A worker at the Bhangagarh flyover. All such projects are to be included in the comprehensive mobility plan. Picture by Eastern Projections

March 24: A US-based consulting and engineering firm has been appointed to prepare the comprehensive mobility plan (CMP) to streamline the capital’s transport system.

Last week at a meeting of the evaluation committee constituted by the state government, Wilbur Smith Associates, a full service firm engaged in planning and designing of public infrastructure and transportation facilities, was selected to prepare the plan.

The two other major contenders for the project were BCEOM, a French consultancy group, and the Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation (IDFC).

After the Centre made the comprehensive mobility plan a pre-requisite to avail funds for urban transportation projects, the state government initiated the move to prepare the plan by constituting the evaluation committee.

The committee comprises chief executive officer of Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) P. Saikia, GMDA town planner Dalim Gogoi and adviser to the state government on public-private partnership (PPP) projects, M. Gogoi.

An official source said Wilbur Smith Associates was selected among the three firms after a quality-cum-cost-based evaluation of the bids quoted by them. The committee assessed both the financial and technical bids.

“The firm has completed projects in all US states and nearly 117 countries on six continents. It has undertaken similar transportation projects in other cities, including Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore in India. It is a very competent firm,” he said. The government will issue a letter of intent to Wilbur Smith Associates and sign a contract with it soon.

“The firm will be asked to prepare the plan within three months of signing of the contract with the government,” he added.

The government has given priority to prepare the comprehensive mobility plan because besides the Union government, funding agencies, including the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank have asked the government to prepare the plan to secure funds from them for transportation sector projects.

New Delhi has made it clear that state requests for support for projects such as flyovers, road-widening and mass rapid transit system, shall not be entertained unless they are part of the comprehensive mobility plan, complying with the national urban transport policy.

A state will not be allowed to avail central funds under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Renewal Mission for projects related to urban transportation without having the comprehensive mobility plan. He said the focus of the plan would be to find city-specific transport solutions with special emphasis on mass public transport.

Priority would be given to pedestrians, non-motorised and public transport as rising travel demands have resulted in a disproportionate increase in use of private vehicles. He said there was a need for mass rapid transit system (MRTS) as lack of efficient, comfortable and reliable public transport had resulted in rapid growth of personal vehicles.