Express highway project delayed due to departmental blockades
December 17, 2007
Lucknow, December 16 Even though the state government has started a number of road projects in the last six months, Amar Shaheed Path Express Highway, proposed and inaugurated by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpaee, still has a long way to go. Even after six years since its construction was started, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) could only finish 75 per cent of the work. The project was inaugurated on September 22, 2001 with a stipulated deadline of 36 months. However, due to various constraints, the road project work progressed at a snail’s pace.
A senior NHAI official said they had to face various hurdles like land acquisition and clearances from various government organisations, etc.
“It took us long to get clearances for constructing railway overbridges from the railway authorities. At some places, the land acquisition delayed the work. The authorities were not supportive,” he said.
Talking to The Indian Express, Deputy General Manager (technical), NHAI, J S Parmar said all bottlenecks have been removed and remaining work is expected to be over by June 2008.
“There were certain problems but they have been resolved. Of the total three overbridges falling in way of the highway, one is completed and work on other two will start soon. Left out road stretches would also be completed,” he said.
He added land acquisition or getting clearances were not the only reasons for the delay. “The project was revised a few times after work started. Like, two underpasses and 1.5-km-long viaduct near Gomti Nagar were added subsequently,” Parmar said.
Besides, the NHAI officials blame the contractor of the project, Atlanta Ltd, for slow progress of work. “We held meetings with them and asked them to carry out project in time. We also warned them if they didn’t work efficiently, their license will be cancelled. The work is going smoothly at the moment,” said another NHAI official.
The 22-km-long highway connects NH-25 (Lucknow-Kanpur) and NH-28 (Lucknow-Faizabad) via NH-56 (Lucknow-Sultanpur) passing through the city. “The highway will act as an outer ring road. It may not directly benefit local commuters, but traffic congestion will reduce on city roads. The heavy vehicles or the commuters going to Rae Bareli, Sultanpur, Faizabad and Kanpur could travel on it without entering the city. Only a few important crossings have been left on the highway so that the vehicles do not get slowed down, causing jams,” said Parmar.
Navayuga Engg bags Rs 710cr NHAI project
December 6, 2007
Hyderabad-based multi-disciplinary engineering and construction player, Navayuga Engineering Company, has bagged a Rs 710 crore project from the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).
The contract envisages designing, construction, financing and maintenance of an access-controlled highway project between the Bangalore and Nelamangala section on NH-4 on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis in Karnataka.
Debt syndication of Rs 540 crore has been done by
Bhubaneswar-based SRB Consultancy Private Limited from a consortium of banks.
The six-lane highway project, total length of which is 19.5 kilometres with elevated highway for 4.5 kilometres, terminates at Nelamangala. The scope of the work also includes underpasses and service roads for the entire length on both sides of the highway.
According to a company press release, revenues generated from the proposed tolling will accrue to an SPV (special purpose vehicle) formed for implementing the project.
The concession period of the project is 20 years, including the construction period of two years. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2009, it added.
Source: business-standard.com
CRISIL assigned IPO Grade 3/5 to KNR Constructions
December 6, 2007
Leading credit rating agency, CRISIL assigned IPO Grade 3/5 (pronounced `three on five`) to the proposed initial public offer of KNR Constructions (KNRCL). The public issue of 7,874,570 equity shares of face value Rs 10 targeting an issue size in the range of Rs 1,500-Rs 1,750 million. This grade indicates that the fundamentals of the issue are average, in relation to other listed equity securities in India.
The grading reflects KNRCL`s strong track record of project execution in both roads construction and operations and maintenance (O&M). The company has executed many projects as part of the NHAI`s NHDP program and has had a 7-year relationship with Patel Engineering as a joint venture partner.
The KNR-Patel JV has won 10 road construction projects so far. These include two BOT annuity projects as a part of NHDP Phase II, the combined value of which is Rs 9.6 billion. As of September 2007, KNRCL`s order book stood at Rs 16.25 billion, of which the roads sector constituted 89%.
The grading is however constrained by the relatively underdeveloped state of the company`s operating system, which in turn, could constrain its ability to augment the size of its operations. The grading also reflects the uncertainties associated with company`s plans to diversify into the power generation and real estate sectors.
Source: myiris.com
20 cos bid for longest expressway in India
December 6, 2007
The planned expressway will dwarf the 95km-long, six-laned, access controlled expressway connecting India’s financial capital Mumbai with Pune
Mumbai: Twenty firms have submitted initial bids for building India’s longest and biggest expressway project yet—a Rs40,000 crore, eight-laned, access controlled expressway linking Ballia in eastern Uttar Pradesh (UP) with Greater Noida—located on the border of the Capital, New Delhi.
The 1047 km-long road project dubbed Ganga Expressway will, when operational, cut travel time between the backward eastern part of Uttar Pradesh and the more prosperous western part of the state, by 16 hours from the current 24 hours.
For a traveller, it would take just about eight hours to zip from the holy city of Varanasi to New Delhi when the project is completed.
The planned expressway will dwarf the 95km-long, six-laned, access controlled expressway connecting India’s financial capital Mumbai with Pune and the under construction and controversy-ridden 111km-long expressway linking Bangalore with the garden city of Mysore.
The firms that have applied for pre-qualification include Larsen & Toubro Ltd, Reliance Energy Ltd, DLF Ltd, IL&FS Ltd, Gammon Infrastructure Projects Ltd with Australia’s biggest investment bank Macquarie, GMR Group, the Omaxe Ltd-GVK Group-Nagarjuna Construction Co. Ltd consortium, the Bajaj Hindusthan Ltd-Apollo Group-D S Constructions Ltd consortium, Jaiprakash Associates Ltd, Canadian firm SNC Lavalin with Progressive Constructions Ltd, Unitech Ltd, Punj Lloyd Ltd, Oman’s Gulfar Engineering & Contracting Llc., Zoom Developers Pvt. Ltd, Australia’s Leighton Group with Oriental Construction Co. Ltd, and PLUS Expressways Berhad, a subsidiary of Malaysia’s UEM Group, according to an official with the UP government overseeing the bidding process who did not wish to be named.
UP has taken inspiration for building the Ganga Expressway from legendary Afghan leader Sher Shah Suri, who built the Grand Trunk Road connecting Delhi with Kabul in the 16th century after temporarily displacing Humayun from the Mughal throne.
Suri’s road ran alongside the right bank of the Ganga; the new expressway will be built on the left bank of the river.
The eight-laned expressway will be constructed on an embankment to be built by the state’s irrigation department for controlling floods on the left bank of the Ganga.
The proposed expressway will start at Ballia-Gazipur and pass through Varanasi, Mirzapur, Sant Ravidas Nagar, Allahabad, Pratapgarh, Rae Bareli, Unnao, Hardoi, Farrukhabad, Fatehgarh, Shahjahanpur, Badaun, Bulandshahr, Gautam Buddhanagar and terminate at Greater Noida.
The expressway project will make available around 5,000 acres of land for real estate development including residential and industrial units. This will make the project economically viable for the developers.
The work on the expressway project will begin next year.
Source: livemint.com
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
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
Kaushalya Infrastructure IPO oversubscribed
November 23, 2007
The IPO has so far received 6,11,97,500 bids, giving it a subscription of 7.20 times over the issue size of 85,00,000 equity shares
The Public Issue of Kaushalya Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (KIDCO) has been oversubscribed as per the information available on the websites of the stock exchanges. The IPO has so far received 6,11,97,500 bids, giving it a subscription of 7.20 times over the issue size of 85,00,000 equity shares. KIDCO is a diversified infrastructure development company from eastern India, and is offering the shares at a price band of Rs. 50 to Rs 60 per share. The net issue to the public would constitute 40.93 per cent of the fully diluted post issue paid-up capital of the Company. The issue closes on 23rd November.
As a part of its expansion plans, KIDCO will mainly utilize funds for acquisition of land, land development rights & real estate development, investment in BOT/BOOT projects and joint ventures and for the purchase of capital equipments comprising construction & infrastructure equipments for execution of projects .
The infrastructure development operations of the Company are organized in three major business divisions viz. Kaushalya Nirmàn (Specializes in construction of roads, highways, bridges and industrial infrastructure), Kaushalya Gràm (Specializes in Electrification and Irrigation projects focused on development of rural India) and Kaushalya Parivàr (Specializes in Construction of Commercial & Residential Complexes). The key clients of the Company include various Government Undertakings, State Public Works Departments, as well as State and Central Public Sector Undertakings.
Says Prashant Mehra, managing director of KIDCO, “We are on the expansion mode and would be focusing more upon diversified sectors so as to leverage and expand the operations. After our successful journey in the Eastern part of the country, we are spreading our operations to other parts like the Central India.”
KIDCO aims to operate into diversified sectors such as townships, offices, houses and other buildings, urban infrastructure, highways, roads, power systems, irrigation, dams and agriculture systems, etc. which will mitigate business risk in case of slowdown in any one particular field in the future.
The proposed issue will be lead managed by SREI Capital Markets Limited and the Registrar to the issue will be Intime Spectrum Registry Limited.
Source: indiainfoline.com
Western, northern region cos dominate infrastructure space
November 23, 2007
NTPC, Larsen & Toubro and Bharti Airtel top the list (in terms of income) of Dun & Bradstreet India’s list of India’s Leading Infrastructure Companies 2007. This listing, part of D&B’s study on infrastructure in India, profiles 187 companies – 121 from the construction sector, 52 from power and 14 from telecom services. The study provides an industry overview of infrastructure in India and key characteristics of the sampled companies .
D&B’s analysis reveals that companies based in the western (37 per cent) and northern regions (30 per cent) dominate the infrastructure industry. While the initial public offer route is a key means of financing for the construction companies, the infrastructure industry as a whole is funded largely through term loans and self-financing.
Construction goes public The study has disclosed that the construction sector is dominated by public companies (listed and unlisted); these accounted for 92 per cent of the 121 construction companies that qualified under D&B’s selection criteria. Thirty per cent of listed construction companies had absorbed close to Rs 20,000 crore through IPOs in 2006-07. The sample companies plan to raise Rs 2,000 crore more in the near future. Most of the companies that raised money through the IPO were focussed on roads, power, irrigation and residential township projects.
The report also brings out the increasing synergy between private players and the Government. Around 50 per cent of the sample companies have collaborations such as public private partnership, special purpose vehicles, other domestic partnership and BOT and BOOT contracts.
Power’s conventional The study found that India continues to rely on conventional sources such as coal, gas and lignite for power generation. Of the 178 power plants operated by the sample companies, 45 per cent were thermal power plants, 38 per cent hydro based and about 10 per cent be run by Nuclear Power Corporation. Only the rest accounted for unconventional energy sources such as wind farms and combined cycle power plants.
The report stated that Central government owned companies have taken the lead in terms of planned capacity additions, accounting for 52 per cent of the total plan. Private sector, including the two ultra mega power projects accounted for 32 per cent of the addition plans, while state-owned companies trailed behind with plans to add only 16 per cent to their capacity.
Source: thehindubusinessline.com
Maytas-NCC consortium wins airport projects from Karnataka
November 22, 2007
Two separate SPVs are to be set up for the airport projects. Maytas Infra, NCC and VIE will hold 37%, 37% and 26% stake in the two SPVs, respectively
Maytas Infra Ltd. announced on Tuesday that a consortium involving itself, NCC Infrastructure Holding Ltd. and VIE India Project Development and Holding LLC has bagged an order to develop and operate proposed airports at Gulbarga and Shimoga on BOT (build-operate-transfer) basis.
The contract has been awarded by the Infrastructure Development Department of the Karnataka Government.
Two separate Special Purpose Companies (SPVs) are to be set up for the airport projects. Maytas Infra, NCC and VIE will hold 37%, 37% and 26% stake in the two SPVs, respectively.
The construction period is 24 months from the date of signing the agreements. The concession period is 30 years and the agreement can be extended for a further period of 30 years.
Source: indiainfoline.com
Cial has non-metro, foreign airports on radar
November 21, 2007
It plans to participate in the modernization of the 35 airports in the country, apart from the overseas projects
New Delhi: Cochin International Airport Ltd (Cial), the company that built the new international airport at Kochi, India’s first to be built by a private sector firm, is looking to build airports in India and in other countries in an effort to tap growing demand for airline infrastructure in many parts of the world.
Cial plans to participate in the modernization programme of 35 non-metro airports in the country and also wants to build airports in Sri Lanka, Ghana, Angola and Papua New Guinea, according to S. Bharat, managing director, Cial.
Cial was promoted by the Kerala government, financial institutions, airport service providers, non-resident Keralites and a group of entrepreneurs.
The single largest shareholder in the company is the state government with 35% of the paid-up capital.
Bharat added that Cial is in talks with an international finance company and a technical partner to promote a new company that will handle these projects.
Cial’s overseas plans come at a time when international airport operators such as Singapore’s Changi Airport International (CAI), Airport Company South Africa Ltd, Fraport AG and other leading players from Mexico, Turkey, Paris and Germany are looking to partner with Indian companies to bid for airport projects in the country. Singapore’s CAI had floated a joint venture company with Tata Realty & Infrastructure Ltd, a subsidiary of the Tata group for the airport modernization projects in India.
If it wins any of the projects to build airports outside the country, Cial will be following in the footsteps of Bangalore-based GMR Infrastructure Ltd, the lead partner in the consortium that runs Delhi International Airport, which will be developing Sabiha Gokeen International Airport (SGIA) at Istanbul, Turkey. GMR’S partners in this project are Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhard and Limak Insaat Sanavi San Ve Tic A S Turkey.
Bharat confirmed Cial’s overseas aspirations.
“The government of Sri Lanka has invited us to study the possibilities of building an airport there. We have got offers from Ghana, Angola and Papua New Guinea. Cial’s team will shortly visit those countries,” he said.
Cial plans to take up overseas airport projects on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) or build-own-operate (BOO) basis. Under the BOT model, the developer constructs and manages a project for a specified time before handing it over to the government; in the BOO model, the developer continues to operate the project with a local partner.
“The funding of these airport projects would be done by a special purpose company formed under Cial,” Bharat said.
He declined to name the international partners citing confidentiality agreements.
“We are also looking at bidding for the ongoing airport projects within India as we can make airports at lower cost,” Bharat added. The Cochin airport was built at a cost of Rs315 crore including the cost of land.
A government committee on infrastructure, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has estimated that India will need to spend more than Rs40,000 crore in developing airports between 2006-07 and 2013-14. Of this, an estimated Rs31,100 crore is expected to come from public-private partnerships.
The ministry of civil aviation has decided to modernize and upgrade 35 non-metro airports across India.
Besides, the government is also planning to build greenfield airports at Navi Mumbai (Maharashtra), Kannur (Kerala), Hassan and Gulbarga (Karnataka), Ludhiana (Punjab), Greater Noida (NCR), Paykong (Sikkim), Cheithu (Nagaland) and Chakan (near Pune, Maharashtra).
“At a time when current airport modernization programmes envisage spending at least Rs5,000 crore for a single project, Cial had built a world class product on a very modest budget. Cial can cash in on its expertise in the upcoming non-metro airport projects,” said a Mumbai-based aviation analyst, who does not want to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media.