The roads and water sectors remain key interest areas for Welspun

With a robust presence in the roads and the water sectors, which stand at 54 per cent and 46 per cent respectively,Welspun Enterprisesis keen to work on value accretive projects across different development models. Yogen Lal, COO (Water) and Neeraj Gupta, COO (Roads),share more….

Timely infra growth entails the use of innovative machines and technology. How has Welspun responded to this development for the roads and infra projects under its ambit?
Yogen Lal: We have recently bagged a major contract for the design, build, operation and maintenance of a 418 mld sewage treatment plant (STP) in Dharavi, Mumbai, from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).The land parcel available for construction of the STP provides the lowest footprint available, merely 125 sq m/mld as against other STPs that have footprints varying from 225 to 230 sq m/mld. Consequently, we are constrained to go in for a multi-tier STP with a height of 50 m, making it one of the most complex STPs globally.

The Delhi-Meerut Expressway is a prestigious project you have undertaken. Please tell us more.
Neeraj Gupta: The Delhi-Meerut Expressway (Package 1) is a project with many firsts. It is India’s first 14-lane expressway and was the first HAM project to achieve financial closure and receive annuity. It is India’s first green expressway, with vertical gardens as well as solar panels along the road generating electricity.

There were several challenges related to right of way and shifting of utilities of an operating highway in a heavily urban area. We were able to successfully address these with the help of NHAI and the local authorities. As a result, the project was completed in a record time of 19 months against the stipulated 30 months. The travel time across the stretch of 9 km is now 10 minutes compared to almost 60 minutes earlier. Further, we are proud that the project was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The project has also received the ‘Gold Award’ for the ‘Excellence in Project Management’ category from MoRTH.

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