INTERVIEW: DMIC: Driving Transit Oriented Development and Multi Modal Transportation

Infrastructure development of this size needs technology from around the world. Can we have the details of some of the important technology used in container traffic, highway construction & management and ITeS?

Container Traffic: One of the most significant projects we have executed so far through DMICDC is bringing the much-needed IT inputs into logistics. The Logistics Data Bank, developed in partnership with Japan’s NEC Corporation, is a single-window container tracking system introduced in July 2016 at JNPT, where it now operates at four terminals. In May 2017, it was extended to the Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) Container Terminals in Gujarat’s Mundra and Hazira. A tiny RFID tag is fixed to a container at its point of origin to have it tracked every time it crosses a toll plaza or an inland container depot or container freight station along its entire road and rail journey to the destination.

As a shipper, you know exactly where your cargo is at any point in time. You know where the bottlenecks and delays are, and which points along the route will add to your costs. So, you can strategically avoid them, cut your inventory levels and devise accurate production plans. If you took 15-20 days to move your cargo from Mumbai to Delhi previously, with LDB you can shave off the lead time by at least five days and save on costs. The LDB project has brought nearly
70% of the country’s total container volume of 12 million TEUs under one tracking system; and about three million containers have been tagged/ detagged so far.

Highway construction and management: Regional access options are one of the most important transportation considerations and have the most considerable impact in urban development management. The Mass Rapid Transport Systems (MRTS) that are being developed will have high density mixed-use development planned around them along with various public amenities to serve transit users. The connectivity has been planned in such a way that the network connects the various Central Business Districts and District Centres and moves along the High Access Corridor.

ITeS/ ICT: One of the major driving forces of this project was the digital integration of infrastructure services and utilities considering the growing influence and importance of digitisation in everyday life. This commitment to digitisation saw DMICDC engaging the services of digital giants like IBM and Cisco at project conceptualisation stage in 2010 with the vision to have a ‘digital plug and play’ approach wherein all the land parcels are fully ICT enabled.

Keeping in line with the ‘Digital India’ mission, DMIC project has eruditely planned every aspect of the upcoming smart cities in a digital manner. The emphasis is laid on a truly connected smart city with a highly reliable fibre optic backbone for seamless connectivity to every plot and device along with city-wide Wi-Fi, making broadband affordable, accessible and available.

An integrated command and control centre that will be the nerve centre for proactive monitoring and control of city infrastructure including utilities, CCTV surveillance, emergency management and dispatch, tracking of all municipal vehicles, etc., 100% online e-Governance services empowering citizens at the
click of a button are integrated with an ERP system enabling an efficient city governance. The implementation programme is rooted in a robust GIS based system that forms the background for receiving land, infrastructure and development data for the future.

Are the models for Industrial Smart cities different from those of regular smart cities?

The ‘Smart Industrial Cities’ being developed are quite varied in view of their geographic locations, connectivity advantages and the focus industries, keeping in mind the natural resources and skill sets of the manpower available.

The Smart Cities under the DMIC project are greenfield in nature. The emphasis is on creation of integrated infrastructure facilities and enabling business environment in order to drive urbanised industrialization in India. This is to increase the share of manufacturing in the country’s GDP to 25% from the present 16%. The project is being implemented under the auspices of Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt. of India.

On the other hand, the regular smart cities being announced by the govt. of India are brownfield projects being implemented under the purview of Ministry of Urban Development. Here, the emphasis is on improving the existing urban infrastructure facilities so that the civic amenities being provided currently can be made future- proofed.

What are the special elements with regard to the new mobility being planned?

DMIC Project was conceptualised to give a major impetus to transit oriented development in India. In the wake of globalization, both national and multi-national companies are sourcing, manufacturing and distributing their products and services on a global scale. The upcoming industrial corridors will have a well-developed network of multimodal transportation that can support various motorized and non-motorized modes of transport with excellent regional connectivity. A well-developed logistics sector would help companies reduce the cost of transportation and minimize inventory, reducing the cost of inventory holding and freeing up capital.

Traffic/ Transit infrastructure is one of the first components to be put in place even before the city gets made. For the first time, we are implementing this in our greenfield smart cities. How difficult is this considering the geographical differences along the corridor?

It is well established that the economic and productivity growth of a given region is tied closely to its transport infrastructure, with transport systems enabling higher productivity through lower logistics costs, inventory savings and access to larger supply and labour markets. Improved mobility is also a key outcome of investment, with transport driving positive multipliers for growth and productivity. To drive up productivity levels, investment in transport infrastructure needs to accelerate.

Industrial corridors seek to connect major hubs which have the highest concentration of freight and passenger traffic. They are integral to the economic development of India. The need for dedicated industrial corridors is highlighted by the tremendous increase expected in freight traffic. The existing routes have become saturated due to carrying freight beyond their capacity limits and this problem is further accentuated by degenerated infrastructure. To speed up the movement of goods across the country it was imperative that dedicated commercial transit corridors be developed across various modes of surface, air and marine transport. Once such corridors become functional, freight performance and the resultant manufacturing output both are expected to surge vastly.