Experts have warned that mining and quarrying is likely to suffer further after a contraction by 2.8 per cent in the first quarter of the fiscal, if the issues plaguing the sector are not resolved immediately. While iron ore mining approvals issue can be expedited, coal production could be ramped up to boost not only the mining sector but also to help the investment cycle, they said. “We are assuming a negative growth figure in the mining sector in the current fiscal. However, we are also watching statements coming from government regarding restarting mining in some regions, which may turn things towards a positive growth territory,” Crisil chief economist D.K. Joshi said. He added that the sector is a binding constraint to the growth of the economy for now, degrowth of which is also posing a risk to the current account deficit numbers. GDP growth has slipped to 4.4 per cent in the first quarter with mining witnessing a degrowth of 2.8 per cent. The sector has shown a growth of 0.4 per cent during Q1 of last fiscal.
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MRO facility to run soon
Mumbai: The much-delayed $100 million MRO (maintenance, overhaul and repair) facility being jointly set up by Air India and US aircraft major Boeing at the Mihan SEZ in Nagpur is likely to be functional by the end of this year, sources said. “In all
likelihood, the first flight from the MRO should take off by December,” sources at Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) said from Nagpur. The civil work on the project is over and now the installation of electronic equipment is to
take place, sources said. — PTI
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MTHL adopts b-o-t route
Mumbai: After three failed attempts to award the `9,360 crore Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link project under build-operate-transfer (BOT) route, the Maharashtra government proposes to explore engineering procurement construction (EPC) model. As per the model, the responsibility for investigations, design and construction will be assigned to the contractor for a lump sum price determined by competitive bidding. The objective is to ensure implementation of the project to specified standards with a fair degree of certainty relating to costs and time while transferring the construction risks to a private sector contractor.