Author: Amy Yee
Publication: Forbes Magazine
Date: May 11, 2009
The managing director is 77 years old, spiritual
and is laying tracks like there's no tomorrow.
On a recent Saturday morning Elattuvalapil Sreedharan arrived at a dusty construction
site on the outskirts of Delhi to check on the progress of India's first high-speed
airport train. In spite of round-the-clock work, progress on boring a huge
tunnel into the earth was not up to mark.
"This we discussed. I gave them guidelines,"
says the soft-spoken 77-year-old engineer who is managing director of Delhi
Metro, the capital's gleaming subway system. After finding out that a contractor
was stymied by a cash flow problem, Sreedharan freed up Delhi Metro funds
to pay for materials so work could continue.
This is the kind of no-nonsense, bureaucracy-busting
efficiency that is Sreedharan's hallmark. It helped him to accomplish what
had seemed impossible in India: finish building the initial $2.3 billion subway
system in 2005 under budget and almost three years ahead of schedule.
Each Saturday Sreedharan dons a white hard
hat and personally inspects part of Delhi Metro's citywide expansion that
will extend its existing 40-mile reach.
Building this 80-mile extension would normally
take 15 to 20 years, but Delhi Metro must complete the expansion by September
2010--in three and a half years--just in time to welcome thousands of visitors
who will descend on Delhi for the Commonwealth Games the following month.
"Overambitious Indian infrastructure
project" may be a redundant term, but this is Delhi Metro, the country's
gem that proves an exception to the rule. Much the same could be said of Sreedharan
himself.
This slight, bespectacled Metro Man says the
expansion, which includes a high-speed airport train to the city center, is
all under control. "We are quite geared up for completion," he calmly
reports.
If anyone can pull off this daunting $4.25
billion project it is a man whose humble serenity is not incidental; he wakes
well before dawn every day to meditate and read the Bhagavad Gita, does yoga
each morning and walks for at least 45 minutes in the evening.
In India hardly anyone escapes scathing criticism,
especially bombastic politicians and corrupt bureaucrats. But Sreedharan is
unusual. He has kept to the public sector, spurning various private entreaties.
A plaque in his office quotes from the Indian scripture Yog Vashisht: "Work
I do; not that 'I' do it."
More than 800,000 people use Delhi Metro each
day, and it remains clean and punctual, with 99.9% of all trains running on
time since it began operating. The sleek underground system, which looks like
it was transplanted from Japan, is in jarring contrast to the normal chaos
of India.
In October a new line of "Phase Two"
is slated to open in the eastern part of Delhi. After that more lines are
on track to start operation every few months. Phase Two will culminate in
completion of subway lines that will extend to the southern part of Delhi
by September 2010.
Sreedharan and 3,500 employees are constantly
reminded of their tough deadlines. His desk faces a digital clock that counts
down the days before the next line must be completed. Similar clocks are found
throughout Delhi Metro's offices and construction sites.
About 80% of the tunneling work and station
construction is finished. "You don't see that because it is underground,"
explains Sreedharan. "We're now fitting up the stations, lighting and
ventilation."
Delhi Metro is no mere showpiece. Urban planners
advise that cities with populations of more than 2 million should have mass
transit systems. Delhi Metro is essential for curbing congestion and pollution
in the capital, which boasts a population of 16 million.
When the expansion is done, 2 million passengers
are expected to use the metro daily. It is one of the few subway systems in
the world that is operationally profitable without government subsidies, thanks
to revenue from advertising, property leases and parking fees, in addition
to ticket sales. It racked up revenue of $100 million last fiscal year and
profit before taxes of $3.98 million. Also, other Indian cities pay consulting
fees to learn how to gain from Delhi Metro's experience.
Of course, the system only nets out that way
because of low-interest loans from a Japanese development bank, with the remaining
favorable financing from the state and national governments. The state supplies
electricity for running the Delhi subway.
Still, someone needed to get it up and running.
Sreedharan's star quality began to show early in his career. He trained as
a civil engineer in Kakinda, Andhra Pradesh. At Indian Railways he made his
mark by restoring a storm-ravaged bridge in 46 days when it might have taken
six months. He went on to help design India's first metro in Kolkata in 1970
and then served as head of Cochin Shipyard in Kerala.
He officially retired in 1990 but was lured
back to work to build the Konkan Railway, which runs through mountainous terrain
to connect strategic ports in Mumbai and Mangalore. By 1997 Delhi Metro's
fathers were calling and full-time contemplation would have to wait.
Sreedharan accomplishes the "simple arithmetic"
of timely completion by divvying up work among half a dozen project managers
who are tasked with their own deadlines. Sreedharan reviews daily progress
reports and meets weekly with top staff and consultants. "Each [project
chief] will finish his work on time," he insists.
Land acquisition, often a rub in India, was
sped under a national act for public projects and in this case even green
lobbies gave their blessing for construction. Unlike the system in Kolkata,
which falls under the railways ministry, Delhi's is able to settle tenders
and set fares on its own. (The airport link, a public/private arrangement
with Reliance Infrastructure and CAF of Spain, caters to monied travelers
and so will charge as much as $3--150 rupees--per trip. It's a small amount
compared with rates in developed countries but far more than 40 cents for
the longest ride on Delhi Metro.)
There are, of course, challenges. Pockets
of land still need to be acquired. Contracts with a host of foreign vendors
such as Bombardier, Alstom, Thales ( THLEF.PK - news - people ), Mitsubishi
and Parson Brinkerhoff must be managed. About 3,500 more employees must be
recruited and trained in the next year.
When the last track and signal are installed
Sreedharan plans to go back home to Kerala to devote more time to the Bhagavad
Gita and another religious text, the Gita Makaranda. (The latter is given
to each Delhi Metro employee upon hire.)
Meantime, Sreedharan has not only the rail
project but also an advisory board slot at a new Foundation for the Restoration
of National Values. Business tycoon Ratan Tata and a former chief justice
of India are serving, too. The foundation aims to "bring in good values
in all areas of national life, to cleanse corruption in high places,"
says Sreedharan.
It's a tacit acknowledgement that corruption
is the biggest obstacle to progress and efficiency in India. "Bureaucrats
don't have the courage to stand up to politicians," he laments. But a
success like the transit system he's building can turn heads.
"It is gradually changing. Many departments
have started their own practices," says Sreedharan. So much so that "I'm
confident that within five years we can make a lot of improvement."
A lofty goal for India--with a timetable beyond
the one for finishing Delhi Metro.
Elattuvalapil Sreedharan is a public-sector
man but one with a preference for more private-sector participation in civic
works. His advice:
--Government should exempt essential projects
from taxes and duties, which would lower project costs by 15% to 18%.
--Clearances, whether for land acquisition
or site preparation, should be granted quickly, ideally through a single body.
--Infrastructure projects should be viewed
as beneficial in themselves rather than as sources of revenue.
