Climate change is expected to impact Bangladesh severely. River flooding currently affects 9.5 million people annually in South Asia and is projected to increase to 15 million people by 2030, according to the World Resources Institute. Those living in the coastal areas of Bangladesh are hit especially hard by disasters, such as cyclones, flash floods, erratic rainfall and salinity intrusion. Sea levels near Dhaka could rise 30 centimeters by 2040 and exceed 100 cm by 2100.Bangladesh has about 100 islands in the Bay of Bengal and a cluster of big rivers. Every three years or so, cyclones increase water levels,
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and France's President Francois Hollande met in connection with India's agreement to hire French engineering companies to design new smart cities. French engineering and design company Egis Group, as a part of a Hong Kong-based AECOM Asia-led consortium, has won the bid from the Mumbai Metro Rail Corp. as general consultants for implementation of Mumbai’s fully underground, 32.50-kilometer-long Metro Line 3 project, with 27 stations, on May 15. Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) will provide $2.08 billion as a grant for the project. The partners include Japan-based Padeco and U.S.-based LBG Inc. Egis Chairman and
PM Office India Indian Prime Minister Narender Modi (left) and French President Francois Hollande signed agreements to develop the world's largest nuclear reactor park. AREVA signed two agreements with its Indian partners for the preparation of the 9,900-MW Jaitapur European Pressurized Reactors (EPR) project and outlined the importance of the project. Jaitapur is in the western state of Maharashtra. The nuclear-reactor park, which will comprise six 1,650-MW nuclear reactors, is expected to be the world’s largest. AREVA signed the agreements in the presence of Indian Prime Minister Narender Modi, during his visit to France, and French President François Hollande.AREVA designed
Transportation bottlenecks often occur in Bangladesh, where numerous rivers flow through its cities. The Karnaphuli River, for instance, separates the Chittagong district into two parts, dividing the city and the port from the heavy-industry area. With the district's three existing bridges congested and unable to meet their current traffic loads, the state-owned Bangladesh Bridge Authority has invited expressions of interest from international consultants for a 3.4-kilometer-long, multi-lane road tunnel under the Karnaphuli River, approximately 2 km downstream from Chittagong’s airport. The project cost is estimated at $800 million; the project is expected to take four years to build. Respondents to the
Photo Courtesy of Ganga Action Parivar The Ganges River, India's holiest river, is also it's dirtiest. Officials vow to clean it up within three years. Related Links: Indian Water Resources Ministry webpage The 100-day-old government’s newly established minister for water resources, Uma Bharti, on Sept. 15 committed to cleaning up India’s largest and holiest river, the 2,500-kilometer-plus Ganges, within three years.The Ganga Action Plan was released by Bharti’s predecessors two decades ago but barely accomplished any of its goals.The pledge comes at an opportune time. The population of people and industrial units in India near the Ganges is ballooning, creating
Related Links: Chinese Firms Face Political Obstacles of Working in India India Unveils Annual Budget to Skittish Infra Investors India’s Union Budget 2014, presented by the now two-month-old new government’s Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on July 10, brought a new ray of hope to the fledgling infrastructure industry that has been plagued with bureaucratic restraints for the past few years.The budget has set determined goals, with allocations for 8,500 kilometers of roads, 16 new ports, 100 smart cities and industrial corridors. Given the past inaction, there remains some skepticism on when the projects will be awarded. For example, stalled projects
The construction of the first phase of a major metro project in Chennai, India, may be causing cracks in more than 200 buildings in the city, and the buildings’ owners are calling for a formal investigation. Federal Minister for Urban Development Kamal Nath recently stated that as part of precautionary measures, strengthening and even temporary evacuation was being conducted for structurally weak buildings to ensure safety. “In the event of significant impact on any building, the repair works are undertaken based on the recommendations given by the experts from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Chennai,” Nath said.Some residents have
Related Links: Link to Golden State Capital Website As India’s real estate sector suffers from a liquidity crunch and continues to undergo growth pains as it moves towards maturity, San Francisco-based private equity firm Golden State Capital (GSC) is viewing Foreign Direct Investments into the arena of office assets.With construction costs rising in India, the firm is confident on the long-term potential. GSC is looking at a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) “of above $500 million … [with] assets built and leased in the last two to four years in a very competitive environment, besides stabilized assets with blue-chip tenants,”
Land acquisition, a major impediment to large infrastructure projects in India, has in the past delayed private companies' development plans while they sort out litigation over land ownership and compensation.Land costs that a decade ago comprised 10% of investment have increased to around 22%. National bank data released in March revealed infrastructure projects worth $145 billion were being held up.To address issues related to land, Parliament has cleared the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Law, which now replaces the archaic 1894 law. Expected to come into effect by mid-2014, it has evoked a
Related Links: Bids Solicited for Tunneling in India's Treacherous Himalayas India Blackout Affects 600 Million People Chicago-based design firm dbHMS is finalizing a master plan with the goal of making India’s $260-million Nalanda University campus a net-zero energy user. The 370,000-sq-meter project in Rajgir, in the eastern state of Bihar, is expected to start construction by the end of 2013.dbHMS is working with architects Vastu Shilpa Consultant of India, which won the project via the university’s international design competition.According to the firm, the plan for the Nalanda project is to install the world’s first application of a non-experimental desiccant-assisted evaporative