Gayatri Projects SPVs achieve financial closure

December 4, 2007

Gayatri Projects Ltd has announced that the Company has achieved the financial closure for the Company’s following Hyderabad Outer Ring Road Projects (SPV’s) at an interest rate of 11% p.a., ahead of the stipulated time given by the Employer namely Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA).

Financial Closure of Hyderabad Expressways Pvt Ltd (HEPL) – Total cost of the Project Rs 430.96 crores: M/s. Hyderabad Expressways Pvt Ltd promoted in Consortium, by the Company as lead technical member, with 50% share holding, bid and won road project (AP-IV) for design, construction, development, finance, operate and maintain eight lane access controlled expressway under Phase II programme of outer ring road (ORR) of Hyderabad Urban Development Authority. The concession Agreement was signed on August 17, 2007. The total debt syndicated for this Project is Rs 290.90 crores.

IL&FS (IL&FS Financial Services Ltd) has syndicated entire debt and United Bank of India is the Leader of the Consortium of Lenders for the SPV.

Details of the package awarded are as follows: AP IV – from Bongulur to Tukkuguda from km. 108 to km. 121 on BOT – Annuity basis. Estimated Project Cost incl. IDC is around Rs 430.96 cr. and the project has a positive Grant of Rs 71.86 crores. HUDA will pay a semi-annual annuity of Rs 30.49 crore to HEPL during the Annuity period. The concession period door-to-door is 15 years, with. a construction period of 2 years 6 months and Annuity period of 12 years 6 Months.

Financial Closure of Cyberabad Expressways Pvt Ltd (CEPL) – Total cost of the Project Rs 501.75 crores: M/s. Cyberabad Expressways Pvt Ltd promoted in Consortium by the Company as lead technical member with 50% share holding, bid and won road project (APII) for design, construction, development, finance, operate and maintain eight lane access controlled expressway under Phase II programme of outer ring road (ORR) of Hyderabad Urban Development Authority.

IL&FS (IL&FS Financial Services Ltd) has syndicated entire debt and United Bank of India is the Leader of the Consortium of Lenders for the SPV.

Details of the package awarded are as follows: AP II – from Kollur to Patancheru from km. 12 to km. 23.70 on BOT – Annuity basis. Estimated Project Cost incl. IDC is Rs 501.75 crores and the project has a positive Grant of Rs 81 crores. Annuity – Rs 79 cr. p.a. HUDA will pay a semi-annual annuity of Rs 39.50 crore to CEPL during the Annuity period. The concession period door-to-door is 15 years, with a construction period of 2 years 6 months and Annuity period of 12 years 6 Months. The concession Agreement was signed on August 17, 2007. The total debt syndicated for this Project is Rs 376.31 crores

The Company is a pioneer in construction of National Highways, Dams, Canals, Aquaducts, Flyovers, Coal handling plants, Bridges, Railway Projects, Airport Runways, BOT Toll and Annuity Road Projects as develop and Industrial Constructions.

Source: equitybulls.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under BOT, Construction, Expressway, Gayatri, Highway, Hyderabad, Infrastructure, Investment and Finance, Larsen & Toubro Ltd. (L&T), NHAI, Projects

Gammon inks pact with Mumbai Port for Rs 1,200-cr terminal project

December 4, 2007

CHENNAI: Gammon India Ltd has informed the BSE that Indira Container Terminal Pvt Ltd, the special purpose vehicle incorporated by the consortium of Gammon and Dragados S.P.L., on December 3 signed the licence agreement with the Mumbai Port Trust for dev eloping the Mumbai Offshore Container Terminal Project.

The project’s estimated cost is Rs 800 crore in the initial phase of three years, and Rs 400 crore subsequently, thus aggregating Rs 1,200 crore.

It is on BOT basis for 30 years, including three years of construction and equipping period, from the date of signing the licence agreement. – Our Bureau

Source: thehindubusinessline.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under BOT, Maharashtra, Projects, Sensex

Toll policy change may rationalize annual hikes

December 4, 2007

Under the proposed policy, only 40% of the WPI will be taken into account while revising the rates

New Delhi: Even as tolled roads are becoming a norm in the country with the government handing over more highway projects to the private sector, a new tolling policy is seeking to limit the annual increase in toll rates.

As of now, toll rates are revised every year and concessionaires are compensated in full as per the increase in the wholesale price index (WPI). But under the new policy, which is yet to be placed before the cabinet for approval, only 40% of WPI will be taken into account while revising the toll rate. This is apart from a fixed component of a 3% increase every year.

As many as 54 highway construction packages of around 320 projects awarded under the National Highway Development Programme were “build operate and toll” projects. According to Planning Commission member Anwar-ul-Hoda, the idea behind changing the structure of toll revision was to ensure that the concessionaires are paid only their due share while fixing annual hikes on toll.

“The input costs of the concessionaire mostly occur many years before they begin to collect toll. So why should the toll revision be based on the wholesale price index of the current year?” asks ul-Hoda.

An official with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) also said that many components of WPI did not directly affect the highway construction industry.

The CEO of the roads division of the GMR Group, Rajan Krishnan, said his company was neutral to the proposal as WPI was difficult to predict. “Even the best economists cannot clearly track the movement of WPI. This is just a matter of mathematical modelling,” said Krishnan.

According to Krishnan, however, concessionaires stood to gain from the new policy so long as WPI was less than 5%. But when WPI moves beyond 5%, the toll rate to be charged under the new proposal would be lower than what is currently collected, he added.

Nirmaljit Singh, member, technical, NHAI, said the proposal was with the ministry of road transport and highways, from where it would be sent to the cabinet for clearance.

“I just think you are increasingly reaching a situation where the risk-reward equation is being changed against the government,” said an analyst with a consulting firm, who did not wish to be identified. “The government is taking more and more of the risk. You don’t need to guarantee a 3% increase every year when concessionaires had already accepted the earlier policy (where fee revisions were tied only to WPI),” the analyst said.

According to accepted wisdom, the government passes on fewer risks—such as those associated with traffic—to the concessionaire when evolving a public-private partnership policy and as the market evolves, passes on more of the risks. However, this administration is doing the opposite, the analyst said.

The analyst cited the example of the recent move away from “negative grants”, a term for upfront money paid to the government for the privilege of winning a concession, over and above the cost of the project. Mint had earlier reported plans to do away with negative grants in favour of a revenue-share model, where NHAI would derive a percentage of revenues from toll roads. “By going for revenue sharing, the government is taking more risks,” the analyst said.

Source: livemint.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under BOT, Construction, Expressway, Highway, Infrastructure, Investment and Finance, NHAI, NHDP, Sensex, Toll Management System, Tolling

Work on ECR project resumes

December 2, 2007

It was suspended due to heavy rain

Project expected to be completed by March 2009 Estimated cost: Rs.2,160 crore

PUDUKOTTAI: Work on the World Bank-funded East Coast Road (ECR) project, which remained suspended for about a month following sharp showers in the coastal parts of the district, resumed recently.

Being a coastal belt with estuaries, rivulets and the Vellar, the major river of the district, the work involves construction of culverts and minor bridges at several places in the 36-km-long stretch. Work on construction of a minor bridge or culvert has been undertaken every couple of km between Kattumavadi and Kottaipattinam, about 70 km from here.

Authorities of the Tamil Nadu Road Sector Project (TNSRP), which is executing the Rs.2,160-crore project of laying the 742-km road from Arcot to Tuticorin, suspended the work as a vast stretch of newly laid and levelled earth on the ECR stretch turned slushy at places such as Kottaipattinam, Kattumavadi and Manamelkudi. The overflowing water from the culverts brought all work to a grinding halt.

The project, which started in February 2004, is expected to be completed by March 2009. Of the total outlay of Rs.2,160 crore, a sum of Rs.1,148 crore will be utilised to upgrade the ECR, TNSRP sources told The Hindu. The upgrading work includes strengthening of the earth and ensuring technical stability of the area to suit the huge volume of heavy vehicles. With the receding of rain water, work resumed last week, the sources said.

The project is being executed through meticulous planning, covering a stretch of 387 km between Arcot and Tiruvarur and 355 km between Nagapattinam and Tuticorin.

Source: hindu.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under BOT, Infrastructure, Investment and Finance, Projects

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