Development of Techno-economic Evaluation Methodology for Proposed BoT based Highway Railway-Over-Bridge Project
Prof.(Dr.) R.K. Khitoliya, Former Professor & Head, Dr. Pardeep Kumar Gupta, Assistant Professor, Ashish Sharma, M.E. Student (Ex), Civil Engineering Department, Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh.
Introduction
Infrastructure development including highways, bridges, power stations, dams, etc., which was the sole monopoly of the government, has now been opened to private sector participation because of the huge requirements of funds which are beyond the reach of government. A very large gap exists between the budgetary allocation of financial resources and actual requirements of funds for development and maintenance of infrastructure system in India. While traffic on highways has been growing at a rapid pace, it has not been possible for the government to provide matching funds due to competing demand from other priority sectors. The shrinking funds in the public sector have necessitated the need for attracting private funds. Since infrastructure is the most important element of any development strategy for accelerating the economic growth of a country, private financing of infrastructure has to be encouraged in a large way. The adequacy of infrastructure will help in achieving the country's success in expanding trade, reducing poverty, improving environment and creating wealth and prosperity. Toll based financing and commercialization of highways and bridges through BOT and BOOT formats have acquired significance. The importance of a sound road network for the economic growth of any nation has been realized. Ambitious plans for phased development of National Highways and Expressways have been drawn up for India. To achieve goals within the required time frame, this infrastructure sector has been opened to private sector investment. The experience, generally, is available for small sections like providing a by-pass, a bridge etc. where investments are recouped through collection of toll charges.
The following innovative methodologies for mobolising the finance for urban roads on the basis of NHDP finance programme as a role model have been suggested by Hulji Pravin R. et al. (2000).
Economic Evaluation: Economic analysis is a convenient procedure to select only those schemes that result in the greatest benefits from the resources available.
The following are some of the specific objectives in carrying out an economic evaluation:
Costs and Benefits of Highway Projects: The basic principle behind any method of economic evaluation is to measure the costs of the project, determine the benefits likely to accrue and compare the two.
Cost: The costs can be considered broadly under the following categories:
Benefits: Highway projects are intended to bring benefits to the road users by providing cheaper, more efficient, quicker and safer travel. An evaluation of benefits is, therefore, of prime concern in any economic analysis. Benefits usually represent the difference between the cost of operating on a new facility and the cost of operating on an existing facility. Thus, in order to determine the benefits, it is necessary to determine the cost of operation.
Vehicle Operating Cost (VOC): Vehicle Operating Cost, i.e. the cost of operating the vehicle per unit length of a highway facility, is a significant factor affecting the Road User Cost.
It is very important to evaluate the VOC accurately in order to assess the Road User Cost in the economic analysis of a highway facility. In the present study, only variable cost has been considered for the economic analysis. Variable cost amounts to nearly 95 per cent of the VOC. In variable cost also, the fuel component is the most predominant and amounts to more than 90% of the total variable cost. An idea of relative proportions of the components of the variable cost for different vehicle types may be had from the following table. Market values of the various components as on March' 2004 have been considered for estimating these values. The values given in Table-1 may be used for the computation of VOC for different categories of vehicles.
Travel Time Cost:The value of travel time savings or the Travel Time Cost is also a very important component of the road user cost. Since travel time is quite precious, it is highly relevant in economic analysis of highway projects. Many highway plans result in time saving. For example, the replacement of rail-road level-crossing with an over bridge will result in free movement of the road traffic without getting hindered when the level-crossing gate is closed. This results in saving in time to the highway user. Widening of narrow single-lane roads to two lane, improvements in geometrics, etc. also result in time saving for the road users. For the purpose of economic analysis of highway projects, the value of travel time savings has to be quantified into monetary terms.
Classes of Road Users Enjoying Travel Time Savings: Travel Time Savings are enjoyed by different classes of road users and can be broadly grouped under the following heads:
Passengers: Passengers using different modes of transport such as cars, two-wheelers, buses, etc. are benefited the most due to reduction in travel time. For example, any highway improvement scheme, which speeds up traffic, is likely to reduce the travel time of occupants of cars, buses, two-wheelers, etc.
Transport Operators and Owners: Transport operators and owners (bus operators, truck operators, taxi operators) are direct beneficiaries of travel time savings with improved highway facilities. Bus and truck operators can run the vehicles at higher speeds resulting in a greater utilization of vehicles. The daily utilization of vehicles is directly related to the average speed of the vehicles in addition to other factors. The overall cost of operation would come down when vehicles operate on improved facilities.
Freight consigners: In the movement of freight, travel time is of considerable importance. The goods to be transported may be perishable or non-perishable. In the case of perishable commodities, such as milk, fruits and vegetables, time is the essence of commerce. For freight consigners, speedier transportation means lesser inventory costs.
Time as a Commodity: The second concept of value of time is that time has utility just as any other commodity and hence a cost. This concept lends itself admirably well for evaluation of time savings enjoyed by transport operators and freight consigners. The time saved in journeys can be put to fruitful use by a greater turn-round of the vehicle utilization. While time is undoubtedly an 'economic commodity' because people certainly place some cash value on their own time, but there is no market for time as such. Time and services are complementary economic commodities because these cannot be bought or sold separately. As such, their respective prices cannot be separately evaluated.
Wage Rate Approach: In the present study, the wage rate concept has been used for monetary evaluation of passengers’ travel time. Wage Rate concept is the most common, and at the same time elementary and simplistic, approach for the purpose. In this concept, the average wage rate of the traveller is determined and it is treated as the value of individual’s time. Since the wage rates of different categories of passengers will be varying, it is necessary to categorize the passengers into distinct groups and determine the average wage rate for each of them. The following categories seem to be distinct:
A case study has been undertaken for studying the technical and economic aspects of a proposed BOT bridge project. A Railway Over Bridge (ROB) proposed to be implemented on BOT basis has been chosen for case study. The proposed ROB project is located on NH-21 (Ambala-Manali Highway) at Kurali in Ropar District of Punjab. A typical view of the level rail-road crossing of the present study is as shown in Fig-1.
Scope of the Project: The project envisages construction and maintenance (up to the end of the concession period) of the facility from RD 23.500 to 27.504 as detailed below:
Project Cost: The project cost includes the cost of construction, commissioning and maintenance during concession period. It also includes the cost of the arrangements to be made for collection of fee, interest on expenditure to be incurred by the entrepreneur, the cost of renewal of wearing surface in the entire length of the project including approaches and of painting the bridge structure before the end of the concession period. The project cost also includes entrepreneur’s profit and interest thereon. The project cost worked out by the entrepreneur is Rs.4714.02 Lacs.
Cost of Construction: The cost of construction of the project is Rs.188.1millions (1881 lacs)
Location of the Project: The proposed ROB would be constructed at level crossing No. 32-B, at Kurali on Sirhind-Nangal Dam Section of Northern Railway, crossing Chandigarh-Ropar Road (NH-21) Km 26.428.
Entrepreneur: The entrepreneur for the project is the joint venture group of two companies: M/s. Pearl Buildwell Infrastructures Ltd. (PBIL) and M/s. Tantia Construction Ltd., Delhi.
Construction Program: The construction work is to be carried out in accordance with the MOST-Railway specifications as per standards specified in the Concession Agreement and as per the directions of MOST/GoP and the Railways.
Rationale for the Proposed Project: The following are the important details associated with the project
Traffic Volume Characteristics: The following are the traffic characteristics on the said route
Traffic Assessment: The projected traffic data for the proposed ROB project as shown in Table-2, has been derived using the following formula:
A = P (1-r)n Eq. .1
Where A = No. of PCUs per day for design
P = No. of vehicles at the last count
r =Actual rate of increase, which may be taken as 7.5 per cent p.a.
n =Number of years between last census and the year of consideration
Toll Charges: The entrepreneur can charge toll fee as per the rates prescribed in the schedule to the Detailed Notice Inviting Tender (DNIT) are as shown in Table 3.
When the same vehicle has to cross the bridge more than once in a day, the users have the option to pay one and half times the above rates while crossing the bridge in the first trip itself and if the vehicle has to use the bridge continuously and quite frequently for entire month or even beyond that for much longer period, the vehicle owner can have a monthly pass on the payment of charges equal to 30 single rates.
Exemption of Toll Charges: The following type of vehicles would be exempted from payment of toll tax:
The above categories of vehicles have been excluded from the assessment of traffic made by the government as well as in the sample survey conducted by the entrepreneur.
Questionnaire Survey: In order to assess the public opinion regarding the provision of the ROB, a survey was conducted at the site of the proposed ROB.
A sample of 50 vehicles was surveyed. Views of the road users were sought about the requirement of ROB at the railway crossing, willingness to pay toll tax for using the ROB, traffic and road conditions at the site, etc. The format of the Questionnaire Survey and the cumulative response is as shown in Table-4. From the survey, it was observed that 76 per cent of the road users agreed about the construction of the ROB at the railway crossing, but only 60 per cent expressed willingness to pay toll tax for using the ROB. However, most of the road users agreed that they would be able to save time by using the ROB. 76 per cent of the road users expressed dissatisfaction towards the present road condition. On an average, a stoppage of 15 minutes occurs every time the crossing is closed for the passage of train. Most of the road users had faced traffic jam at the railway crossing.
Vehicle Travel Cost:In the present case of the proposed ROB, Vehicle Travel Cost (VTC) has been computed to assess the cost incurred by the vehicle owners while travelling along the existing route with the railway crossing and along the ROB without railway crossing. The saving in the travel cost is then assessed for different modes of transportation. Toll rates can be fixed on the basis of the savings in Vehicle Travel Cost. The factors considered for the assessment of Vehicle Travel Cost in the present case are:
Vehicle Operating Cost: The following components are considered for the computation of Vehicle Operating Cost:
The Vehicle Operating Cost for Two-Wheeler, Car, Bus, Truck and Multi-Axle Vehicle (MAV), as shown in Table-5, has been computed taking into account all the above-mentioned components. A stretch of 0.994 km (equal to the length of proposed ROB) has been considered for estimating the VOC along the existing route as well as the proposed ROB. Market values of the various components as on March' 2004 have been considered. When the traffic exceeds the design service volume, the vehicles are subjected to congestion effect resulting in higher VOC as compared to steady state conditions. To account for this, Congestion Factors have been taken into account for computation of VOC for each vehicle type.
VOC = (C+D+I+J) x Length x K Eq. .2
VOC = Vehicle Operating Cost
C = Cost of Fuel per km (Rs./km)
D = Cost of Lubricants per km (Rs./km)
I = Total Cost of Tyres per km (Rs./km)
J = Cost of Spare Parts+ Maintenance+ Depreciation per km (Rs./km)
K = Congestion Factor
Length = 0.994 km (equal to length of proposed ROB)
For the computation of Travel Time Cost, two main components are considered, which are:
Wage Rate concept is considered for the computation of Passenger Time Value. The wage rate values (for an 8 hour working day) assumed for the users of different vehicle types are as shown in the Table -7.
The values adopted for occupancy of each vehicle type for estimation of Passenger Time Value are as in Table-8:
In case of trucks and MAVs, time value of commodity in transit has also been considered for the computation of TTC. Commodities in transit could be perishable or non-perishable. A value of Rs.10/hour (Rs.0.17/min) is taken as the average value for time value of commodity in transit.
The calculated values of Travel Time Cost per trip along the existing road as well as the proposed ROB for each vehicle type are as given in Table-9 below.
The total VTC per trip along the existing road as well as the proposed ROB for each vehicle type is as calculated below. The savings in the VTC per trip along the proposed ROB have also been computed as shown in Table-10.
VTC = VOC + TTC Eq. .3
Savings in VTC per trip = VTC per trip along existing road - VTC per trip along proposed ROB
The toll fee per trip for each category of vehicle can be evaluated either on the basis of savings in Vehicle Travel Cost or on the basis of willingness of the road users to pay the toll fee. A method has been devised for computation of toll fee per trip for each vehicle type based on the weightage given to some vehicle characteristics such as length, width, weight, average occupancy, saving in travel time, etc. Weightage is awarded to all these parameters on a 10-point scale for each vehicle type.
The average values of vehicle parameters are as given in Table-11 below. The average occupancy values may be taken as in Table-8.
The weightage awarded to each vehicle characteristic on a 10-point scale are as in Table -12.
Percent weightage for each vehicle type:
Car = 1/7 x 100 = 14.3% Eq. .4
Bus = 2/7 x 100 = 28.6% Eq. .5
Truck= 1.5/7 x 100 = 21.5% Eq. .6
Car = 2.5/7 x 100 = 35.7% Eq. .7
Total Cost of Project = Total Cost of Construction + Interest p.a. (@ 18% p.a.) + Maintenance Cost + Cost of management and overheads + Cost of renewal of road surface and special repairs at the end of the concession period + Profit of Entrepreneur = Rs. 4714.02 Lacs
Concession Period = 8 years 8 months (including 2 years construction period)
Therefore, the period for which toll can be collected = 6 years 8 months (~2434 Days)
Therefore, Cost of project per day = 471402/2434 = Rs.1.94 Lacs
The toll fee per trip for each vehicle type may be assumed as:
Car = x1
Bus = x2
Truck = x3
MAV = x4
The total revenue collected per day must be equal to per day cost of project so that the total estimated cost of the project is recovered in the stipulated concession period.
5335x1 + 2613x2 + 6269x3 + 65x4 = 1.94x105 Eq .8
Let x = Total toll collected by single trip of each vehicle type.
Now, the toll fee per trip for each vehicle type would be calculated by dividing in proportion to the weightages awarded to each vehicle type.
Therefore, x1=14.3/100x x (Car) Eq. .9
x2=28.6/100 x x (Bus) Eq. .10
x3=21.5/100 x x (Truck) Eq. .11
x4=35.7/100 x x (MAV) Eq. .12
Putting these values in Eq. 6.8
[5335x (14.3/100) x x] + [2613 x (28.6/100) x x] +
[6269 x (21.5/100) x x] + [65 x (35.7/100) x x] = 1.94 x 105 Eq. .13
From the above equation, the value of works out to be 67.33 (~67).
The values of toll fees per trip for different types of vehicles can be computed by putting the value of in equations 9 through 12. The calculated values are as given below:
x1 = 9.581 (Car)
x2 = 19.162 (Bus)
x3 = 14.405 (Truck)
x4 = 23.919 (MAV)
The above values may be rounded off to exact values for toll fees for the purpose of practicality of payment of toll fee. The toll fees may be as given in Table -14 below.
The total annual revenue (for year 2004) collected through toll fees is as below:
Car = 5335 x 365 x 10 = 19472750
Bus = 2613 x 365 x 20 = 19074900
Truck = 6269 x 365 x 15 = 34322775
The revised toll collection period for the toll fee values given in Table 6.13 can be calculated as below:
Total revenue collected per day,
T = (5335x10) + (2613x20) + (6269x15) + (65x25) = Rs. 2.13x105
Total cost of project = Rs 4714.02x105
Therefore, Total toll collection period (in days) = 4714.02 × 105÷ 2.13 × 105 = 2213.16
(~2214 days)
Total toll collection period (in years, months and days) = 6 years 24 days
Hence, the total toll collection period could be reduced from the earlier decided period of 6 years 8 months to 6 years 24 days, thereby facilitating early transfer of the ROB to the ownership of government.
A small but very useful Microsoft Excel Based Calculator has been developed in the present work to facilitate fast and accurate computation of toll rates for any proposed highway bridge project. Manual calculation of toll rates as worked out in the previous section requires a lot of time and effort and is also subject to inaccurate calculations due to human error. The Microsoft Excel Based Calculator, on the other hand, requires much less time and effort, and is very accurate. The Microsoft Excel Based Calculator has been developed using the Microsoft Excel 2000 (Version 9.0.2720) utility. Certain formulae have been devised to calculate the toll fees and other parameters like toll collection period, etc. The system is very interactive, user friendly and easy to use. It requires some information as input and calculates the toll fees for various categories of vehicles. The input required by the system is as below:
The formulae used in the Microsoft Excel Based Calculator for various calculations in the computation of toll fees have been listed as below:
A sample run of the Microsoft Excel Based Calculator has been conducted for the present case study of proposed Railway Over Bridge at Kurali.
The inputs as required by the system (total cost of project, total toll collection period, and traffic volume data) were entered and the results were obtained in the form of toll fee per trip for each vehicle type. The Microsoft Excel Based Calculator helped in fast and accurate computation of toll fees. A sample sheet of the Microsoft Excel Based Calculator for calculation of toll fees per trip for each vehicle type is as shown in Fig-2.
The following innovative methodologies for mobolising the finance for urban roads on the basis of NHDP finance programme as a role model have been suggested by Hulji Pravin R. et al. (2000).
- The tax collected should be used exclusively for the development of urban road works only. This may be levied as some percentage of the property tax.
- The bonds for urban road developments should have tax exemptions and other attractions as offered by infrastructure bonds offered by the leading financial institutions
Economic Evaluation: Economic analysis is a convenient procedure to select only those schemes that result in the greatest benefits from the resources available.
The following are some of the specific objectives in carrying out an economic evaluation:
- Whether the plan under consideration is worth investment at all.
- To rank schemes competing for scarce resources in order of priority.
- To compare mutually exclusive schemes and select the most economic.
- To assist in phasing the program over a time period depending upon the availability of resources.
Costs and Benefits of Highway Projects: The basic principle behind any method of economic evaluation is to measure the costs of the project, determine the benefits likely to accrue and compare the two.
Cost: The costs can be considered broadly under the following categories:
- Capital cost of initial construction, which includes the cost of land and ancillary costs.
- Costs of delays to vehicles during the period of construction.
- Maintenance costs.
Benefits: Highway projects are intended to bring benefits to the road users by providing cheaper, more efficient, quicker and safer travel. An evaluation of benefits is, therefore, of prime concern in any economic analysis. Benefits usually represent the difference between the cost of operating on a new facility and the cost of operating on an existing facility. Thus, in order to determine the benefits, it is necessary to determine the cost of operation.
Vehicle Operating Cost (VOC): Vehicle Operating Cost, i.e. the cost of operating the vehicle per unit length of a highway facility, is a significant factor affecting the Road User Cost.
Travel Time Cost:The value of travel time savings or the Travel Time Cost is also a very important component of the road user cost. Since travel time is quite precious, it is highly relevant in economic analysis of highway projects. Many highway plans result in time saving. For example, the replacement of rail-road level-crossing with an over bridge will result in free movement of the road traffic without getting hindered when the level-crossing gate is closed. This results in saving in time to the highway user. Widening of narrow single-lane roads to two lane, improvements in geometrics, etc. also result in time saving for the road users. For the purpose of economic analysis of highway projects, the value of travel time savings has to be quantified into monetary terms.
Classes of Road Users Enjoying Travel Time Savings: Travel Time Savings are enjoyed by different classes of road users and can be broadly grouped under the following heads:
- Passengers
- Transport operators and owners
- Freight consigners
Passengers: Passengers using different modes of transport such as cars, two-wheelers, buses, etc. are benefited the most due to reduction in travel time. For example, any highway improvement scheme, which speeds up traffic, is likely to reduce the travel time of occupants of cars, buses, two-wheelers, etc.
Transport Operators and Owners: Transport operators and owners (bus operators, truck operators, taxi operators) are direct beneficiaries of travel time savings with improved highway facilities. Bus and truck operators can run the vehicles at higher speeds resulting in a greater utilization of vehicles. The daily utilization of vehicles is directly related to the average speed of the vehicles in addition to other factors. The overall cost of operation would come down when vehicles operate on improved facilities.
Freight consigners: In the movement of freight, travel time is of considerable importance. The goods to be transported may be perishable or non-perishable. In the case of perishable commodities, such as milk, fruits and vegetables, time is the essence of commerce. For freight consigners, speedier transportation means lesser inventory costs.
Economic Concept of Evaluation of Travel Time Savings
Willingness to Pay: There are two distinct concepts in the economic evaluation of travel time savings. The basis of the first approach is "willingness to pay" as a value of time. The assumption is that time spent in traveling has an opportunity cost. Willingness to pay for travel depends upon the individual and the situation. For example, an individual with a high income may be willing to pay for travel by air whereas a person with a lower income may prefer to travel the same distance by train. Thus, the air traveller attaches greater importance to savings in travel time than the rail traveller. An individual who attaches more importance to travel time with an assured seat and comfort would travel in a chartered bus than in public transport bus.Time as a Commodity: The second concept of value of time is that time has utility just as any other commodity and hence a cost. This concept lends itself admirably well for evaluation of time savings enjoyed by transport operators and freight consigners. The time saved in journeys can be put to fruitful use by a greater turn-round of the vehicle utilization. While time is undoubtedly an 'economic commodity' because people certainly place some cash value on their own time, but there is no market for time as such. Time and services are complementary economic commodities because these cannot be bought or sold separately. As such, their respective prices cannot be separately evaluated.
Wage Rate Approach: In the present study, the wage rate concept has been used for monetary evaluation of passengers’ travel time. Wage Rate concept is the most common, and at the same time elementary and simplistic, approach for the purpose. In this concept, the average wage rate of the traveller is determined and it is treated as the value of individual’s time. Since the wage rates of different categories of passengers will be varying, it is necessary to categorize the passengers into distinct groups and determine the average wage rate for each of them. The following categories seem to be distinct:
- Two-wheeler passengers
- Car passengers
- Bus passengers
- Bus drivers
- Bus conductors
- Truck drivers
- Truck cleaner/helpers
Railway Over Bridge Project at Kurali-Punjab
Scope of the Project: The project envisages construction and maintenance (up to the end of the concession period) of the facility from RD 23.500 to 27.504 as detailed below:
- Railway Over Bridge (length 994 m) with Footpaths and Central Verge (width 13.50 m/ Preferable 17.50 m or more) at level crossing No. 32-B, at Kurali on Sirhind-Nangal Dam Section of Northern Railway, crossing Chandigarh-Ropar Road (NH-21) Km 26.428 including approach spans on stilts with pre-stressed concrete girder super structure from RD 26.113 to 26.418 and 26.438 to 26.788 and solid fill approach from RD 25.970 to 26.113 and 26.788 to 26.964 as per design (Two intermediate lanes wide ROB instead of 4-lane ROB has been proposed due to constraints of land width available at site).
- Diversion/Service roads (length 4034 m) 3.25 m wide on both sides of road/proposed ROB for free flow of traffic from RD 23.500 to 27.534 including extra width available under cantilever portion and other places as per site.
- Toll Plaza (length 420 m) with suitable additional lanes, traffic safety measures, drainage, etc. including flares from RD 26.964 to 27.084 and 27.234 to 27.384 for free flow of traffic.
- Four laning from RD 23.500 to 25.970 and 27.384 to 27.504 (length 2590 m) having 7.5 m carriageway on both sides of 0.61 m wide median barrier, 0.5 m wide verge having steel railing separating service road from main carriageway, 1.0 m wide footpath at the edge of the service road as per linear plan.
- Camber correction, longitudinal profile correction, and streng- thening of existing road from RD 23.500 to 25.970 and 27.384 to 27.504 (length 3010 m).
- Improvement of junction with Morinda-Siswan Road at RD 25.400 and junctions with all other roads/streets off-taking from NH-21 from RD 23.500 to 27.504.
- Providing street light arrangements @ 30 m c/c on both sides of Road/ROB including suitable arrangements at toll plaza and ROB complete as per site requirement (length 4004 m).
- Under ground drainage on both sides including its disposal at a suitable place as per site requirement (length approx. 10000 m).
- Re-construction of Culverts.
- Retro-Reflective sign boards (cautionary / mandatory / informatory) overhead as well as along Road/ROB as per guidelines of IRC/MOST for smooth and efficient flow of traffic.
- The scope of work shall include all investigations and surveys, design, improvement, maintenance of all items from Sr. No. 1 to 10, fulfillment of environmental requirements as per the guidelines of the concerned authorities, arrangements for collection of fee and for necessary free flow of traffic. Scope shall also include traffic management during construction as per GoI specification and guidelines on the subjects.
- All other works connected with the work as well as maintenance of the facility for the concession period and collection of fee till the recovery of the Project cost and handing over the facility to the Government in proper condition.
- All ancillary works or temporary works necessary to execute the above.
Other Important Details of the Project
Cost of Construction: The cost of construction of the project is Rs.188.1millions (1881 lacs)
Location of the Project: The proposed ROB would be constructed at level crossing No. 32-B, at Kurali on Sirhind-Nangal Dam Section of Northern Railway, crossing Chandigarh-Ropar Road (NH-21) Km 26.428.
Entrepreneur: The entrepreneur for the project is the joint venture group of two companies: M/s. Pearl Buildwell Infrastructures Ltd. (PBIL) and M/s. Tantia Construction Ltd., Delhi.
Construction Program: The construction work is to be carried out in accordance with the MOST-Railway specifications as per standards specified in the Concession Agreement and as per the directions of MOST/GoP and the Railways.
Rationale for the Proposed Project: The following are the important details associated with the project
- The entire vehicular traffic coming from Delhi-Ambala-Chandigarh side and proceeding towards Ropar, Anandpur Sahib, Una and hill stations of Himachal Pradesh such as Kullu, Manali, Rohtang, Dharamshala, Kangra and vice-versa passes through the existing railway crossing at Kurali. NH-21 has also got strategic significance as it provides an alternate route to Jammu and Kashmir via Leh. During tourist season, the traffic flow is still higher owing to tourist centres of Kullu, Manali, Dharamshala, etc.
- The absence of ROB on this crossing results in delay, frequent traffic jams and wastage of fuel whenever the trains pass through the crossing. It is reported that the railway crossing is closed for road traffic about 28-30 times every 24 hours. There are 16 scheduled trains passing through the crossing besides shunting and special trains. The haphazard movement of vehicles after the opening of crossing also results in frequent accidents.
- A large number of government as well as private buses ply on this road. With the growing automobile industry, the traffic is expected to increase further on this route.
- During the season for apples/potatoes (July-Nov/Aug-Oct), traffic intensity of trucks and LCVs between H.P. and Chandigarh/Delhi increases.
- There is no alternate route connecting Chandigarh and Ropar.
Traffic Volume Characteristics: The following are the traffic characteristics on the said route
- The traffic on NH-21 is quite heavy, as it is the shortest link between Chandigarh-Kiratpur and further to Anandpur Sahib, Una and to H.P. The intensity of traffic increases during tourist season as also during the harvest season.
- The construction of ROB is essential on this railway crossing as the existing railway crossing results in congestion and obstruction to the flow of traffic.
- The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has projected a growth rate of traffic @ 7.5 per cent p.a. while planning highway projects and the same applies to the proposed project.
A = P (1-r)n Eq. .1
Where A = No. of PCUs per day for design
P = No. of vehicles at the last count
r =Actual rate of increase, which may be taken as 7.5 per cent p.a.
n =Number of years between last census and the year of consideration
When the same vehicle has to cross the bridge more than once in a day, the users have the option to pay one and half times the above rates while crossing the bridge in the first trip itself and if the vehicle has to use the bridge continuously and quite frequently for entire month or even beyond that for much longer period, the vehicle owner can have a monthly pass on the payment of charges equal to 30 single rates.
Exemption of Toll Charges: The following type of vehicles would be exempted from payment of toll tax:
- Defence Vehicles,
- Vehicles with VIP Symbols,
- Police Vehicles,
- Fire Fighting Vehicles,
- Ambulances,
- Funeral Vans,
- Post and Telegraph Department Vehicles, and
- Central and State Government Vehicles on Duty.
The above categories of vehicles have been excluded from the assessment of traffic made by the government as well as in the sample survey conducted by the entrepreneur.
Questionnaire Survey: In order to assess the public opinion regarding the provision of the ROB, a survey was conducted at the site of the proposed ROB.
Vehicle Travel Cost:In the present case of the proposed ROB, Vehicle Travel Cost (VTC) has been computed to assess the cost incurred by the vehicle owners while travelling along the existing route with the railway crossing and along the ROB without railway crossing. The saving in the travel cost is then assessed for different modes of transportation. Toll rates can be fixed on the basis of the savings in Vehicle Travel Cost. The factors considered for the assessment of Vehicle Travel Cost in the present case are:
- Vehicle Operating Cost (VOC), and
- Travel Time Cost (TTC)
- Fuel (Petrol/Diesel)
- Lubricants
- Engine Oil
- Other Oils
- Grease
- Tyre
- Spare Parts
- Maintenance Cost
- Depreciation
The Vehicle Operating Cost for Two-Wheeler, Car, Bus, Truck and Multi-Axle Vehicle (MAV), as shown in Table-5, has been computed taking into account all the above-mentioned components. A stretch of 0.994 km (equal to the length of proposed ROB) has been considered for estimating the VOC along the existing route as well as the proposed ROB. Market values of the various components as on March' 2004 have been considered. When the traffic exceeds the design service volume, the vehicles are subjected to congestion effect resulting in higher VOC as compared to steady state conditions. To account for this, Congestion Factors have been taken into account for computation of VOC for each vehicle type.
VOC = (C+D+I+J) x Length x K Eq. .2
VOC = Vehicle Operating Cost
C = Cost of Fuel per km (Rs./km)
D = Cost of Lubricants per km (Rs./km)
I = Total Cost of Tyres per km (Rs./km)
J = Cost of Spare Parts+ Maintenance+ Depreciation per km (Rs./km)
K = Congestion Factor
Length = 0.994 km (equal to length of proposed ROB)
Travel Time Cost
For the computation of Travel Time Cost, two main components are considered, which are:
- Passenger Time Value, and
- Time Value of Commodity in Transit
Wage Rate concept is considered for the computation of Passenger Time Value. The wage rate values (for an 8 hour working day) assumed for the users of different vehicle types are as shown in the Table -7.
The values adopted for occupancy of each vehicle type for estimation of Passenger Time Value are as in Table-8:
In case of trucks and MAVs, time value of commodity in transit has also been considered for the computation of TTC. Commodities in transit could be perishable or non-perishable. A value of Rs.10/hour (Rs.0.17/min) is taken as the average value for time value of commodity in transit.
The calculated values of Travel Time Cost per trip along the existing road as well as the proposed ROB for each vehicle type are as given in Table-9 below.
The total VTC per trip along the existing road as well as the proposed ROB for each vehicle type is as calculated below. The savings in the VTC per trip along the proposed ROB have also been computed as shown in Table-10.
VTC = VOC + TTC Eq. .3
Savings in VTC per trip = VTC per trip along existing road - VTC per trip along proposed ROB
Computation of Toll Fee
The toll fee per trip for each category of vehicle can be evaluated either on the basis of savings in Vehicle Travel Cost or on the basis of willingness of the road users to pay the toll fee. A method has been devised for computation of toll fee per trip for each vehicle type based on the weightage given to some vehicle characteristics such as length, width, weight, average occupancy, saving in travel time, etc. Weightage is awarded to all these parameters on a 10-point scale for each vehicle type.
The average values of vehicle parameters are as given in Table-11 below. The average occupancy values may be taken as in Table-8.
Percent weightage for each vehicle type:
Car = 1/7 x 100 = 14.3% Eq. .4
Bus = 2/7 x 100 = 28.6% Eq. .5
Truck= 1.5/7 x 100 = 21.5% Eq. .6
Car = 2.5/7 x 100 = 35.7% Eq. .7
Total Cost of Project = Total Cost of Construction + Interest p.a. (@ 18% p.a.) + Maintenance Cost + Cost of management and overheads + Cost of renewal of road surface and special repairs at the end of the concession period + Profit of Entrepreneur = Rs. 4714.02 Lacs
Concession Period = 8 years 8 months (including 2 years construction period)
Therefore, the period for which toll can be collected = 6 years 8 months (~2434 Days)
Therefore, Cost of project per day = 471402/2434 = Rs.1.94 Lacs
The toll fee per trip for each vehicle type may be assumed as:
Car = x1
Bus = x2
Truck = x3
MAV = x4
The total revenue collected per day must be equal to per day cost of project so that the total estimated cost of the project is recovered in the stipulated concession period.
5335x1 + 2613x2 + 6269x3 + 65x4 = 1.94x105 Eq .8
Let x = Total toll collected by single trip of each vehicle type.
Now, the toll fee per trip for each vehicle type would be calculated by dividing in proportion to the weightages awarded to each vehicle type.
Therefore, x1=14.3/100x x (Car) Eq. .9
x2=28.6/100 x x (Bus) Eq. .10
x3=21.5/100 x x (Truck) Eq. .11
x4=35.7/100 x x (MAV) Eq. .12
Putting these values in Eq. 6.8
[6269 x (21.5/100) x x] + [65 x (35.7/100) x x] = 1.94 x 105 Eq. .13
From the above equation, the value of works out to be 67.33 (~67).
The values of toll fees per trip for different types of vehicles can be computed by putting the value of in equations 9 through 12. The calculated values are as given below:
x1 = 9.581 (Car)
x2 = 19.162 (Bus)
x3 = 14.405 (Truck)
x4 = 23.919 (MAV)
The above values may be rounded off to exact values for toll fees for the purpose of practicality of payment of toll fee. The toll fees may be as given in Table -14 below.
The total annual revenue (for year 2004) collected through toll fees is as below:
Car = 5335 x 365 x 10 = 19472750
Bus = 2613 x 365 x 20 = 19074900
Truck = 6269 x 365 x 15 = 34322775
The revised toll collection period for the toll fee values given in Table 6.13 can be calculated as below:
Total revenue collected per day,
T = (5335x10) + (2613x20) + (6269x15) + (65x25) = Rs. 2.13x105
Total cost of project = Rs 4714.02x105
Therefore, Total toll collection period (in days) = 4714.02 × 105÷ 2.13 × 105 = 2213.16
(~2214 days)
Total toll collection period (in years, months and days) = 6 years 24 days
Hence, the total toll collection period could be reduced from the earlier decided period of 6 years 8 months to 6 years 24 days, thereby facilitating early transfer of the ROB to the ownership of government.
Microsoft Excel Based Calculator for Computation of Toll Fee
A small but very useful Microsoft Excel Based Calculator has been developed in the present work to facilitate fast and accurate computation of toll rates for any proposed highway bridge project. Manual calculation of toll rates as worked out in the previous section requires a lot of time and effort and is also subject to inaccurate calculations due to human error. The Microsoft Excel Based Calculator, on the other hand, requires much less time and effort, and is very accurate. The Microsoft Excel Based Calculator has been developed using the Microsoft Excel 2000 (Version 9.0.2720) utility. Certain formulae have been devised to calculate the toll fees and other parameters like toll collection period, etc. The system is very interactive, user friendly and easy to use. It requires some information as input and calculates the toll fees for various categories of vehicles. The input required by the system is as below:
- Total cost of project (including profit of Entrepreneur), in Rs.
- Total toll collection period, in years/months
- Traffic data for various categories of vehicles, in PCU
- The system provides results as below:
- Total toll collection period, in days
- Cost of project per day, in Rs.
- Total toll collected by single trip of each vehicle type, in Rs.
- Toll fee per trip for each vehicle type, in Rs.
Formulae used in Microsoft Excel Based Calculator
The formulae used in the Microsoft Excel Based Calculator for various calculations in the computation of toll fees have been listed as below:
- Total weightages awarded to different vehicle types
Cell G3: Car = Sum (B3 : F3) Eq. .14
Cell G4: Bus = Sum (B4 : F4) Eq. .15
Cell G5: Truck = Sum (B5 : F5) Eq. .16
Cell G6: MAV = Sum (B6 : F6) Eq. .17 - Ratio of weightages for each vehicle type
Cell H3: Car = G3/G3 Eq. .18
Cell H4: Bus = G4/G3 Eq. .19
Cell H5: Truck = G5/G3 Eq. .20
Cell H6: MAV = G6/G3 Eq. .21 - Per cent weightage for each vehicle type
Cell C10: Car = B10/B14 100 Eq. .22
Cell C11: Bus = B11/B14 100 Eq. .23
Cell C12: Truck = B12/B14 100 Eq. .24
Cell C13: Car = B13/B14 100 Eq. .25 - Total toll collection period (in Days)
Cell E29: (D21 12- E21) 30.42 Eq. .26 - Cost of project per day (Rs.)
Cell E31: G18/E29 Eq. .27 - Total toll collected by single trip of each vehicle type (Rs.)
Cell G47: E31/B45 Eq. .28 - Toll fee per trip for each vehicle type (Rs.)
Cell C50: Car = C10/100 G47 Eq. .29
Cell C51: Bus = C11/100 G47 Eq. .30
Cell C52: Truck = C12/100 G47 Eq. .31
Cell C53: MAV = C13/100 G47 Eq. .32
Sample Run of Microsoft Excel Based Calculator for ROB Project
A sample run of the Microsoft Excel Based Calculator has been conducted for the present case study of proposed Railway Over Bridge at Kurali.
Conclusions
- The techno-economic evaluation of a proposed BOT facility is essential for the assessment of technical as well as economic feasibility of the project. The estimation of vehicle operating cost and saving in travel time due to provision of a new facility must be undertaken carefully so that the toll fees for each vehicle type and toll collection period can be fixed accordingly.
- There is a need to develop a suitable techno-economic evaluation methodology that can be applied to large number of similar projects or to evaluate various alternatives within a specific project.
- 80% of the people surveyed agreed that there must be a bridge at the crossing. 88 per cent people were of the opinion that they would be able to save time by using the ROB but only 60 per cent were ready to pay toll tax for using the facility. Only 24 per cent of the public surveyed preferred using an alternate route rather than using the ROB.
- With assumed parameters and computation methodology the Rounded off toll collection amount for car comes out to be Rs 10, for bus Rs 19, for truck Rs 14 and for multi-axle vehicle (MAV) as Rs 24.
- The suitability of the study is limited to the extent that all projected users will be using the facility and that there is no alternative free route or less costly route available to the proposed users.
References
- Concession Agreement for Construction of Road-over-Bridge at Level Crossing No. 32-B, at Kurali on Sirhind-Nangal Dam Section of Northern Railway, crossing Chandigarh-Ropar Road (NH-21) km 26.428.
- Hulji Pravin R., R.H.Mulangi, C.D. Nakadi, V.V.Karjinni and O.P.Bhatia (2002): "Innovative methodologies for mobilization of finance for Road Projects" National seminar on Financing, Design, Construction and operation of Highways" Department of Civil Engg, Govt. Engg. College, Aurangabad.
