Gandhinagar, August 06: Close on the heels of Korea Land Corporation’s (KLC) decision to set up an industrial park/technology zone in Valsad district, South Korea-based Kumho Group of Industries has shown keen interest to launch a hi-tech public bus service project on public-private-partnership (PPP) model in Gujarat.
Principal Secretary (Transport) H K Dash met Vice-Minister for Land, Transport and Marine Affairs of Republic of Korea, Do Youp Kwon, at a dinner meeting in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, where the two discussed the project proposal in detail.
A South Korean delegation led by Kwon was here on Tuesday to ink a tripartite memorandum of agreement (MoA) between the KLC, Gujarat government and Gujarat Vittal Innovation City (GVIC) Limited to set up an industrial park/technology zone in a multi-product special economic zone (SEZ) jointly promoted by the GIDC and GVIC Ltd in Valsad district.
Confirming the development, Dash told Newsline on Wednesday that he did discuss the bus services project proposal with the South Korean transport minister on the sidelines of the dinner meeting. “Kumho Group of Industries, a major South Korean firm, has shown keen interest in helping us introduce road transport services in Gujarat,” he said.
Dash said his department has already sent a letter to the Kumho Group through the Indian Embassy in Seoul, inviting the company to participate in the proposed public transport system project that could be implemented in the state on the PPP model.
The Kumho Group is interested in participating in the project on the lines of the Grey Hound bus project being successfully implemented in the US.
If the South Korean company decides to participate in the project, it may bring in specially-designed and user-friendly buses here, adding to the present fleet of about 8,000 being managed by the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC).
The presence of Kumho in Gujarat will not only help meet the current shortage (about 3,000) of state transport buses, but also strengthen the public transport network across the state, especially in the rural areas.
The state Transport Department will again send an invitation to the Kumho Group to visit Gujarat and study its model of public transport system. “The South Korean firm is likely to carry out a comprehensive survey before it decides to participate in a hi-tech user-friendly public transport project,” a senior official said.
Meanwhile, the government has given its nod to the GSRTC to purchase nearly 1,500 new CNG buses this year to augment its present fleet. For this, the government has sanctioned Rs 176.50 crore, sources in the GSRTC said. Last year, the GSRTC had purchased as many as 460 CNG and 542 diesel buses at a cost of Rs 153 crore.
–Agencies