Japanese consortium bags Dahej LNG project
New Delhi: Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Company (IHI) Japan led consortium has bagged the Rs 1,450-crore engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for Petronet LNG Ltd.'s (PLL) liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal at Dahej in Gujarat. Other members of the consortium include Ballast Nedam International of the Netherlands, Toyo Engineering India Ltd., Itochu Corporation and Mitsui Company of Japan.

The Rs 2,500-crore terminal is being put up by PLL, a joint venture of Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd., Gas Authority of India Ltd. and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation with 12.5 per cent stake each. The LNG terminal is expected to be ready by December 2003, for import of LNG supplies from Qatar.

The joint venture was set up for the import of 7.5 million tonne of LNG - 5 million tonne at Dahej and another 2.5 million tonne at Kochi.
Back to News Review index page  

Telecom majors asked to lease network to others
New Delhi: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited may lease out their networks to private companies to enable them to offer bulk pay phone lines. The move is expected to help to increase the easy access to telephones.

Under the Telecom Commission, a one-member committee has been constituted to examine the suggestion, which was made by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The premier industry association had in its note pointed out that India requires 2 million subscriber trunk dialling (STD) booths to achieve a penetration of one payphone per 500 people. Currently, it has only about 300,000 STD pay phones (one payphone per 3500 people) as against the 2.5 million payphones in the US (one per 120 people).

Some private basic operators have already entered into agreements for bulk subscription by private parties. These operators are offering public access and Internet services in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Industry experts feel bulk subscription of payphone lines will result in an increase in the distribution of payphones across the country and will be beneficial for the consumer as well.
Back to News Review index page  

CII calls for review of laws on spectrum management
New Delhi: The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) constituted sub-group on convergence has called for an urgent review of the laws governing spectrum management and licensing. The sub-group has emphasised the need to ensure that the Communication Commission of India (CCI) remained an independent and autonomous body. It has urged that the functions of the commission be clearly spelt out in the proposed Convergence Act itself.

The CII had set up a core group on convergence and has drawn up its recommendations in certain areas based on the final draft report of the sub-group on convergence. The sub group on spectrum management had recommended the need for a unified authority for spectrum management. It said that frequency allocation be accounted for amply in the new convergence Act, with focus should be on a fair and efficient playing field.

At present, the Wireless Planning and Coordination (WPC) wing within the ministry of communications is the regulatory authority responsible for nationwide radio spectrum management. According to sub-group, it is the regulator’s reliance on market forces rather than government oversight that allow for the most economical and efficient use of spectrum.
Back to News Review index page