Tamil Nadu Cabinet approves investments worth over Rs.35,000 cr

The State Cabinet meeting, chaired by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin at the Secretariat has cleared industrial projects which will bring in investments of about Rs.35,000 crore.

The major investment proposals are from Malaysian energy major Petronas which will invest about Rs.34,000 crore in Thoothukudi to produce green hydrogen, and Geneva-headquartered Swiss company XyloNetics which intends to manufacture woodwork with investments worth around Rs.700 crore.

The Swiss company would operate from the International Furniture Park at SIPCOT estate in Thoothukudi district. The Cabinet also cleared a proposal by a company that is planning to set up an electric vehicles unit with a Rs.70-crore outlay near Chennai. American construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar which is planning to expand its unit in Tiruvallur district with a fresh investment of about Rs.400 crore also received a nod. Further, it approved an amendment to extend the period of operation of Wonderla amusement park near Chennai.

Indian Railways aims to start hydrogen train trials in current financial year

Railway Board Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti said work was underway on the project to develop the country’s first hydrogen train and efforts were being made to start its trial in the current financial year itself. Running trains on hydrogen would be a huge “technological breakthrough” in the country, Lahoti told reporters in Indore.

“The Northern Railway has already awarded the contract to develop the hydrogen train and work is underway on it,” he said.

Hydrogen train is a new technology at the international level and such a train is being developed for the first time in the country, hence the Indian Railways is aiming to complete the project in an efficient manner instead of setting very strict timelines for it, he said. “We want the testing of hydrogen trains to start in this financial year in the country,” Lahoti said. “Hydrogen train technology is still under development around the world. We will move ahead on this front as we learn this new technology,” he said.

Lahoti said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already announced that 75 Vande Bharat trains will be run in the country and to implement it, the Railways is running three such trains on an average every month. The Railway Board chairman was here to attend the departmental meeting organised to review the ongoing rail projects in and around Indore. Lahoti said he reviewed projects for the redevelopment of Indore railway station, conversion of Mhow-Khandwa rail route from metre gauge to broad gauge and other projects and instructed the officials concerned to speed up the work.

Suzlon bags 69.3MW wind energy project from Juniper Green Energy

Renewable energy solutions provider Suzlon has bagged an order to develop 69.3 MW wind power project from Juniper Green Energy. The project is located at Surendra Nagar district in Gujarat and is expected to be commissioned in 2024.

“Suzlon Group today announced the second order of the 3 MW product series for the development of a 69.3 MW wind power project for Juniper Green Energy Private Limited,” it stated.

SJVN Green Energy Ltd bags 100MW order

SJVN Ltd through its wholly owned subsidiary SJVN Green Energy Limited (“SGEL”) participated in the Request for Selection (RfS) floated by Rajasthan Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd. (“RUVNL”) for setting up of 1,000 MW STU Connected Solar PV Power Plant anywhere in the state of Rajasthan. The Company bagged 100 MW @ Rs.2.62/Unit on Build Own and Operate (BOO) basis under Open Competitive Tariff bidding process followed by e-Reverse Auction on 04.05.2023 by RUVNL. With the allotment of this capacity, SJVN’s Renewable portfolio in the Rajasthan State has reached to 1,100 MW which includes 1,000 MW Bikaner Solar Project which is in advance stage of commissioning. The cost of Construction / Development of this project shall be approximately 600 Crores. The project is expected to generate 252 MU in the 1st year and the project cumulative energy generation over a period of 25 years would be about 5,866 MU. The commissioning of this Project is expected to reduce 2,87,434 tonnes of carbon emission and would contribute in GoI mission of reduction in carbon emission. SJVN’s Renewable Project Portfolio now stands at 3,183 MW and same are at different stages of implementation. With the allocation of this Project, the project portfolio of the company is now 47179 MW.

GMR Goa International Airport Limited (GGIAL) – led Manohar International Airport in Goa handled 1 Million Happy Passengers in 116 days

GMR Goa International Airport Limited (GGIAL), a subsidiary of GMR Airports Infrastructure Limited (GIL), has announced that Manohar International Airport has handled one million happy passengers in just 116 days since its opening. This overwhelming response from passengers positioned Manohar International Airport amongst the top 20 airports in India as per March’23 domestic traffic data.

Equipped to handle even the wide body Code D & E aircrafts, Manohar International Airport is currently catering to Code C Aircrafts used by the domestic carriers.

Manohar International Airport has expanded its reach by connecting 25 destinations in India, with three new cities added at the end of April 2023. These destinations include Amritsar, Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore, Guwahati, Ranchi, Rajkot, Visakhapatnam, Lucknow, Delhi, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune, Nashik, Jaipur, Chennai, Nagpur, Varanasi, Chandigarh, Patna, Baroda, Dehradun, and Cochin. Since its inauguration, Manohar International Airport has received an overwhelming response from airlines and passengers.

R. V. Sheshan, CEO, GGIAL, said, “While reaching the million-passenger milestone is a commendable achievement and a significant milestone, we have many more milestones to achieve. We are committed to providing our partners, passengers, and all stakeholders with a world-class experience and are equipped to maintain our standing as the preferred gateway to Goa. I would like to thank every member of the airport team for their collective hard work to achieve this milestone by ensuring that our passengers had a pleasant experience when they chose Manohar International Airport.” GGIAL’s success is a testament to the company’s dedication to providing a top-of-the-line experience for its passengers by using world-class technologies. Its ongoing commitment to achieving new milestones will continue to bolster the airport’s position as a leading destination in India.

Modi inaugurates Kerala projects worth Rs.3,200 cr; Kochi gets water metro

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated development projects worth more than Rs.3,200 crore in Kerala, saying “India will develop faster” as the state progresses. Modi flagged off India’s first water metro that will connect 10 small islands around Kochi with boats running on hybrid power. He laid the foundation stone of various rail projects and a Digital Science Park in Thiruvananthapuram.

He flagged off Kerala’s first Vande Bharat Express train connecting Thiruvananthapuram and Kasargod. Addressing a public gathering at Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, Modi said that in the last nine years of his government, work on connectivity infrastructure has been unprecedented in terms of speed and scale. This year’s Union budget proposed to spend more than Rs.10 trillion on infrastructure. “The public transport and logistics sector is being completely transformed in the country. We are moving towards the golden age of Indian railways”, he said, adding that the average rail has increased five-fold after 2014 when his government came to power. He inaugurated the railway electrification of the Dindigul-Palani-Palakkad section. He laid the foundation stone for various rail projects including the redevelopment of Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, and Varkala Sivagiri railway stations. The redevelopment of the three railway stations will make Kerala a multimodal transport hub. “Vande Bharat Express is the identity of aspirational India”, said Modi as he highlighted the transformation of India’s rail network. “Kerala’s first Vande Bharat train will link North Kerala with South Kerala. The train will ease travel to places of pilgrimage like Kollam, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Kannur,” he said. Work has been begun to prepare the Thiruvananthapuram-Shoranur section for semi-high speed trains. Upon completion, the Prime Minister continued, it will become possible to run semi-high speed trains from Thiruvananthapuram to Mangaluru. Modi elaborated that the effort is to provide Made in India solutions as per local needs with regard to infrastructure. He listed solutions like a semi-hybrid train, Regional Rapid Transport System, Ro-Ro ferry, and ropeway to illustrate situation-specific solutions for connectivity. He also underscored the indigenous origins of Made in India Vande Bharat and Metro coaches. He also mentioned projects like Metro-Lite and urban ropeways in smaller cities.

The Prime Minister underlined that the Kochi Water Metro is a Made in India project and congratulated the Kochi Shipyard for the development of ports for the same. He stated that the Kochi Water Metro will make modern and cheap means of transport accessible for the people living in the nearing islets of Kochi while also providing inter-modal connectivity between the bus terminal and the metro network. The Rs.1,137 crore project, funded by German funding agency KFW and the Kerala government, will provide a cheap mode of transport for commuters and tourists. Tickets will cost between Rs.20 and Rs.40 and can be booked digitally through Kochi One App. Modi reiterated that along with physical connectivity, digital connectivity too is the country’s priority. He said projects like Digital Science Park in Thiruvananthapuram will give a fillip to Digital India. He highlighted global appreciation for India’s digital system. “Indigenously developed 5G will create new opportunities in the sector”, he said. As a third generation Science Park, the Digital Science Park will house common facilities to support the development of products in the area of Industry 4.0 Technologies like AI, Data Analytics, Cyber Security, Smart Materials etc. The state-of-the-art basic infrastructure will support high-end applied research by industries and the co-development of products in association with the Universities. The initial investment for Phase-1 of the project is around Rs.200 crore while the total project outlay has been estimated at around Rs.1,515 crore.

Texmaco builds country’s largest spillway radial gates for Subansiri hydropower project

Texmaco Rail & Engineering Limited has completed the largest spillway radial gates in the country for the 2000 MW Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project. The company won a Rs.350 crore contract for the project, which is located on the Subansiri River serving as the border between Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.

The power generation project consists of eight units, each with a capacity of 250 MW, and is scheduled to be commissioned in two phases.

The first unit, with a capacity of 250 MW, is expected to be commissioned later this year. “We are proud to have commissioned a part of the Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project, which marks an important milestone and showcases our engineering capabilities. The three high-head submerged Radial Gate was made operational in April. “These radial gates are one of the country’s largest spillway radial gates in terms of hydraulic capacity, size, and weight,” Indrajit Mookherjee, Vice Chairman of Texmaco Rail & Engineering Limited, said.

PNC Infratech receives LoA for four-laning of NH-731A (Package-III)

PNC Infratech has received a letter of acceptance (LoA) from the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) for the four-laning of Singraur Uphar to Baranpur Kadipur Ichauli section of NH-731A in Uttar Pradesh. The four-laning will be from km 49.155 to km 74.700 of NH-731A with paved shoulders (i/c Ganga Bridge), and will be executed under Package-III on hybrid annuity mode (HAM) basis.

The contract stipulates a construction period of 24 months from the appointed date. Further, an operation period is valid for l5 years, post construction.

Govt plans to develop more than 250 projects in 5 yrs under Parvatmala Pariyojana: Nitin Gadkari

The government is planning to develop more than 250 projects with a ropeway length of over 1,200 km in five years under Parvatmala Pariyojana, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said. The government is promoting the manufacturing of ropeway components under the ‘Make in India’ initiative, an official release quoted Gadkari as saying.

 The minister was addressing ‘INTERALPIN 2023 Fair’ in Austria, the release said. The minister was addressing ‘INTERALPIN 2023 Fair’ in Austria, the release said.

The road transport and highways minister invited Austrian and European industries to participate in enhancement of existing ropeway standards in India to ensure sustainable and safer transport. Gadkari also visited exhibits of the world’s leading manufacturers of ropeway systems offering high-tech solutions, innovative design, top quality, and functionality, it added.

NTPC, NPCIL sign joint venture agreement to develop nuclear power projects

NTPC signed a supplementary joint venture agreement with Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) for the development of nuclear power projects. The joint venture will develop two pressurized heavy-water reactor projects, which include 1,400 MW Chutka in Madhya Pradesh and 2,800 MW Mahi Banswara in Rajasthan, confirmed the power ministry. “Supplementary joint venture agreement has been signed to amend the earlier JV Agreement for changes necessitated due to amendment in Atomic Energy Act and to restructure NTPC & NPCIL Joint Venture Company, ASHVINI to have equal (50:50) partnership/shareholding of NTPC and NPCIL instead of 49:51 shareholding earlier,” NTPC said in a regulatory filing. The agreement was signed by Ujjwal Kanti Bhattacharya, Director Projects, NTPC Ltd. and Ranjay Sharan, Director Projects, NPCIL in the presence of RK Singh, Minister of Power, New & Renewable Energy, KN Vyas, Secretary DAE & Chairman Atomic Energy Commission, Alok Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Power, Gurdeep Singh, CMD NTPC, Shri B C Pathak, CMD NPCIL and senior officials of Ministry of Power and Department of Atomic Energy. “This Supplementary Joint Venture Agreement marks a pivotal step for NTPC Ltd. and NPCIL to collaborate and cooperate in the field of development of Nuclear Power projects which shall help the country in meeting its Clean Energy Commitments to achieve net zero emission target by 2070,” the ministry said. Earlier in December last year, NTPC had said that the NTPC Group including joint ventures and arms crossed 3GW of operational renewable energy (RE) capacity. The NTPC Group achieved this milestone with commissioning of first part capacity of 100 MW out of 300 MW Nokhra Solar PV Project at Bikaner, Rajasthan from 00:00 hours of December 20, 2022, a company statement said. NTPC group had crossed 2 GW on June 24 this year with the commissioning of its 92 MW floating solar project at Kayamkulam, Kerala.

JSW Renew Energy Two Ltd commissions 51 MW under phased commissioning of 450 MW SECI-X Wind Project

JSW Renew Energy Two Limited, a step-down subsidiary, of JSW Energy Limited (‘the company’), has commissioned 51 MW of wind power capacity under phase-wise commissioning of 450 MW ISTS-connected wind power project awarded under SECI tranche X in Tamil Nadu. With this the cumulative wind capacity commissioned by the Company under SECI X stands at 78 MW.

Subsequent to this, total current installed capacity becomes 6,615 MW while the under construction capacity stands at 2,855 MW, which is likely to be commissioned in phases over the next 12-18 months. The Company has set a target to reach 20 GW capacity by 2030 and near-term target of 10 GW by 2025, with a total locked-in capacity of 9.9 GW the company is well placed to achieve its targets well ahead of time. In addition, the Company has forayed into energy storage space and has currently locked in 3.4 GWh of energy storage capacity by means of battery energy storage system and hydro pumped storage plant. JSW Energy has set an ambitious target for 50% reduction in carbon footprint by 2030 and achieving Carbon Neutrality by 2050 by transitioning towards renewable energy.

Andhra Pradesh CM lays foundation for Rs.4,362 cr Mulapeta Port

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy laid the foundation stone for the Rs.4,362 crore Mulapeta Port in Srikakulam district. The Mulapeta Port, being built across 1,250 acres of land parcel with an annual capacity of 23.5 million tonne, will have four loading and unloading berths, which will enable handling of coal, multipurpose containers, and general cargo, as also the exports and imports arriving from Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha. The CM stated that the project will encourage the growth of ancillary industries in the nearby areas and would provide employment to the local communities. It will potentially generate direct and indirect job opportunities for 25,000 people. The project is expected to be completed in a span of two years.

The CM also laid the foundation stones for a Rs.360 crore fishing harbour at Budagatlapalem, Rs.176.35 crore Vamsadhara lift irrigation project, and Rs.300 crore Mahendratanaya offshore reservoir project works.

Siemens consortium partners Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation for advanced rail electrification technologies

Siemens Limited, as part of a consortium along with Rail Vikas Nigam Limited, received two separate orders from Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation Limited (GMRCL). Siemens Limited’s share as part of the consortium is Rs.678 crore.

The orders are for Surat Metro Phase 1 (over 40 kilometers covering 38 stations and 2 depots) and Ahmedabad Metro Phase 2 (over 28 kilometers covering 23 stations and 1 depot). Siemens Limited will provide project management, rail electrification technologies, including advanced power supply and distribution systems. In addition, Siemens Limited will also be providing advanced digital solutions such as Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) solution for both metros. Gunjan Vakharia, Head of Mobility Business, Siemens Limited, said, “Siemens takes great pride in being an integral part of the development of Gujarat’s public transportation system through these landmark metro projects. They will play a pivotal role in enhancing the quality of life and the all-round growth of the cities and region. We would like to thank GMRCL for trusting Siemens in their journey of creating a safer, greener and smarter transport solution for sustainable cities.”

Electric highways to logistics park, Govt to transform public transportation on priority

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said that road projects worth around Rs.65, 000 crores are underway in and around Delhi. Considering many options as well as working on various projects to check pollution, the Union government is going to implement several measures to promote public transport, prioritizing the issue related to ecology and environment.

Promotion of public transport is quite necessary as around 40 percent of the total air pollution in India is caused due to road traffic, said Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari while speaking at the 11th Biennial International Conference on Ports, Shipping and Logistics held in Mumbai on Thursday.

Boost to Maharashtra’s road infrastructure!

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all praises for the six Road Over Bridges (ROBs) that were inaugurated for Maharshtra’s Vidarbha region on April 15. Replying to a tweet by Maharashtra Dy CM Shri Devendra Fadnavis, the Prime Minister tweeted : “Great for connectivity in Vidarbha region.” This is an effort to boost the road infrastructure in Maharashtra and ease the congestion and traffic. The project has clearly made headlines now that PM Modi has lauded Maharashtra government’s effort.

ROBs in Maharashtra: Detailed list of location, length and cost

• One of the first ROBs is on the Umred Bhiwapur bypass road on Armori-Nagpur National HIghway 353 D between Nagpur (Itwari)-Nagbhid railway line. It is 635 mtrs long and is being constructed at a cost of 63.19 crore.
• A two-lane ROB has been constructed on Borgaon to Khandala major district road between Bharatwada and Kalmeshwar Railway Stations. It cost Rs 46.29 crores and is 581 mtrs long.
• Another two-lane ROB has been constructed on Nagpur-Kalmeshwar State Highway between Bharatwada and Kalmeshwar railway station. Its total length is 732 mtrs and cost Rs 46.59 crores.
• The fourth ROB is also a two-lane ROB which is constructed on Katol to Kalmeshwhar State Highway between Kohli and Kalmeshwar Railway Station. It is 545 meters long and was built at a cost Rs.41.85 crores.
• The ROB on Alagondi-Barkhedi road is also two-lane and is between Borkhedi station and Sindi railway station. Its total length is 730 meters and cost Rs.51.18 crores.
• The last one is the two-lane Bow String ROB constructed on Rewral to nandgaon major District Road between Rewral and Tharsa railway stations. It cost Rs.56.03 crore and is 628 meters long.

Work on various transport measures

“The Central government has put a spotlight on the promotion of public transport so it is working on various measures. The start of Double-decker buses in Mumbai, and bus services in Bangalore are examples of such measures taken by the government,” said Gadkari and added that the government has approved 260 ropeways and cable cars as a part of this effort.

He said that road projects worth around Rs.65, 000 crores are underway in and around Delhi and added that such measures will reduce traffic congestion and air pollution in the region.

Electric highways

The Central government is mulling to build electric highways or e-highways, the minister said. “Electric scooters, electric cars and electric buses are now operational. The government is starting to use vehicles with flex engines,” said Gadkari.

Hydrogen is the fuel of the future, he said and added that there is no problem in running buses and trucks using methanol as fuel in Mumbai.

Roads, logistics to boost trade

The work of 36 green highway projects of the Central government has kickstarted and the state government has paid compensation for land acquired for these projects more than the market value, Gadkari said. The minister stated that better roads and lower logistics cost will boost trade business and industry.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways would set up 5-6 logistics parks. Speaking about logistic parks in the country, Gadkri said that the government will cut down Agarbatti imports from China to use indigenously developed sticks from Assam with the help of newly developed infrastructure.

Water transport cost effective

Gadakri is of the view that the start of water transport between Mumbai and Goa will change the entire scenario in the region. In comparison with road and rail transport, water transport is considered to be highly cost effective.

‘Encouraging trend for public transport in India’: PM Modi says on Kolkata Metro trial run under Hooghly river

Interestingly, it is also the biggest underwater river tunnel in South Asia. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed pleasure over the metro trial run under the Hooghly river in the Kolkata district of West Bengal.

“Great news for Kolkata and an encouraging trend for public transport in India,” tweeted PM Modi in response to a tweet by Union Minister for Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw.

“Train travels underwater! Trial run of train through another engineering marvel; metro rail tunnel and station under Hooghly river,” informed the minister on Friday. The 38-second video clip shows a glimpse of the trial run. The footage has garnered 870K views at the time of writing this news.

“Train travels underwater! Trial run of train through another engineering marvel; metro rail tunnel and station under Hooghly river,” informed the minister on Friday. The 38-second video clip shows a glimpse of the trial run. The footage has garnered 870K views at the time of writing this news.

This will be India’s first underwater railway tunnel and station. The station is 33 meters in depth. Interestingly, it is also the biggest underwater river tunnel in South Asia. It is constructed by Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation.

About Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation

Serving the city of Kolkata in West Bengal, the Kolkata Metro is a rapid transit system. It has a total length of 46.96 km (29.18 mi). As of January 2023, it has three operational lines:

a) Dakshineswar to Kavi Subhash (31.36 km)

b) Salt Lake Sector V to Sealdah (9.1 km)

c) Joka to Taratala (6.5 km)

Additionally, three other lines are in various stages of construction.

Longest underwater tunnel

Talking about the underwater railway tunnel, Seikan Tunnel in Japan is the longest underwater tunnel by an overall length in the world. It is a 53.85 km (dual-gauge) railway tunnel. Its 23.3 km portion is under the seabed of the Tsugaru Strait. This strait divides Aomori Prefecture (on the main Japanese island of Honshu) from the northern island of Hokkaido. The track level is nearly 100 m below the seabed and 240 m below the level of the sea. It is owned by Japan Railway Construction, Transport, and Technology Agency. JR Hokkaido is the operator.