Ropeway manufacturers seek level playing field with European counterparts

Domestic ropeway equipment manufacturers have sought a level playing field with their European counterparts after NITI Aayog came out with guidelines which suggested that ropeways should only be of European standards.

Domestic players want that the companies be given the freedom to decide which technology they want to use.

“Niti Aayog has come out with a Model Concession Agreement on ropeway, which states that ropeways should only be of European standards,” Apurv Jhawar, President, Ropeway Association of India said.

The association is of the opinion that the choice of technology should be left to the developer. The challenges that the manufacturers in the sector face are in terms of volumes. In a densely populated country like India, ropeways as end-to-end solutions to transportation would not solve the desired purpose as they would not be able to carry large volumes.

Currently, in India, ropeways are mainly utilized for religious tourism purposes and that too on hilly terrain, Jhawar said, adding that the existing Ropeway Act does not make any distinction between an international player and a domestic player.

Manufacturers have said that if the government insists on sourcing equipment from abroad, the final cost would become unviable.

In March, the central government think tank came up with a draft MCA for a public-private partnership for implementing ropeway projects in India, a move to facilitate the development of inaccessible terrain as tourist spots in many parts.

The draft note said that in order to ensure safety and quality of services, NITI Aayog recommended the globally accepted European CEN standard or the ones set by the European Committee for Standardization. Most markets across the globe including the US, China etc have adopted CEN standard as a benchmark for reliable and high-quality ropeways, it said.

“Ropeways in India have been running for a long time and there have been no safety issues instead of VGF (viability gap funding) for ropeway projects executed by the European companies, we think that the government can invest that for R&D on ropeways,” he added.