PAC concerned over Pokhara cable car project

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) under the Legislature-Parliament has drawn attention of the concerned authority not to allow construction of a cable car project in Basundhara Park, Lakeside in Pokhara.

The proposed Rs 1.3-billion cable car project was going to be undertaken by the Manakamana Cable Car Pvt Ltd across the 108 ropani public land in Basundhara Park of the Lake City.

In today’s meeting of the PAC, various lawmakers from Kaski district including Rabindra Adhikari, Sita Giri Oli and Kumar Khadka have drawn the attention of Committee not to allow forwarding the 1.3-kilometre cable car project in light of accusations that the project is misusing the public land for a commercial purpose.

The Ministry for Physical Infrastructure and Transport (MoPIT) had granted permission to the Pokhara Valley City Development Committee to allow the land for the Manakamana Cable Car Pvt Ltd for the same.

Earlier, the locals in the area were reported to have criticised the idea of running a cable car in the public land although it was proposed to be developed as per the build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) model and the ownership of the company to be handed to the government after 20 years.

The PAC Chairperson Janardan Sharma shared that the Committee will make decisions on the same after examining the issue as it had directed the MoPIT to look into the matter and inform the Committee. “The action will be taken accordingly,” he added.

Chandragiri cable car to be launched next year

Top station of Chandragiri Cable car Project that is und

A cable car services is being rolled out in Kathmandu Valley for the very first time by the beginning of 2016, as the developer has said that they have completed 75 per cent of the works of Chandragiri Cable Car Project (CCCP). The project is being developed by a privately-owned company — Kathmandu Fun Park Ltd.

Since the construction of the project commenced 15 months ago, the developer has completed building the top station, bottom station and foundations of the towers so far. The site development and tower and cable erection are projected to take another three months, as per Dilip Shrestha, project manager of CCCP.

Bottom station of Chandragiri Cable Car Project that is under construction in Kathmandu Valley, on Saturday. Courtesy: Kathmandu Fun Park Ltd

“Earlier, we had planned to commence operation by October this year, but the launch date had to be postponed due to the devastating earthquake in April and subsequent powerful aftershocks,” Shrestha explained, adding the company is planning to test the operation by October but the commercial operation will only begin by January 2016.

CCCP was forced to halt construction works  for a month after the devastating earthquake of April 25.

Altogether 11 towers will be erected for the 2.5 kilometre-long cable car from Godam (Thankot) to Chandragiri hill. The cable car has a capacity to serve 1,000 people in one hour and will be operated for at least 12 hours a day.

More interestingly, the distance between tower seven to eight is about 900 metres, which is one of the longest distances between towers and will be a thrilling experience for cable car riders.

“The foundations of all 11 towers have been laid and construction materials for the towers have also been delivered by helicopters in different tower stations, where the track has not been developed,” said Shrestha.

As per him, the project has also taken bio-engineering techniques into consideration for eco-friendly development. Altogether 300 labourers are involved in the project.

The total project cost of the CCCP is expected to hover around Rs 3.36 billion, which is financed by 50 per cent debt and 50 per cent equity investment. The project is financed by a consortium of seven commercial banks of the country.

The bottom station is being developed on 120 ropanis of property owned by Kathmandu Fun Park Ltd at Godam of Thankot. The 700 ropanis of land for the top station that lies on top of the Chandragiri hill has been taken on a 40-year lease from the government. The developer also plans to construct a five-star hotel, view tower, 4D theatre, zip flyer and botanical garden, among others in the area to lure tourists.

The top and bottom stations of the cable car will provide full facilities, like food court, restaurant and bar, branded shops, banking services and parking. In addition, a fun park is also scheduled to be developed in the bottom station.

The pre-feasibility study of the project was done six years back and the government had invited the private sector to develop the project. The developer had signed the agreement with the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation to lease the land at Chandragiri hill three years back. CCCP is the second cable car project in the country after Manakamana Darshan Ltd’s Manakamana Cable Car.

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Source: The Himalayan Times.

Govt’s attention drawn towards cable car project

The Public account committee under the Legislature-Parliament has drawn the attention of the authority concerned not to allow construction of a cable car project in Basundhara Park near Lakeside in Pokhara.

The proposed Rs 1.3 billion Cable Car Project was going to be undertaken by the Manakamana Cable Car Pvt Ltd across the 108 ropanis of public land in Basundhara Park in Pokhara.

In on Friday’s meeting of the PAC, lawmakers Rabindra Adhikari, Sita Giri Oli and Kumar Khadka from Kaski district drew the attention of the committee not to allow furthering the 1.3 kilometres long Cable Car Project in light of misuse of the public land for commercial purpose.

The Ministry for Physical Infrastructure and Transport had granted permission to the Pokhara Valley City Development Committee to allow the land for the Manakamana Cable Car Pvt Ltd for the same.

Earlier, the locals in the Lakeside area criticised the idea of running a cable car on public land of the park although it was proposed to be developed on build-own-operate-transfer model under which the ownership of the company would be handed over to the government after 20 years.

PAC Chairperson Janardan Sharma shared the committee would make decisions on the same as it had directed the MoPIT to look into the matter and inform the committee.

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Source: The Himalayan 

Two new cable car lines to be built in Pokhara

POKHARA, Nepal – Two new cable car lines are scheduled to be built in Pokhara. The government has given clearance to Annapurna Cable Car to develop a cable car system linking Sedibagar at the north of Phewa Lake with Sarangkot.
Annapurna Cable Car said that that it had completed all the preparations to construct the cable car line, adding that the foundation stone of the project would be laid this month.
Similarly, Manakamana Darshan is set to start the construction of a cable car from Basundhara Park at Lakeside to the World Peace Pagoda at Pumdibhumdi. It recently obtained the go-ahead from the government. The company and the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport signed an agreement on April 1 to build the project. The 1.5-km aerial tramway is estimated to cost more than Rs1.3 billion excluding land acquisition. The signing of the construction contract has got locals and entrepreneurs excited.
Meanwhile, Tirtha Raj Tripathi, director of the Annapurna Cable Car said that they have already got clearance from the Cabinet for licensing, industry registration and use right of the forest area.
“We have completed detailed feasibility and engineering studies, and the construction work will start soon,” he said. “We have planned to bring the cable car system into operation within the next one and a half years to two years,” said Tripathi.

The company will be investing Rs800 million to build the 2.2-km cable car line. Entrepreneurs from Pokhara own 55 percent of the company while a Japanese company owns 30 percent, and the rest of the shares are owned by a Nepali citizen of Japanese origin.
Annapurna Cable Car also plans to erect a large temple of Lord Shiva and a hotel in Sarangkot besides developing a picnic spot. “People will enjoy travelling on the cable car as they can enjoy views of the lake and the Himalaya at the same time,” said Tripathi. “It will contribute to tourism in Pokhara .”
Meanwhile, president of the Pokhara Tourism Council Som Thapa said that the cable car line would help boost tourism in the renowned tourism destination further. “The plan should be devised in such a way that local tourists too benefit from it besides foreign visitors,” he added.
Lakeside locals oppose project
A few locals from Lakeside have protested against the construction of a cable car line connecting Basundhara Park with the World Peace Pagoda due to disagreements over land acquisition. However, locals from Pumdibhumdi have said that no obstructions should be placed before the project under any pretext.
The land originally acquired by the Pokhara Town Development Plan to establish a park was handed over to the cable car project by the Town Development Committee of Pokhara Sub-Metropolitan City on July 1, 2014.
“As the construction of the cable car will help to develop Pumdibhumdi besides promoting tourism in Pokhara , there should not be any obstruction against the project,” said a local Raju Chhetri. “We will mount pressure on the government to ensure that the project is completed without hindrance.”

EKANTIPUR.COM

New cable car line to link Fewa Lake with Sarangkot

POKHARA, April 15: Annapurna Cable Car Company (ACCC) is starting construction works on a cable car service that links Fewa Lake to Sarangkot within few days.

ACCC officials said the new cable car will start operation within one and half years. “We will start construction work after laying foundation stone after two weeks,” Tirtha Tripathi director of ACCC, told Republica. “Our cable car service, which will be 2.3 kilometers long, will link Sarangkot with Sedi Bagar which lies on the banks of Fewa Lake.”

Tripathi said the cable car service will promote tourism in Pokhara in general and Sarangkot in particular.

The project is estimated to cost Rs 800 million.

This is the second cable car project in Pokhara. Few weeks ago, the government allowed developers to prepare detailed project report (DPR) of a cable car line between Basundhara Park lying on the banks of Fewa Lake and World Peace Stupa of Pumdi Bhumdi VDC.

“Despite having immense potentials, Sarangkot is not getting sufficient number of tourists. The cable car service is expected to bring more tourists to this historical fort,” said Tripathi.

Chitwan Co-E Company has bagged contract for construction works on the cable car project. The company signed contract agreement with ACCC on Sunday.

Interestingly, Chitwan Co-E is one of the promoters of the cable car project linking Basundhara Park with World Peace Stupa.

Entrepreneur Kalu Gurung and a Japanese investor are the promoters of ACCC.

“We have already acquired required land for the project. We have taken 23 ropani of land on lease from the government,” said Tripathi. “We are erecting 13 poles and installing eight-seat cabins.”

Rajesh Babu Shrestha, director of Chitwan Co-E Company, said the cable car service will be constructed in Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) model. “We plan to complete all the works within 15 months,” said Shrestha. “As per the project design, this cable car line can serve 500 passengers in an hour.”

Som Thapa, president of Pokhara Tourism Council (PTC), said cable car services will help to bring more tourists to Pokhara. “It is good two know that two cable car projects are being implemented simultaneously,” he said, adding, “Cable car service will give a momentum to tourism industry of Pokhara.”

Tourism entrepreneurs say more than 90 percent of tourists visiting Pokhara will go to Sarangkot to watch sunrise once the cable car service starts operation.

Source: myrepublica

Breaking new ground in Mexico

Reaching new heights: Leading-edge construction techniques — including the use of this gondola to transport construction materials up the side of a mountain — are used to build pipelines in Mexico’s most rugged terrain.

While the word gondola conjures images of skier-filled cable cars ascending breathtaking slopes, in the spectacular terrain along TransCanada’s Tamazunchale Extension Pipeline Project, this is not the case. Here, a state-of-the art construction gondola transports tons of steel pipe and construction materials, not people. This gondola technology is helping crews conquer the steep, difficult slope they’ve affectionately dubbed, “Waterloo”.

“It’s not an easy operation, but this is a proven technology around the world in the pipeline construction business.”
— Alejandro Iriarte, TransCanada Project Director, Pipelines, Mexico Projects
Iriarte is overseeing the Tamazunchale Extension, a 230-km (143-mile) natural gas pipeline that traverses some of Mexico’s most mountainous terrain. And this specific location along the route is particularly challenging; it’s extremely rugged and in places rises at a 50-degree angle, making traditional slope installation practices onerous and slow. To surmount the challenging terrain, the project’s engineering procurement construction contractor, GDI SICIM Pipelines (GSP), suggested the use of gondola technology.

Operators control the gondola remotely to safely hoist loads of up to eight tonnes up along the slope. Once the pipe is installed, welded and secured, the cable crane will be used for the final stage of project work, including the installation of geotechnical structures to ensure the pipeline can operate safely and reliably throughout the life of the project.

“Installation using any other option, would have taken significantly longer on this slope and with higher safety hazard exposure,” says Iriarte, who also oversaw the use of microtunneling technology through another difficult section of the Tamazunchale Extension. For that particular section, a microtunnel was suggested by GSP as a more effective option than traditional open-trench or horizontal directional drilling (HDD).

“No other technology would offer the same pipeline integrity as the microtunnel for long-term operations.”
— Andrew Jenkins, TransCanada VP, Mexico Projects
“Construction was subcontracted to I.CO.P, an Italian company experienced at building microtunnels in mountainous terrains,” Jenkins adds.

The tunnel, which runs about 672 metres (734 yards) through a mountain, was drilled using a remote-controlled tunnel-boring machine (TBM) and pipe-jacking system. The TBM advanced through the mountain using a rotating cutting head to carve an eight-foot diameter tunnel through to the other side. Behind the device, concrete liners were jacked into place to maintain the tunnel’s integrity before the pipeline was moved into place.

When the TBM broke through the designated exit location for the microtunnel in late 2013, construction workers and TransCanada employees were on site to celebrate the success of Mexico’s first pipeline microtunnel.

To help satisfy natural gas needs in Mexico, a microtunnel was drilled through a mountain using a remote-controlled, tunnel-boring machine and a rotating cutting head to carve 2.44-metre (eight-foot) diameter tunnel through to the other side.
Incredible force: To help satisfy natural gas needs in Mexico, a microtunnel was drilled through a mountain using a remote-controlled, tunnel-boring machine and a rotating cutting head to carve a 2.44-metre (eight-foot) diameter tunnel through to the other side.

“The completed microtunnel will serve to commemorate innovative engineering in areas with steep and unstable slopes, or places where the open-trench technique may be considered unsafe and impractical,” says Iriarte.

Next up for TransCanada is pipeline installation down a cliff along a rugged stretch of the Topolobampo Project, a 530-km (329-mile) natural gas pipeline currently under construction in Mexico. This installation process will utilize vertical-drilling technologies from the mining, exploration and hydroelectricity industries.

“The new technology will use a combination of directional drilling and tunneling,” says Jenkins. “What this involves is drilling a vertical pilot hole from the top of the cliff then excavating a tunnel at the bottom of the mountain to intersect the pilot hole.”

The pilot hole is expanded by pulling a reaming tool up through the vertical hole and using the tool to enlarge the pilot hole to the required diameter. Debris from the drilling process lands in the tunnel and is removed by machinery. This process eliminates the need for drilling fluid necessary in conventional HDD procedures.

While these technologies have been globally tried and tested, their integration is fairly new to TransCanada and could become a more commonly used practice for proposed pipeline projects in the rugged slopes of British Columbia, Canada, such as Coastal GasLink and Prince Rupert Gas Transmission.

“These Mexico projects have directly applicable terrain to the conditions in British Columbia,” says Jenkins, adding that pipelines are the safest way to transport the oil and gas that North America and Mexico needs to meet their daily demand for energy. “There’s no increased risk to the technology we’re using for these pipelines, but it is industry-leading stuff in North America.”

Innovation has always been key to TransCanada’s success, with a track record of more than 60 years dedicated to cutting-edge technological advancement and a history of investment into research and development.

SC order ends dispute over Pokhara Cable Car Project

KATHMANDU, Jan 26: The Supreme Court on Sunday quashed the petitions filed by Laxmi Intercontinental Pvt Ltd to scrap the bidding process with regard to developing Pokhara Cable-Car Project.

With the decision, the government will now be able to implement the 1.5-km cable car service extending from Phewa Lake to the World Peace Stupa at Pumdi Bhumdi.

A division bench comprosing of Justices Baidyanath Upadhyaya and Jagadish Sharma Paudel quashed the plea filed by Laxmi Intercontinental on Sunday.

The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport had solicited expressions of interest (EOI) from the private sector to develop and manage the project under the build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) model on February 22, 2012.

In response, five firms had submitted EOIs and the ministry had shortlisted three joint venture firms from among them and asked them to submit requests for proposal (RFP).

The three short listed groups were Lama Construction in association with United Builders and Engineers as well as Shahiba International, Laxmi Intercontinental in association with Sujal Foods and French company Pomagalski SAS Exclusivity Co-operation and Manakamana Darshan Chitwan Co-E in association with Austrian company Doppelmayr.

After receiving the RFPs and studying the proposals the ministry had decided to award the project to Manakamana Darshan Chitwan Co-E.

But dissatisfied with the selection, Laxmi Intercontinental moved the Supreme Court claiming that the selection was not fair.
Likewise, Chandra Kanta Bhattarai and five others also moved the apex court with a public interest litigation (PIL) arguing that the ministry´s decision to consider the financial proposal of only the Manakamana Darshan Co-E would establish monopoly and the nation would earn less revenue while the public might be made to pay more for the service.

Following the PIL, a single bench of Justice Sushila Karki had issued an interim order on August 6, 2013 to stall the project until final verdict.

It was reported in 2012 that the ministry had earlier planned to award the project to Manakamana Darshan Chitwan CO-E without competaive bidding, but had later decided to go for competitive bids following an order by the National Planning Commission.

Source: eKantipur