Girnar ropeway design to be made in Austria

After finally getting the Centre's nod, the Girnar ropeway project is going global. With the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) giving a green signal to the original plan, the ropeway project will now be designed in the European country Austria.

While Usha Breco Limited (UBL) will be handling the construction of Girnar ropeway, its technical partner company Doppelmayr will be designing the project. Marred by a series of controversies, the project had been stalled for the past 16 years due to environment concerns. Now after all kind of clearances from the government, construction work on the project will take off in next six months.

"Design of the Girnar ropeway will be made in Austria and it will be one of India's state-of-the-art work of design. We will send our engineer to Austria and discuss the location and undertake the paperwork of ropeway design," said Deepak Kaplish, project incharge, Usha Breco Limited. About 38 cabins will ply on the rope which can carry 1000 people per hour.

The Girnar ropeway project will cost about Rs 100 crore and will be completed in two and half years after the work on the ropeway building begins. This means that Saurashtra and Gujarat will have to wait at least three more years before the project commissions.