India GRI Report 2012

November 26, 2012

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

Nagpur Municipal Corporation to set up scanning machines at octroi posts

November 26, 2012

NAGPUR: Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has finalized project to install vehicle scanning machines at octroi posts to check evasion. The project worth over Rs 100 crore is probably the biggest in this fiscal. It would be implemented on BOT basis and machines would be installed at five major octroi posts to scan all vehicles coming into the city.

It will come up for approval of the standing committee in its meeting set for November 26. Chairman of committee Dayashankar Tiwari has convened back to back meetings on November 23 and November 26. NMC has been planning to install scanning machines at octroi posts to increase revenue for couple of years. The scanning machines will be installed at octroi posts on Wardha road, Bhandara road, Hingna road, Amravati road and railway station.

Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under BOT

Govt revokes Ashoka Buildcon`s toll rights for Ahmednagar- Karmala road project

November 26, 2012

Ashoka Buildcon, engaged in building and operating road and bridge projects in India, announced on Tuesday the PWD, Government of Maharashtra has withdrawn the toll collection rights for Ahmednagar- Karmala Road State High Way No. 141 project under BOT Scheme with toll rights, prematurely, which was about to expire on Nov. 4, 2015.

The notification states that the lending interest rates have been changed by the Reserve Bank of India and consequently as per contract provisions, the concession period in view of new lending rates reworked, has ended before Nov. 14, 2012 and therefore considered it expedient to cease the effect and operation of the notification dated May 15, 2002 authorizing toll collection upto Nov. 4, 2015.

“The company is proposing to take remedial action as permissible under law,“ Ashoka (Q,N,C,F)* Buildcon said.

Shares of the company declined Rs 5.95, or 2.89%, to trade at Rs 200.05. The total volume of shares traded was 302 at the BSE (3.41 p.m., Tuesday).

Source: http://www.myiris.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under BOT, Default, Highway

New Highway Projects boost Indian construction industry.

November 26, 2012

National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) awarded about 4,375 km of roads in first 9 months of 2012, which can be compared against 4,553 km during 2011, 3,338 km during 2010, and 643 km in 2009. Q3 of 2012 saw ~1,898 km of projects awarded. Projects for road construction sector were awarded under public-private partnership programs, and Indian construction industry is surging via flow of funds and EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) contracts in 2012.

source: http://news.thomasnet.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under NHAI, PPP

Puzzolana bets on annuity road projects

November 26, 2012

Construction equipment major Puzzolana is expecting the government’s proposal to allot highway projects to contractors on an annuity basis instead of build, operate, transfer (BOT) basis to turn around the road sector.

Puzzolana, which has about 45% share in the Rs1,200 crore construction equipment market, depends on the highways builders for bulk of its equipment sales.

“Till 2008, we were recording about 100% growth. However, for the last 2-3 years, the growth has been 10-15%. The activity in the road sector particularly the highways has been sluggish due to a variety of problems related to the project execution. The construction companies have also been facing problems in financial closures,” Abhijeet Pai, managing director of Puzzolana group, said.

According to him, there are indications that the government would now look at allotting 70-75% of the proposed 15,000 km roads on annuity and operation & maintenance basis. “The share of BOT projects would significantly come down, thereby decongesting the sector. Currently, there are more BOT projects than the annuity. Once this shift takes place,all contracts would be on EPC basis and the sector would get relief from financial troubles,” he said.

To address the changing market conditions, Puzzolana will unveil a new sander equipment at the Bauma Conexpo Show – BC India 2013 at Mumbai in February.

Source: http://www.dnaindia.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under BOT, EPC, Highway

Ministry plans sops for road developers

November 5, 2012

NEW DELHI: The highways ministry will soon seek Cabinet nod to allow private road builders to “exit” from projects soon after construction is over. The move comes after the proposal mooted by NHAI remained unresolved even after several rounds of discussion in an inter-ministerial group on highways.

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has formulated the plan to speed up the exit of contractors, who take up projects under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) route, claiming that this would unleash substantial capital kept in finished projects as companies’ equity. It has also claimed that this flow of capital would help cash-strapped developers take up new highway stretches.

source:http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under BOT, NHAI

Easy exit for road developers ahead

November 5, 2012

To tide over the lull in the highway sector — development of which has slowed down considerably this fiscal — the road ministry is considering a proposal to allow developers to exit immediately after its completion. This is expected to help developers free up equity locked up in completed projects.

Presently, developers who have taken up highway projects on built-operate-transfer (BOT) mode after 2009, are allowed to exit a project two years after its completion. For projects awarded before 2009, developers do not have an exit option.

“We are moving a cabinet note in this regard,” said road secretary AK Upadhyay.

Once a developer exits the project, the ministry proposes to transfer equity and ownership of the project to new players.

As against 7,957 km of projects awarded in 2011-12, till September this year, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has managed to award a little over a 600-km- stretch of highway projects. Developers are citing non-availability of equity to invest in fresh projects.

“Many of them have committed their available equity for ongoing projects and are finding it difficult to raise fresh resources,” said a NHAI official.

In August, RP Singh, the NHAI chairman, had also written to the road secretary to liberalise the policy for equity dilution in completed projects.

Apart from helping reduce the loan liability of developers and allowing them to invest in new projects, the proposal, if approved, will also open up the sector to many foreign as well as domestic investors interested in taking up the operation and maintenance of completed highway projects, according to M Murali, director general, National Highway Builders Federation.

source: http://www.hindustantimes.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Highway, NHAI

Highways ministry: EPC mode best for road projects

November 5, 2012

The highways ministry has said that the government must execute its ambitious project of constructing 9,500 kilometres of roads beginning this fiscal, through the public-private partnership route in the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode as all other mechanisms of constructions have turned out to be costlier and time consuming exercises.

In a note to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), the ministry has suggested that in view of the government’s objective of constructing 20 kilometres of roads per day as per the National Highways Development Programme, the Union Budget 2012-13 has had set a target of constructing 8,800 kilometres of roads this year, which was subsequently revised to 9,500 kilometres for the national highways.

It has sought the CCEA’s approval for constructing 4,000 kilometres this fiscal followed by 3,000 kilometres next fiscal and another 1,500 kilometres in 2014-15 through the EPC mode.

The ministry has justified this move by saying that the annuity mode in build, operate and transfer (BOT) projects is a high cost proposition in a high interest rate regime.

Under the “Waterfall Mechanism” recommended by the BK Chaturvedi Committee, highways with traffic density of 5,000 passenger car unit (PCU) can be taken up under the EPC mechanism.

But for roads with a higher PCU density it has said that BOT (Annuity) will have to be tested before executing them through EPC, which leads to unnecessary delays in the award of projects.

Since the majority of road stretches that were attractive to bidders are already under implementation, the remaining ones would necessarily be less attractive for bidders for taking them under the BOT (Toll) mode. The ministry cited the Planning Commission for having opposed the BOT-Annuity mode.

The ministry has asked the CCEA to empower it for awarding projects in the EPC route without having to go for implementation under the annuity mode.

It has also asked for the present ceiling of 4,000 kilometres of four-laning under National Highways Development Programme-Phase IV to be raised to 8,000 kilometres.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under EPC, Highway