[Reader-list] GUJARAT HIGHWAYS TO GET $ 350 MILLION BOOST

[Bipin Trivedi]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Guj-highways-to-get-350m-b
oost/articleshow/6732914.cms

 

GANDHINAGAR: All roads lead to Gujarat. In a major boon to the state's road
sector, a high-level World Bank
<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/World-Bank>  team, visiting
Gujarat last week, indicated it would provide $350 million loan to
strengthen and widen 1,500 kilometres of arterial state highways out of the
state's 6,300-km-long core road network. The eight-member team, led by
senior WB official Arnab Bandyopadhyay, told state officials that it will
"go ahead" and "prepare" a techno-feasibility study, identifying the state
roads they will take up. Officials showed special interest in four-laning or
widening to 10 metres of such roads like Rajkot-Morbi, Mehsana-Vijapur,
Rajkot-Bhavnagar, Ahmedabad-Modasa as also the eastern state highway, apart
from roads connecting Mundra, Hazira, Pipavav and Magdalla ports. To be
called Gujarat State Highways Project II, WB decided to take keen interest
in taking up more roads, after praising, in a top report, Gujarat State
Highways Project-I as "highly satisfactory" and "exemplary" for other states
to follow. The $550-million first phase covered 2,000 km of roads -
strengthening or widening of Ahmedabad-Viramgam-Maliya, Rajkot-Jamnagar,
Velavadar-Jamnagar, Surat-Olpad, Bharuch-Dahej, Mehsana-Palanpur and
Shamlaji-Halol - from 2001 to 2007. 

The WB team, which met senior officials in roads and buildings, transport
and finance departments, and made on-the-spot inspection of state highways
postmonsoon off Rajkot, Morbi, Bhavnagar, Mehsana, Chanasma and Satlasana,
submitted a concrete programme to take up the new project. 

While the techno-feasibility report will be ready by March 2011, the final
project clearance is expected by February 2012. The state government had
submitted a proposal for $500 million to WB to strengthen and widen 1,800 km
of roads, especially because of fresh possibilities of industrialisation
along the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor project, special investment
regions and special economic zones. A WB team led by institutional
specialist Ernst
<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=Ernst%20Huming>  Huming
visited Gujarat in December 2009 to make preliminary inquiry about the
state's needs. 

Based on its report, the WB sent its second mission last week, and took
reports from the state government on the roads that can be taken up.
Officials showed special interest in four-laning or widening to 10 metres of
such roads like Rajkot-Morbi, Mehsana-Vijapur, Rajkot-Bhavnagar,
Ahmedabad-Modasa as also the eastern state highway, apart from roads
connecting Mundra, Hazira, Pipavav and Magdalla ports. 

The WB team insisted that it would like to take up a special component on
road safety, including traffic information system, licensing, patrolling,
toeing and provision of equipment for all this. The WB, in its report, had
found that the road safety was "unfortunately subdued largely due to lack of
political and bureaucratic championship". 


Read more:
<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Guj-highways-to-get-350m-
boost/articleshow/6732914.cms#ixzz12abz7NEI> Guj highways to get $350m boost
- The Times of India
<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Guj-highways-to-get-350m-
boost/articleshow/6732914.cms#ixzz12abz7NEI>
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Guj-highways-to-get-350m-b
oost/articleshow/6732914.cms#ixzz12abz7NEI