Kerala - Kochi   

Private participation in public projects planned in Kochi

KOCHI: The city will soon have a host of urban development projects to be implemented on Private-Public-Partnership (PPP) mode. The recently concluded national workshop at Hyderabad on capacity building for promoting PPP in urban infrastructure has set the stage for such ventures in Kochi.

Kochi Mayor Mercy Williams and the Corporation secretary Mini Antony represented the city at the workshop which was jointly organised by the Union Ministry for Urban Development and Administrative Staff College of India.

According to information shared at the conference, 14 States have formed PPP cells for providing framework and direction for the projects, said Ms. Antony. Several civic bodies have embarked on this route and ensured the role of private sector in mobilising resources and smooth implementation of projects, she said.

Public transport system of premium quality, public comfort stations, setting up and management of parks, slaughterhouses and crematoriums are some of the areas in which Kochi could think of collaborating with the private sector, Ms. Antony said.

The city administrators hope to include more project proposals in the detailed project report for the transport sector for implementing in the PPP mode. Bus Rapid Transport System is one of the key segments were PPP may become viable.

There should be dedicated corridors for premium vehicles to operate in the city and this would reduce the number of vehicles coming to the city. The reduction in number of vehicles will reduce the traffic congestion and pollution, it is said.

The development of a ring road from Church Landing centre to National Highway bypass at Edapally would go a long way in decongesting the North and South overbridges as vehicles can reach the national highway without entering the city roads, she said.

The Ahmedabad city had recently developed a 72-km-ring road through PPP. This was possible by providing benefits and relaxations in building rules to those landowners who surrendered the land for the road project. The restrictions regarding the floor area ratio were also relaxed for the landowners who surrendered their land enabling them to construct high-rise buildings in lieu of the land donated for the project, she said.

The shortage of public toilets is one of the major issues faced by the city. The absence of toilets in places like Marine Drive where people converge in large numbers has been pointed out. Toilets can be constructed as attachment to ATM counters in PPP mode, she said.

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