Vasco-Dona Paula sea-link feasibility study begins : a whopping Rs. 8 crores!

Of course the Vasco-Dona Paula sea-link feasibility study begins –
here we go with yet another mega con-scheme on the part of the Goan
Government in the making!

Look at the cost of doing this techno-feasibility study paid to the
consultant – a whopping Rs. 8 crores! The Goa Government will then
take the decision to go ahead with this mega-monstrosity of this
sea-link project Rs. which is supposed to be a 1000–plus crore
project! Now have the people of Goa been consulted on what they want?
Well who cares for the wishes of the common man and woman in Goa
nowadays? No wonder these pariah dogs, hyenas, vultures and parasites
and their cronies are smacking their lips in anticipation of the great
feast that lies ahead at the cost of the common man in Goa.

What about the effects on the marine and sealife that will be affected
by this project? Well if the Goan Government doesn't care for the
common man in Goa where would they be bothered with marine and sealife
or the Environment for that matter?

Leave alone giving the common man and our Goan villages the basic
infrastructure and basic amenities like health facilities, education,
sanitation, garbage disposal, drinking water, electricity and proper
transportation and roads – these basic necessities are unheard of for
the Goan Government. All the Goan Government cares is for hoisting
schemes like this sea-link scheme, casinos, mining and real estate
projects with scope for even greater kickbacks!

While the MPT Chairman Agarwal is all set to make Goa the rest and
recreation grounds for the libido of the US armed forces, there our
Goa Government is all set to have this sea-link in place to cater to
their hidden agendas in their grand scheme of affairs!

Talk about sustainable development and providing the basic
infrastructure for the common man in Goa. This is a concept alien and
foreign to our Goa Government.

Do they even care for the common man?

Roger D'Souza

Please read the latest update from the Herald.

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Vasco-Dona Paula sea-link feasibility study begins

HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, APRIL 29

Louis Berger, the German company that recently bagged the contract for
undertaking techno-feasibility study for the proposed sea-link project
between Vasco and Dona Paula, has started its work.

“The consultant has begun work and an office has been set up somewhere
in Dona Paula,” said Director of Public Private Participation (PPP)
Cell Anupam Kishore.

He told Herald that as per the terms and conditions of the contract,
altogether 18 months is the period within which the consultant will
have to complete its work.
He said the work would be taken up in three phases. In the first
phase, the company will work on the techno-feasibility study.

Only if the Rs 1000-plus crore project is feasible, then the
consultant will move to the next phase, Kishore said. Otherwise, it
would be abandoned.
The consultant which was appointed earlier this month, has been asked
to conduct techno-environmental financial study, concept design,
technical feasibility with alignment, investigation and financial and
economic feasibility. Later, it will also have to undertake
environmental impact assessment, environmental clearances and social
impact assessments. The consultant will be required to prepare the bid
documents for appointment of BOOT (build, own, operate and transfer)
operator and concession agreement, etc.
Kishore who also doubles up as Joint Secretary (Debt Management) said
the consultant would also identify the point on the Panjim side where
the project would link.

Though initially, the government had said that the sea-link would be
between Dona Paula and Vasco, discussions held since then, seem to
have taken one line – that it should be in Bambolim so that it links
the national highway (NH17). Nonetheless, the consultant is expected
to give in detail, its analysis on the feasibility.

The techno-feasibility study will have to be completed in six months
and based on that report the government would take the final call.

The consultant’s fee is around Rs 8 crore. Kishore however said that
if the report says the project is not feasible then the company would
be paid only for the first phase. It may be recalled that there was a
good response from global consultants for the project. Firms from
Singapore, Hong Kong, and even Europe had sent in their bids which
ultimately the German company bagged.
This is the first major project conceived by the State government on PPP basis.
On whether the government has approached National Institute of
Oceanography (NIO) before going ahead with the proposal for sea-link,
PPP director said it would be the job of the company to consult NIO.

The estimated cost of the project will be more than Rs 1,000 crore. An
official said that 40 per cent of the total cost will be made
available by the Centre in the form of viability gap funding.

He said 20 per cent of the cost will be borne by the State government
while the remaining 40 per cent will be made available from private
sector investors. The consultant would also throw more light on how to
go about on the financial feasibility.