
routes, at least 60 per cent of the eastern route involves detours
when passing through major cities and station yards; thus, land
acquisition will be the main stumbling block in speedy
implementation of the DFC project.
However, instead of waiting for all the pieces of the vast jigsaw
puzzle falling in place, DFC Corporation has boldly ventured forth
with finalising the contract for work on sections such the Kanpur-
Aligarh, where no land acquisition is involved. Simultaneously,
tenders for 32 bridges of various sizes, which have a long gestation
period, are planned to be finalised by April next year.
Under the guidelines of the land acquisition policy of 2008, almost
80 per cent of the officers have been appointed and, taking a page
form the NHAI (National Highways Authority of India), most of these
are from the respective State's revenue departments. Their being
familiar with and having easy access to the local land records, this
in itself means half the battle is won!
(The author is a former Member (Mechnical), Railway Board.)
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 09/13/2008 : 23:06:22
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Delhi-Mumbai Corridor holds big promise for Rajasthan
Special Correspondent
Over 58 p.c. of the State falls within this Industrial Corridor
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First phase of the investment region is Kushkhera-Bhiwadi-Neemrana
It will double the employment potential of the area in the State
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JAIPUR: The proposed Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), envisaged to come up along the 1483-km western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) from Mumbai to Delhi, holds great promise for development in Rajasthan. Over 58 per cent of the State falls within the influence of DMIC, which covers 80 per cent of its population.
The corridor development concept, which has been tried out successfully in Japan, Canada and the U.S., is expected to double the employment potential in its influence areas while tripling the industrial output in a period of five years. Rajasthan has 553kms -- maximum after Uttar Pradesh with 1002 kms -- under western DFC corridor passing through Sirohi-Marwar-Beawar-Ajmer-Kishengarh-Phulera-Reengas in Rajasthan to enter Rewari in Haryana and then Delhi.
The DMIC focus is on high impact development within a band of 150 kms on either side of alignment of DFC between Delhi and Mumbai. The development would be through market driven nodes in DMIC region with world-class infrastructure and enhanced connectivity to DFC, ports and the hinterland. In all there are 24 nodes identified along the whole route while Rajasthan has chosen seven early bird projects in Alwar district.
The short-listed investment regions in the Phase 1A of the DMIC include Dadri-Noida-Gaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, Manesar-Bawal in Haryana, Kushkhera-Bhiwadi-Neemrana in Rajasthan, Ahmedabad-Dholera in Gujarat, Igatpuri-Nasik-Sinnar in Maharashtra and Pitampur-Dhar-Mhow in Madhya Pradesh.
“Rajasthan considers DMIC as a major opportunity coming across it. Of the Rs.3.6 lakh crore investment expected in DMIC, Rs.70, 000 crore are to be in Rajasthan,” Digamber Singh, the State’s Industries Minister said participating in consultation on DMIC Project here.
The consultation, organized by PHD Chamber, is among the series of such interactions planned in the areas concerned with the DMIC and DFC. Detailed presentations were made on the occasion by DFCCIL, IIDCL, IL&FS, JETRO, RIICO, Honda Siel, BIP, NHAI, Central Warehousing Corporation, and IDBI Bank Ltd.
“It is the State Government’s plan to convert DMIC passing through Rajasthan into a power house. We have identified Bhiwadi-Neemrana investment region to be made into a model investment region in the entire north India,” Dr. Singh said. DMIC is expected to create 6 lakh jobs in Rajasthan alone. The development plans for this region were being prepared jointly with the DMIC Development Corporation, Rajasthan’s Bureau of Industrial Promotion and RIICO, he informed.
Ashok Sampatram, Principal Secretary Industries, informs that Rajasthan is already geared up to seize opportunity offered by DMIC as and when it happens.
The State is planning to sign separate MOUs with DMIC Corporation for each project falling in its industrial nodes.
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irse
Forum Admin
India
553 Posts |
Posted - 11/25/2008 : 23:29:10
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http://www.financia lexpress. com/news/ Dedicated- freight-corridor -set-
to-change-UP- s-fortune/ 390083/
It is time for Uttar Pradesh to plan. Big time investment and
opportunity would be knocking on the state's doors in a few years
time and if Uttar Pradesh wants to make the most of that
opportunity, this is the time to plan and act accordingly.
This was the common refrain from a cross-section of experts who were
deliberating on a day-long seminar organised by the Lucknow
Management Association titled `Creating world class infrastructure—
policy imperatives' , in the state capital.
With the almost simultaneous completion of the 165-km long Yamuna
Expressway and the Eastern Dedicated Rail Freight Corridor in the
next 4 years, experts feel that there would be an unprecedented
scope for industrial growth in the state. More so as out of the
1,256-km long corridor from Ludhiana to Kolkata, 1,002 km would run
through Uttar Pradesh itself, cutting across industrial clusters
like Saharanpur, Meerut, Aligarh, Hapur, Khurja, Tundla, Kanpur and
Allahabad.
According to V K Kaul, managing director of Dedicated Freight
Corridor Corporation, the freight corridor is the need of the hour
and has a great potential for Uttar Pradesh. "As the eastern and
western freight corridors will meet at Dadri, it would provide an
immense opportunity. With about 32 pairs of goods trains set to run
in the dedicated eastern tracks daily, the corridor will act as a
big boost for carrying goods, both raw and finished directly from
industrial link clusters to the sea gateways of Mumbai and Gujarat,
thereby reducing both time and cost," he stated.
Reduction in costs would also be ensured as transportation would be
done by double stack trains, which would carry double the tonnage of
a normal train, thus translating into lower freight cost per tonne.
The other ripple effect that the corridor will have on the state,
opined Kaul was the development of logistics parks, which would
essentially serve as feeding points for the train on the DFC.
In fact, he stated that work on the Chandauli-Mughalsar ai section of
the eastern corridor is set to begin immediately and land
acquisition for the same would be completed by 2009.
The corridor will be funded by multiple funding agencies, including
the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. In fact, talks for
funding the 710-km track from Mughalsarai to Khurja with the World
Bank are in the final stages, Kaul said. While the World Bank would
fund Rs 10,000 crore, the remaining Rs 5,000 crore would be jointly
funded by ADB and the Railways, he added.
Described as the Indian Railways' most ambitious project ever', the
dedicated freight corridors are expected to act as a catalyst for
economic growth and encourage value-added services such as the
creation of logistics parks and industrial hubs along their routes.
However, in order to take advantage of this opportunity, the state
has been advised to make serious and definitive improvements in
improving its infrastructure, particularly power and transportation.
"Though expressways are an alternative for transporting goods, there
is still no other option for transporting heavy raw materials such
as coal and steel. While road transportation will be handy for the
cottage and small industries, bulk transportation for heavy
industries still has to depend on the railways," Kaul said.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 12/20/2008 : 19:21:33
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Railways now need more land for freight corridor
Nearly three years after RITES, the consultancy arm of Indian Railways, prepared a preliminary project alignment design for the proposed dedicated freight corridor project, the railways are demanding 42 per cent more land for the project than what was previously envisaged.
According to the final project alignment design prepared by Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd (DFCCIL), the railways need to acquire 12,500 hectares over 51 districts in seven states. This is in sharp contrast to the earlier report by RITES Ltd, which said 8,833 hectares needed to be acquired for the proposed eastern and western freight corridor project.
RITES had prepared its earlier design on the premise that the new track would run parallel to the existing ones and did not take into consideration the high traffic density, busy towns and forest areas through which the new line would pass.
“We had to modify the project alignment design to minimise modifications to existing railway installations and skirt busy towns, cities and forest areas,” said a senior DFCCIL official.
With these modifications, the area needed for the detour alignment has increased. Detour alignment refers to the area that is over one km from the existing track.
“Earlier, the detour alignment was just 25 per cent of the total land required. However, in our final study, it has gone up to 40 per cent of the total land area,” said the official.
Out of the 1,483-km western freight corridor between Dadri and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, 588 km fall under the detour alignment while in the case of the 1,256-km eastern corridor between Khurja and Son Nagar, the detour alignment stands at 528 km.
The railways have already prepared land acquisition plans for 2,200 km. The gazette notification for acquiring 1,077 km has already been issued. These areas mainly fall in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. By the end of January 2009, the railways will be able to acquire nearly 100 km near Kanpur. The remaining areas will be acquired over six months.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 02/09/2009 : 10:45:44
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Inauguration of Construction work on eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor
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15:22 IST
Construction work of eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) will be inaugurated by Chairperson, United Progressive Alliance, Smt. Sonia Gandhi at Rohtas in Bihar tomorrow. Also present on the occasion will be the Minister of Railways Shri Lalu Prasad, the Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment, Smt. Meira Kumar, Ministers of State for Railways Shri Naranbhai J. Rathwa & Dr. R. Velu and Minister of State for Tourism and Culture, Smt. Kanti Singh among others.
The construction of the Eastern corridor will commence on the Sonnagar-Mughalsarai (127 kms.) portion and will be taken up initially on a 105 kms. portion from New Ganjkhwaja near Mughalsarai to New Karwandia near Sonnagar. This portion will be funded by equity from the Indian Railways. The construction tender for the 105 kms. New Karwandia to New Ganjkhwaja portion of Sonnagar-Mughalsarai portion has already been awarded.
The Dedicated Freight Corridor project on the Western and Eastern routes is one of the most ambitious projects that Indian Railways has ever taken up and once completed would meet the transport requirements of the two busy truck routes. The Eastern corridor from Ludhiana to Dankuni (1801 kms.) will pass via Saharanpur, Khurja, Kanpur, Mughalsarai and Sonnagar and will be single line on the Ludhiana-Khurja portion (426 kms.) and double line on the remaining portion. The Western corridor from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) to Tughlakabad/Dadri (1483 kms.) will pass via Surat. Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Palanpur, Ajmer ad Rewari and will be a double-line corridor, except a 32 kms. single line link from the main corridor to Tughlakabad.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 02/12/2009 : 18:05:37
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New Delhi: The biggest railway upgrade project till date and railway minister Lalu Prasad’s personal prescription to turn around the fortune of the beleaguered Indian Railways — the Dedicated Freight Corridor—remains caught up in a maze of funding troubles since it was first mentioned in his Budget speech of 2005-06.
To be constructed at a cost of Rs 37,218 crore, Lalu had hoped that the 3,284 kilometre-long dedicated freight corridor, with an eastern wing from Ludhiana to Sonenagar/Dankuni and a western arm from Mumbai to Tughlakabad, would allow heavy haul freight trains to run at 100 kilometre per hour for faster movement of goods.
According to the railway ministry officials, the main reason behind the delay is the lack of a cohesive funding plan. The funds are expected to flow in by early next year and the project will take off fully only under Lalu’s successor.
The ministry is still in discussions with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank for loans. JBIC has promised to lend Rs 18,000 crore for constructing the 920-km stretch between Rewari and Vadodara on the western corridor, but the loan is expected to be secured by December this year. Meanwhile, the World Bank has given its in-principle approval for a loan of Rs 12,000 crore for the 730-km Mughalsarai-Khurja section. However, the funds are expected to materialise only by early next year.
Mainly, the delay was caused because of the railways opposing the high cost of loans being given by multi-lateral funding agencies and was instead planning to use its own internally generated funds for the project.
However, while it waits for the funds to materialise, officials point out that the time lag will now mean a significant cost escalation and the loans may need to be reworked yet again.
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DFC-dedicated freight corridor
