Draft mobility plan to be submitted in a month - September 30 , 2008

Telegraph
The draft comprehensive mobility plan (CMP) of Guwahati will be ready within a month.
A Guwahati development department (GDD) official said the US-based Wilbur Smith Associates had informed the state government that substantial progress had been made in preparing the plan and the draft would be submitted within a month.

The US-based firm has been selected by Dispur as a consultant to prepare the CMP. It will suggest solutions for the city’s transport problems.

“The representatives of the consultant conveyed that the draft of the CMP will be ready within a month at a meeting held recently with the senior officials of the GDD and the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority,� the official said.

GDD secretary A.K. Bhutani, GMDA chief executive officer P. Saikia, town planner Dalim Gogoi and GMDA adviser M. Gogoi attended the meeting where the representatives of Wilbur Smith Associates gave a detailed presentation of work done so far.

“At the meeting, Dispur asked the consultant’s representatives to incorporate some of its proposals in the CMP,� the official said.

One of the proposals is construction of a road from Khanapara to Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport at Borjhar through Koinadhara and Moinakhurung, skirting Deepor Beel and the Gauhati University campus.

The state government has planned the road for hassle-free travel to the airport for VIPs, bypassing the core areas of the city that remain congested with traffic.
“The government also asked the consultant to incorporate its plan for a Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) in the CMP,� the official said.

The government has already asked the Urban Mass Transit Company to prepare a detailed project report for the BRTS.

The company is a joint venture of the Union ministry of urban development, Andhra Pradesh government, Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation and the Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd.

The state government intends to introduce the BRTS in two loops in the first phase. These two loops are Noonmati to Jalukbari and Paltan Bazar to Khanapara.

"At the meeting, the government apprised Wilbur Smith Associates of its plan to construct an elevated road from Bamunimaidam to Dighalipukhuri for which the feasibility study is being conducted by RITES. The consultant was also asked to keep provision for it in the CMP," the source said.

The main objective of the CMP will be to identify city-specific strategies and measures to address the transportation demands, evaluate alternate transportation systems and prepare preliminary cost estimates for the proposed projects.

Dispur is preparing the CMP after the Centre made the plan a pre-requisite for availing central funds for urban transportation project.


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