LRT extension in Kuala Lumpur

Analysts are generally more bullish on the construction sector since last week’s announcement that state transport firm Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd has been given the nod to extend the Kelana Jaya and Ampang light rail transit (LRT) lines, estimated to cost RM7bil.

A local analyst said the project would have significant and positive impact on the sector, create spin-offs to boost employment, besides helping to ease traffic congestion.

“The extension of the Kelana Jaya and Ampang LRT lines will also help increase the value of properties along the lines,” he told StarBiz.

He said it was not uncommon for properties within walking distance to the LRT stations to appreciate, but it also depended on the location.

“These properties located near LRT stations are definitely more easy to rent as people can opt for an alternative mode of transportation, to driving.”

He also said the extensions, slated to be completed in three years, would serve the transport needs of those living or working further from the Kuala Lumpur city centre, thereby easing congestion and improving transport efficiency.

At this moment, it is unclear whether Prasarana, a wholly-owned unit of Ministry of Finance Inc, will award the entire project to one company or a consortium of companies.

“Many leading construction companies are definitely eyeing a major slice of the cake,” the analyst said.

An analyst with OSK Research also concurred that the extension lines would help lift property prices, especially for properties near the stations.

He said prequalification tenders for the construction of the extension lines were expected to be called next month and contracts awarded only from early 2010.

“This, we reckon, is very timely as the estimated completion of the extension lines by early next decade will likely coincide with the expected boom in the mass to mid housing market, thus giving many of the townships along these upcoming LRT lines the leverage to ride on the next major upcycle,” he said.

The Kelana Jaya line would extend from the Kelana Jaya station to Subang Jaya and USJ, before ending in Putra Heights.

A total of 13 stations will be located along the 17km Kelana Jaya extension. There will also be an interchange at the existing KTM line located behind Carrefour in Subang Jaya.

The analyst said the extension would serve the densely populated and mature townships such as Subang Jaya and USJ.

“There is a sizeable student population within the enclave and its vicinity as it houses a number of colleges and universities, such as Taylor’s College, INTI College and Metropolitan College,” he said.

The analyst said the Ampang extension line would start from the existing Sri Petaling station, pass through Bandar Kinrara, Bandar Puchong Jaya and Bandar Puteri Puchong before ending in Putra Heights.

The 17.7km Ampang extension will also have 13 stations. Both the Kelana and Ampang extension lines will connect at an interchange in Putra Heights.

The OSK analyst said in contrast to the Kelana Jaya extension line, the Ampang line would pass through many new but fast growing townships in the south-east of the Klang Valley.

Foreign research house Credit Suisse said in its Sept 14 note that the rollout of this RM7bil project was the next major catalyst for upward re-rating of the construction sector in the country.

Source: The Star

India Passports to Go Digital Next Year

I was wondering when will I get this news from Indian administration & finally it is here. Just for the records: Over 70 countries have already issued e-passports..

Source: Businessweek

The Indian government next year will launch its e-passport initiative, as well as the Passport Seva Project, with pilots expected to commence this year.

Implemented by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme, the Passport Seva Project entails digitization of the entire passport services. It seeks to deliver all passport-related services to citizens in a timely, transparent, more accessible and reliable manner, through streamlined processes and trained workforce.

This US$207.3 million (10 billion rupees) project is part of the government's National e-Governance Plan (NeGP).

"The unique feature of Passport Seva is that citizens will be able to get a passport in three working days," Neel Ratan, executive director at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), told ZDNet Asia in a phone interview. Currently, it takes nearly a fortnight or longer, for local citizens to get a new passport. For travel documents that are needed urgently, arrangements are made under the "tatkal" scheme for passports to be issued within a week. The Passport Seva project aims to cut this down to a day.

Under the initiative, passport offices across the country will also be spruced up. "The offices will wear a more contemporary look," Ratan said. PwC assisted the government in designing and conceptualizing the project.

Indians will also get new e-passports designed to facilitate international travel by allowing automatic identity verification and faster immigration inspections, as well as provide efficient border protection and security.

"An e-passport incorporates a security microcontroller, embedded in the back cover of the passport, which securely stores information printed on the document," Mahendran Kathiresan, Infineon Technologies' business development manager of chip card and security, said in an e-mail interview. Infineon is the supplier of contactless security microcontrollers (MCU) for the e-passport initiative.

Kathiresan explained that e-passports support a combination of electronic and optical security features including watermark, optically variable device and hologram.

If an e-passport is misused, the immigration checkpoint will be able to detect a mismatch between the printed and digital information, and authorities can take necessary action against the offender.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) sets the standards for e-passports that have been implemented in over 70 countries. Data in the Indian e-passport can be read in other countries as it adheres to the ICAO global standards for biometrics and secure storage of personal data in travel documents.

SEVA PILOTS NEXT MONTH

The Passport Seva Project was unveiled in October 2008, after the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) signed the agreement with TCS, which included plans for the first pilot trial to commence in June 2009 from centers located in Chandigarh and Bangalore. The rest of India, to be serviced by 77 stations, will be issued e-passports in 2010.

However, the project has since missed its June 2009 deadline.

TCS declined to speak to ZDNet Asia, but A. Manickam, joint secretary and chief passport officer for the Union Ministry of External Affairs, said the government will make a major announcement regarding the project next month. "I would not like to make any comment prior to that," Manickam said in a phone interview.

In a local newspaper report, Tanmoy Chakrabarty, vice president at TCS, said it was hoping to proceed with trials at the Chandigarh and Bangalore centers in October. This timeline was reiterated in a government Web site, which stated that TCS was looking to implement the project at six pilot locations next month and 77 centers by June 2010.

Explaining the missed deadline, Chakrabarty said in the newspaper report: "The Ministry of External Affairs did not make us available to the disaster recovery site for this project, which led to the delay."

E-PASSPORTS ENHANCE SECURITY

Meanwhile, the government launched its e-passport scheme on Jun. 25 this year, where President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Vice President Hamid Ansari were the first ones to receive their biometric passports.

E-passports have been issued to diplomats since July this year, but are expected to be extended to all citizens from September next year. Around 800,000 e-passports are estimated to be issued by 2010.

While Infineon has secured the initial e-passport trial, its competitor NXP Semiconductors is hopeful it has a role to play when the scheme is extended to the general public next year. Claus Hansen, NXP's Asia-Pacific senior director of sales and marketing, said at the Identification Summit 2009 held in Delhi last month that the company in January delivered some 170 million e-passport chips.

Finally - Post offices willl get the recognition what they deserve to have!!

It is pretty common in countries in Singapore and Malaysia where i have been staying for the past 8+ years., to have post offices doing multiple functions which include bill payments, banking related stuff etc. The recent times have seen these type of organisation setting a standard for the competition like DHL's & other leading courier companies to work for their business. In Singapore it is POSB (Post office savings Bank) which was taken over by DBS few years back. Similarly in Malaysia, POS Malaysia postal department of Malaysia has also grown to become a self reliable system & competes with the private sector. It is delightful to read about Indian postal department being revamped & prepared to handle larger portfolio & compete with the main liners & hopefully surpass the expectations of critics to that of the Indian Railways. All the best.... to all involved.. Here are more details on the subject.. 


Source: CIOL 


NEW DELHI, INDIA: Union Minister for IT and Communication, A Raja, today said post offices in the country will soon begin core banking system.

"We will shortly begin core banking of post offices saving banks," said the minister after rededicating the Parliament Street head post office to the public under 'Project Arrow'.

"Our aim is to change and transform post offices all over the country to be better places for people to go to and where work can be done efficiently," said Raja.

The minster assured that around 4000 post offices in the country would be brought under core banking solutions within next three years.

'Project Arrow' envisages upgradation of 500 post offices both in urban and rural areas from 11 circles in terms of physical 'look and feel', conducive and friendly work environment both for staff and the customers visiting the post offices.

This will include providing IT enabled services through secure connectivity, improving the service quality levels in the core business area like mails, remittances and postal savings. These 500 post offices would be equipped with modern computer hardware and software required for running daily operations.

Modernization work of 50 post offices was to be completed before August 15, 2008, but it could be done only this year. The Department of Posts claims that in Delhi, 36 post offices have undergone complete overhaul in their look and feel as in their core functions and operation. These post offices have been provided with computer hardware and single window service system has been attempted with a view to reduce waiting time for customers.

Another 30 post offices are not going to have complete change in their look and feel but their functioning is said to have improved to meet the service norms devised by the department.

To improve customer interaction, the post offices employees, particularly the front line staff, have been sensitized and imparted training in soft skills and IT, said the department officials.

Raja admitted that the process of modernizing post offices will take time but it is now in the direction in which post offices will be moving for development.

"Since there are large number of post offices in the country, including Delhi, we cannot change everything at onces. Plan funds are required and as per availability of funds we could change things in a phased manner. But the gradual change has already begun," said Raja.

He said he had recently approved the proposal for setting up of new automatic mail processing centres at Delhi and Kolkata at the cost of Rs 65 crore. New machines will be installed in 10 major cities.

The minister has also approved appointment of an IT consultant for India Post for the planning and execution of integrated IT solutions, which will aim to create seamless integration of the postal network.

"More than 12,000 post offices in the country have been already computerized. Under the 100 days agenda of the Prime Minister, I have made commitment of behalf of the department for networking of 1,25,000 branch post offices in the rural areas for proving financial as well as state social security schemes," said Raja.