The GVMC proposes to take up a number of projects in public private participation (PPP) mode. While some of them are meant for city beautification, the others pertain to long-term benefits and amenities.
Some of these projects are being talked about for years now though some progress seems to have been made on a few of them of late. GVMC will now have an in-house transaction advisor to facilitate faster preparation of project reports etc. The proposals have to be finally approved by the PPP cell of the State Government.
Municipal Commissioner M.V. Satyanarayana and Additional Commissioner (Projects) B. Nagendra Kumar provided details of the various projects to the media. One of the projects is setting up a desalination plant to cater to industrial needs with industries hardpressed for water and ready to pay the price.
The supply cost is estimated between Rs.35 and Rs.45 a kl. The district Collector has agreed to allot 400 acres of land near Palavalasa close to the Hinduja project. APITCO has already prepared a feasibility report for setting up a 10 mld plant.
An agency will soon be fixed to prepare a DPR. GVMC intends to use the latest technology available in Dubai etc.
LED lighting
Another project is replacing 50,000 of the 74,000 streetlights with LED lights. It is estimated that a capital expenditure of Rs.80 crore is required for the project. The GVMC now pays power bills of Rs.12 crore every year on street-lighting and another Rs.5 crore on maintenance. Now with LED lighting offering 40 per cent power savings with almost nil maintenance, GVMC intends to go in for it on BOT basis. Council resolution has to be obtained after which bids will be called.
The GVMC also drew up plans for a multi-level car parking at three locations along Andhra University wall on the Beach Road in a revenue sharing basis with the university. Land is being sought from the university.
Twelve footpaths over a stretch of 52 km are proposed for development with advertisement rights to the private partner. The Request for Proposal (RFP) will close by the month-end.
Other plans
Busy Jagadamba, Saraswati and Diamond Park junctions, Collector Office and MVP Colony are proposed for beautification with footpaths, signboards, railings etc. At 10 places, including at Jagadamba Junction, foot over bridges are proposed. These are in addition to the 19 on BRTS roads.
A feasibility study will be taken up for “Skywalk” to facilitate movement parallel and perpendicular to the road using FOBs at Jagadamba Junction. Besides, with 70 per cent of funds from the AP Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation, the GVMC plans to develop 12 parks with a cost of Rs.10.33 crore.
