TrafficInfraTech Magazine Linking People Places & Progress
In a rare gesture of appreciation from the UN commune, the 42-km Thiruvananthapuram City Road Improvement Project (TCRIP), an iconic project by Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL & FS) that has set up a world-class road network in the State capital, was in the Agenda in the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Forum of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) held in the UN Headquarters in Geneva, from March 30 to April 1, 2016. Anilkumar Pandala, Project Director, TCRIP explains the reasons for TCRIP getting national and global recognition.
TCRIP was one of the twelve PPP projects from across the world that found a place in the forum; it was shortlisted from the initial list of 47 projects that was first narrowed down to 30 high calibre PPP case studies that fulfilled the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN Agenda 2030. The project was shortlisted for demonstrating good governance and achieving sustainable development goals.
The TCRIP has been widely acknowledged as a great initiative. It is referred to by the World Bank in its document on Urban Infrastructure Projects. It was also recognised by International Road Federation for the best Project in the World in the category of Urban Mobility. The Ministry of Urban Development had advised the Chief Secretaries of States and Union Territories to emulate the successful TCRIP model for planning and execution of Urban Infrastructure Projects. Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkiri acknowledged the contribution of the Project to Greening of Urban Spaces.
NRI’s & Persons of Indian Origin coming to Thiruvananthapuram after a long period, visitors and tourists all react in awe seeing the transformation of the city. In fact, in the opinion of Dr Jancy James, former Vice Chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University, Thiruvananthapuram was, and blissfully continues to be so, a “City With A Soul”.
This is quite against the National trend, wherein congestion and confusion is constantly increasing almost without control and cities are becoming more and more un-inhabitable. The credit for this city’s transformation should go to the planners in the Government for their vision, dedication of the Government Officials who rolled out the project, the support provided by Trivandrum Development Authority (TRIDA) in flawless land acquisition which made TCRIP possible, the commitment and innovation on the part of the executing agency, the involvement on the part of the people, a mature attitude on the part of the media – especially the print media, and above all, the team work of all involved in direct execution. It is because of these that the UN found it highly appropriate to include TCRIP in the reference material which would form the basis in preparation of a framework for achieving “UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development Goals”.
