Now Waste Plastic to Strengthen Roads

Government of Delhi started its initiative for a cleaner environment banning plastic bags some time before, now in a new move the waste plastic will be used to build roads in Delhi and NCR. Read on...

To ensure a smooth ride during the Commonwealth Games, Public Works Department (PWD) is going to use waste plastic technology to resurface a total of 242-km road length in the city at a cost of around Rs 250 crore. The new technology will ensure longevity of the roads.

Minister, PWD, Rajkumar Chauhan on Friday inaugurated the resurfacing work of roads in south Delhi. He said: "Special attention is being paid to roads leading to Games venues. All Delhi roads will be built using international technology.'' The waste plastic technology involves mixing waste plastic and bitumen. This ensures greater longevity and flexibility of roads.

Work on strengthening the roads using waste plastic and micro-surfacing technology has begun on 71-km road length under PWD in south Delhi and 32-km of roads in east Delhi. The technology has already been used to resurface around 60km of the roads in Delhi. This technology will help take care of plastic waste in the city.

Resurfacing of key roads in south Delhi using waste plastic technology will cost around Rs 33.22 crore. These roads include Airport area, Rama Road, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, IGP Slip Road, Bhairon Marg, Okhla Estate Marg no-13, Bhakti Vedanta Marg, Anuvrat Marg, etc. According to PWD officials, the resurfacing of roads will be completed by June 2010.

"Plastic technology is eco-friendly and consumes less material. The thickness is raised by only 10-15mm and such roads would last up to seven years,'' added Chauhan.

Said PWD secretary K K Sharma: "The bitumen melts at higher temperatures during summer and when mixed with plastic it adds to the flexibility and durability of roads.''

Besides waste plastic technology, PWD is also using in-situ technology to resurface roads and a 100 crore project has already been approved by the government. Under in-situ technology, raw material on the surface of the road is removed, heated and after adding some amount of new material it is used again for re-laying of road. This helps in maintaining the level of the road and is eco-friendly as well.

Yamuna Expressway to be completed before Games

The chief minister of Uttar Pradesh inaugurated Metro services in Delhi few days before. Now the senior official is eyeing the revenue which the commonwealth games can generate for UP, so they want to finish other projects as well before games.

Intending to make Yamuna Expressway a growth engine for all future development of the state, the Uttar Pradesh government has issued directives that the expressway be completed and open to traffic before the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.

Sticking to the time schedules, the concessionaire of the project Jaypee Infratech is working at neck breaking speed, having completed almost 80% of the earthwork and starting off with concreting from Noida end.

Speaking to FE on condition of anonymity, an official of the state government said lot of prestige is associated with the project as it will be the first infrastructure development project that would finally see the light of the day during the two-and-a half year reign of chief minister Mayawati. In a way it would be the yardstick by other developers for investing in the state.

The chief minister has many more ambitious plans for the state, all of which would either revolve around Yamuna Expressway or would be fostered by it. With land for the entire 165-km expressway already available with the developer, a massive workforce of around 10,000 people has been pumped in to work round the clock to complete the mega project. The total cost of the project is pegged at Rs 10000 crore.

The expressway, which will cross the five districts of Gautambudh Nagar, Aligarh, Mahamaya Nagar (Hathras), Mathura and Agra, will have six interchanges from point zero at Noida. Apart from these interchanges, other structures like car tracks, pedestrian pathways, canals, bridges and underpasses are also being constructed simultaneously.

A senior official of the Yamuna Expressway Authority said a total of six toll plazas are being proposed. While there would be two each at Gautambudh Nagar and Mathura, Aligarh and Agra would have one toll plaza each.

The project, which is being constructed on build operate transfer PPP basis, will be maintained and operated by the concessionaire during the entire concession period of 36 years and after expiry of the concession period, it shall be handed over to the authority. An official of the company stated that the toll amount is being worked upon and no final shape has been given to it yet.

Government Seeking Private Players for tourist bus services

The Delhi government is looking to rope in a private player to fund its hop-on-hop-off bus services for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

According to Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta, bids for the bus service will be announced by the Delhi Tourism and Transport Development Corporation (DTTDC). “The initiative will be in partnership with Delhi Tourism, but the basic funding will be provided by the private player, who will supply the buses and bear the costs,” Mehta said.

Though the government had originally planned running double-decker buses along the lines of the services provided in London and Paris, Mehta said that with the Games deadline closing in, the government plans to run only ordinary buses for now. “Buses in line with specifications meant for Delhi will have to be planned, so we will begin with ordinary buses and take it from there,” Mehta said.

To be initiated on the lines of tourist bus services in London and Paris, the hop-on-hop-off service has buses running along pre-defined routes that connect the city’s heritage sites, museums and cultural spots. Tourists will have to buy a consolidated ticket and will have the option of boarding a bus at any of the tourist spots along the route and get off at their convenience.

DDA Cancelled Contract for not meeting Deadline

With six months left to the deadline, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) seems to have decided to become a strict paymaster. It has terminated the contract of the consortium building the practice areas in the Commonwealth Games Village, a first for the land agency in a Games-related project. The reason: failure to meet expectations and norms as per the agreement. Now, DDA plans to implement the project itself.

Admitted Neemo Dhar, spokesperson for the DDA, "We rescinded the contract as the terms of the agreement were not being met. The DDA will now implement the project through sub-contractors.'' The decision comes barely months before the deadline June 2010. The internal deadline for the agency's contractors is, incidentally, March 2010. The consortium Sportina Payce Infrastructure Pvt Ltd was to build the practice venues within the Commonwealth Games Village, including the swimming, wrestling and athletic tracks as well as the field area for hammer throw and other facilities. With the termination however, DDA will have to step into the breach, admitted officials.

Sources in the land agency claimed that one of the primary reasons for the termination was the consortium’s inability to provide adequate labor, resulting in unmet deadlines. A senior DDA official said, "The contractor had been engaged last year but deadlines were not being met consistently. Despite repeated warnings, there was no improvement, so the contract had to be terminated.'' Despite repeated attempts, officials from Sportina Payce were not available for comments.

Said a senior official, "We expect the work to continue without a hitch as the sub-contractors will remain the same, only they will be working for us directly now.'' Officials said that work on the venues had already started under the agency in order to meet the March deadline. "It is a tough task, especially as a large part of the work still needs to be done. With DDA directly handling the project, it is expected that the project will get back on track, though the internal March deadline may not be a possibility,'' added the official.

Its not the first time that work at the Village has come to a grinding halt due to differences with the contractor. Earlier this year, lack of funds had prompted Emaar MGF, the consortium in-charge of the Village construction, to stop work at the site. While DDA had eventually rescued the consortium at that time with a financial bailout, the interruption had resulted in delay of the project. This time, DDA is hoping that the termination of the contractor will not have an impact, despite the fact that only four months are left to the internal deadline.