Teaching city dwellers the imperative of ‘user-pays' for utilities and services, assured and hassle free land acquisition, support for timely completion of civil works, and new financing models, are crucial for viable development of urban transport infrastructure say industry representatives.

Mr Ganesan Velupillai, President, Scomi International Pvt Ltd, a Malaysian company in monorail development, feels that Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) will be the way forward for urban transport infrastructure, particularly rail-based transportation options.

PPP FOR TRANSPORT

In India, urban transportation projects are set to mushroom in the coming years, with cities growing and governments increasingly looking to the PPP model for development of transport solutions. The first metro rail project in Kolkata may have taken more than a couple of decades, but look at the success of Delhi Metro or the metro link to the airport in Delhi, he points out. Lessons have been learned and there are successes.

But Mr Velupillai cautions that the government has a key role in ensuring this success. Timely land acquisition and assured availability of land are key for drawing in investments and funding support. In rail-based transportation, there is the civil construction side and the rail side.

There is a clear risk in land ownership, which needs to be addressed. Timely completion of civil construction can make a project or create a delay and break a project, he said. A matter of six months can make a difference either way. Globally, every city focuses on timely completion of projects — “it costs somebody, some money, somewhere,” he said. Indian companies are able to achieve this in their projects overseas, Mr Velupillai said.

URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE

Participating in a panel discussion on urban infrastructure, organised as a part of the South India Infrastructure Investment Summit 2011, by the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry, recently, he said tax laws on importing and diversity in State taxes will have to be addressed for encouraging private participation in urban infrastructure development.

Mr Christopher Phong, Director, InfraCo Asia, said the city's residents will also have to learn to pay for services. This is a job that could “take 20-30 years for a population to be taught,” he said.

In Singapore, for instance, landfill is not an option for disposing waste, as there is no land available. The viable alternative is to go for incineration of waste, and to bring down the volume of waste being generated. The whole city is looking at ‘zero waste' generation. This means the young have to be taught the necessity of adapting to the changes.

In India, paying for services may be a new concept for large sections of the society that is used to subsidised utilities, including power, water and drainage. But there are success stories too, that indicate it can be done, say experts.

Toll roads for instance. Despite the initial resistance, cities like Mumbai are taking to toll roads, as the benefits are there for all to see, says Mr Brijesh Koshal, Managing Director, Investment Banking, Daiwa Capital Markets India Pvt Ltd.

Mr B. S. Sudhavan, Vice President – Technical Division, GVK Transportation Pvt Ltd, said that at the rate at which cities are growing, the government will have to provide for infrastructure in advance. Regardless of the fact if it is water supply, transportation, open spaces or parking spaces for vehicles or waste disposal, these have to be left to the professionals and be included in the master plan for the city. The policymakers have to decide the brought outline, “the shape of the city,” based on its strengths and facilitate the creation of infrastructure. The private sector can partner with the Government only if the policies are clear and the authorities are supportive.

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