Page 56 - April 2022

TICKER TAPE
INFRASTRUCTURE Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. (APSEZ) has signed The ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) has reinstated
HIGHWAY PROJECTS: EARNEST MONEY DEPOSIT MUST
IOCL CONSTRUCT NINE NEW CRUDE OIL TANKS FOR
FOR BIDDING
ADANI PORTS & SEZ
an agreement with Indian Oil Corp Ltd. (IOCL) towards the
the provision of Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) for highway project
augmentation of IOC’s crude oil volumes at Mundra. IOCL will
bids, a move that will ensure only serious bidders take part in
be extending its existing Crude Oil Tank Farm at APSEZ’s Mundra
the bidding process. “Since there is no EMD deposit, bidders are
Port. This will enable APSEZ to handle and blend an additional 10
quoting abnormally low prices for the bid and after winning the
MMTPA oil at the Mundra Port. This partnership will also further IOCL’s
expansion of Panipat Refinery, Haryana. IOCL is looking forward to
an adverse impact on quality and timely completion of important
raising its capacity at its Panipat Refinery by 66% to 25 MMTPA to bid, they start searching for sub-contractor. This tendency will have
highway projects,” MoRTH said, reversing its earlier decision.
cater to India’s rapidly growing energy requirements. At the rate of 1-1.5% of the project cost, EMD is required to be
Currently, IOCL has a refining capacity of 80.55 MTPA and over submitted at the time of submission of bid. Sans the requirement
15,000 Km of the pipeline network. IOCL’s crude oil requirements of the EMD, withdrawn from November 2020 to provide relief to
of about 15 MMTPA for its Panipat Refinery are handled at the SBM contractors facing acute cash crunch during the pandemic time,
Mundra Port. It is operating a crude oil tank farm in an exclusive the numbers of bidders for a project sharply increased, much
area in Adani’s Mundra Special Economic Zone, consisting of 12 higher than usual.
tanks with a total capacity of 720,000 KL. The addition of 9 new The trend of submitting very low bids has also been noticed for
tanks will increase the total storage capacity to 1,260,000 KL. This consultancy contracts as well in recent times.
will make the Mundra Port by far the largest port-based crude oil “MoRTH’s decision to reinstate EMD will ensure only serious bidders
storage facility for IOCL. The total capital expenditure to be infused take part. In the recent past, we have noticed the numbers of
in the project will be ~`9000 crore, which has been approved by bidders for an EPC project going up to 40-45 compared with
IOCL’s board earlier in December 2021. around 20 in normal situation. For HAM projects also, the number
went up substantially.
HIGHWAY BOOST IN MAHARASHTRA, KARNATAKA!
CONSTRUCTION OF 6-LANE GREENFIELD CORRIDOR GOVT PLANS TO COMMISSION 14 INDIAN RAILWAYS
SANCTIONED PROJECTS FOR FASTER TRANSPORTATION OF FUEL
Soon, better highway connectivity in various states! Recently, the The government is planning to strengthen Indian Railways
construction of six lane (with paved shoulders) greenfield corridor infrastructure and has stressed on commissioning a total of 14
from Akkalkot in the state of Maharashtra to KN/TS Border (Badadal critical coal-evacuation railway projects for faster transportation
to Maradgi S Andola), district Gulbarga/Kalaburagi (part of Surat of fuel, as higher prices of fuel are likely to put pressure on
– Chennai Corridor) in Maharashtra and Karnataka has been the national transporter for transportation of domestic coal.
sanctioned with a budget of `2355.56 crore, Union Road Transport These projects include Tori – Shivpur Rail Line (on Deposit Basis),
& Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari announced. A few days ago, Jharsuguda – Barpali – Sardega Rail Link at Ib-Valley Coalfield of
the Union Minister had inaugurated and laid the foundation stone MCL in the state of Odisha (on deposit basis) as well as Shivpur –
of as many as 51 National Highway Projects with an investment of Kathautia Rail Line (through Special Purpose Vehicle), according
`21,559 Crore in Vijaywada, Andhra Pradesh. These 51 National to a PTI report. In a meeting which was held last month, under the
Highway Projects will cover 1380 kilometres. The Road Transport Chairmanship of Coal Secretary A K Jain, the progress and status
& Highways Minister, speaking on the occasion said under the of these projects were reviewed.
leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his ministry committed According to the report, due to higher fuel prices, thermal power
to building world class infrastructure in the state of Andhra Pradesh. generation from imported coal-based plants is likely to drop
According to Gadkari, improved road connectivity in the coastal further and it would put stress on Indian Railways for transportation
area will give a boost to tourism, create employment opportunities of domestic coal. Jain was quoted in the report saying almost 8%
for urban and rural youth as well as play a major role in bringing of the thermal power generation used to come from imported
prosperity to the people of Andhra Pradesh. coal-based plants, which due to higher coal prices has fallen to
The Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways said the 3%. In the future, this is most likely to drop further and this will bring
construction of Road Over Bridges (ROBs) under Setu Bharatam stress on the national transporter for domestic coal’s transportation
will facilitate hassle free movement of traffic. Besides, it will also in order to eliminate/substitute import of thermal coal.
ensure the safety of commuters, save time and fuel as well as As per the minutes of the meeting, this issue is linked with the
reduce pollution. The National Highways (NHs) are the arteries of necessity of energy for India. Cabinet Secretary will be especially
socio economic development of the state, Gadkari further stated. examining the capability of Indian Railways for coal transportation
The minister also mentioned the four lane road to Visakhapatnam upcountry as most of the imported coal-based thermal power
and Kakinada ports of the state of Andhra Pradesh will play a key plants are located on coast and far off, he further stated.
role in improving logistics. The development of Benz Circle flyover According to the secretary, coal handling plant, as well as other
will help decongest the city of Vijayawada, the Road Transport first-mile connectivity projects, will help in reducing the turnaround
& Highways Minister added. Meanwhile, foundation stone of 11 time of wagons or rakes which is very crucial, thus, for faster and
National Highway projects worth `5722 crore was laid in Madhya efficient transportation of coal, the commissioning of these 14
Pradesh today. railway projects is pivotal.

56 CONSTRUCTION OPPORTUNITIES|APRIL 2022