Reports have it that Germany's Daimler, the world's largest truck manufacturer, is entering the Indian market with an array of vehicles, capacity ranging from six to 49 tonnes. Daimler will thus join
other foreign heavy vehicle brands such as Volvo, Kamaz, Navistar and Hina already present in the Indian market. The five-axle 32.7-tonne GVW (gross vehicle weight) trucks are slated to hit the road within the next few months. The entry of these vehicles, though welcome from an overall national perspective, will also throw up challenges. For example, the country's traditional truck manufacturers like Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland have to gear themselves up to fight the competition that is set to become intense. More important, it also calls for reclassification of vehicles for the purpose of levying toll charges. Earlier, the number of multi-axle vehicles running on the highways was limited. Not any more. The number is increasing manifold, with the result that the wear and tear of roads will be higher impacting the life of the highways. In such a situation, continuing with the old three-category classification introduced in the 1990s will be inadequate to meet the present-day requirement and therefore should be abandoned in favour of a more realistic one. The Delhi-based Indian Foundation of Transport Research & Training is already working on it, it is learnt.
Whither Hooghly container terminal?
What has happened to the proposal for setting up a container terminal on the Hooghly river at Diamond Harbour under the Kolkata Dock System? To be spread over 125 acres, the cost of the terminal was estimated at Rs 1,200 crore. The proposal was mooted five years ago by an expert group headed by Capt. P.V.K. Mohan, now Chairman of National Shipping Board. Nothing seems to have happened since then, as enquiries reveal. About 75 acres of defence land had to be acquired for the proposed terminal and the process was tardy. Initially, the Defence Ministry was reluctant to part with the land. It agreed but only after receiving alternative land on the river front provided by the Kolkata Port Trust. The requests for qualification (RFQs) were first invited in July last year, but there have been several extensions of the last date for submitting the bids, the latest being till August 16. Is it because the response has been not-too-satisfactory? Meanwhile, the names of transaction advisers, responsible for a host of jobs such as evaluation of the RFQs, preparation of documents for requests for proposals and taking up with the appropriate authorities such as the Public-Private Partnership Approval Committee are being short-listed. What is the point in such an exercise when the RFQ matter is not making much progress?