Hyderabad, Jan 13, 2005
Malaysia has keen interest in constructing irrigation
and hydel power projects in the State. A delegation of officials
led by R Ganeshan, member of the Legislative Assembly of
Perak Darul State and Subrahmanyam, Group Managing Director
of Dhaya Maju Infrastructure Asia in Malaysia, met Major
Irrigation Minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah and Irrigation department
officials on Wednesday and discussed about the ongoing exercise
of constructing irrigation projects.
The Malaysian delegation was brought by a non-resident
Indian Lalith Prasad who is presently executing a Rs 100
crore theme project park in Malaysia. Lakshmaiah said that
DMIA was presently engaged in road projects, executing national
highway works in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Already more than 200 engineers of the Malaysian company
were working in India. Now, the company was planning to
diversify into construction of irrigation and hydel power
projects. According to the Minister, the Malaysian government
had proposed to take up Pranahita, Singareddipally, Dummugudem
and Polavaram hydel power projects, besides irrigation projects
on Godavari.
“The delegation has come out with three options -
Built-Operate-Transfer system, Annuity system and government-to-government
understanding. In the first method, the Malaysian company
will construct the projects with government expense, maintain
the projects and transfer them to the Irrigation department
after a certain period.
Under the second concept, the company itself will mobilise
funds and construct the projects and the government will
repay the cost over a period of time through budgetary allocations.
Under the third method, the Malaysian government itself
will enter into an understanding with the State government
to provide funding and take up project construction,”
the minister said.
The Irrigation Department authorities suggested to the
Malaysian delegation that the latter register its company
in the State and take part in the open bidding and take
up construction on BOT basis. However, the delegation preferred
government-to-government understanding. “We have to
examine all aspects of their proposals,” he said.
It may be mentioned that Austrian government, too, had
entered into an understanding with the State government
on funding irrigation and hydel power projects on Godavari
river in the State, with a condition that part of the funding
would be in kind — in the form of supplying equipment.
Later, it had insisted a counter-guarantee from the Centre
for its funding. The proposals are still at a nascent stage.-
Sources- Sun Network
