Page 59 - Built Expressions - Online Construction Magazine - November 2014 Issue

Cover Feature cabinet approval before leasing, licensing, or transferring government land, which is another opportunity to reduce clearance delays if this legislation is reviewed and not applied in a blanket fashion. • Improved procedures for clearances: Environment and forest department clearances determine the fate of many infrastructure projects. A strong rationale for approvals and objective project evaluations can help convey the right signals to contractors and expedite the clearance process. • Enhanced planning and contract management: There is an urgent need for a better planning bigprojectme.com process as part of creating long- term integrated urban development programs. Well-run cities such as Singapore and London create 20- year plans, beginning with detailed socioeconomic forecasts that to stakeholders. For example, the cities of Dharwad, Hubli, and incorporate elements of future land evolution of responsibilities to urban Gulbarga in Karnataka. Taxation use, transportation, and housing local bodies (ULBs) per the 12th for citizens and organizations that infrastructure development. On FYP schedule has not been fully beneft from infrastructure projects is the project execution side, a strong implemented by state governments, another way to raise funds, as France independent regulator can help often leaving very little execution did with its MRTS development ensure good contract enforcement control in the hands of the ULBs. The projects. Improved funding can and effective project monitoring, powers of regulatory bodies at central also help in higher levels of private thereby keeping the focus on and state levels overlap at times, participation through build-operate- achieving the right project outputs creating confusion and procedural transfer (BOT) and operation and within the defned timelines. The delays. maintenance (O&M) models. Malaysian Highway Authority, for • Streamlined land acquisition example, has been able to enforce it Addressing the Challenges of process:. There is a need for successfully for road construction. infrastructure Growth uniform policies about compensation, Effective legal recourse mechanisms An array of proactive initiatives based relocation, and rehabilitation for can also help ensure that executing on best practices from other nations projects that require signifcant parties stick to contract guidelines can help the ECE industry achieve its amounts of land. In August 2013, while delivering the project in a full potential as India’s infrastructure the government showed its strong timely and cost-effcient fashion. grows. intent to streamline the process • Adoption of innovative operating • Improved funding for by passing the Land Acquisition, and business models: Because infrastructure projects: Dedicated Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, infrastructure projects often need to be debt and equity funds will help to although successful implementation deployed despite fnancial hurdles, improve funding availability for on the ground has yet to be seen. innovative operating models can help infrastructure projects. India has Countries such as Malaysia have taken improve cost recovery. For example, already taken some steps in this a greenfeld master-plan approach cost recovery and collection effciency regard. On the operations side, higher to road construction to address the for water payments have signifcantly tariffs to at least cover operating costs social problems of land acquisition improved in countries that deploy can be implemented, as has been in brownfeld projects, which can be prepaid water cards, such as South successfully done with volumetric applied for select cases in India as well. Africa. Another example is farmer tariffs for water consumption in Legislation currently mandates associations that adopt participatory Vol: 3 Issue: 11 November 2014 Built Expressions PG 59