Everything on the construction industry

1. July 14-20, 2014 1
An MMR, Braj Binani Group Publication Volume 3 l Issue No 28 l July 14-20, 2014 l Price: Rs 100
Budget to have multiplier
effect on economy
The slowdown in the real estate
sector and delay in take-off of various
infrastructural projects in the period
FY11-14 took a toll on the cement
demand.
The various schemes announced in
the budget would boost infrastructure
and housing sectors that will have
a positive impact on the cement
demand.
“The cement sector can certainly
look forward to revival of growth in
its consumption which has been
languishing for the last 3-4 years at
very low levels,” according to an top
official at the Cement Manufacturers’
Association (CMA).
However, the increase in custom
duty on steam coal to result in marginal
increase in cost of production.
The industry was also looking for
some rationalization of high incidence
of taxes which it had represented
as current tax structure works out to
almost 50 per cent of ex-factory value
of cement. Further the industry was
of sponge iron & pig iron and use
steam coal as a fuel in captive thermal
power plants.
Construction equipment
While commenting on the budget,
Vipin Sondhi, MD & CEO, JCB India
Ltd, said, “Given that this government
has been in office for less than two
months, no big bang reforms were
anticipated. The Union Government
recognizing the need for revival of
investment cycle had already extended
the Excise Duty Cut on Capital Goods
for another six months in June, 2014
itself.
“The Budget’s focus on the
infrastructure sector, encouraging
banks to lend long term funds to the
infrastructure sector, extending the
benefit of investment allowance to
Small and Medium Enterprises and
emphasis on manufacturing growth
should help revive the capital goods
sector. While PPP in relation to many
new projects has been announced,
however, a roadmap for execution of
Improving supply chain for faster
transport of goods to various cities
would be done by working on select
expressways along with development
of industrial corridor. The NHAI will be
required to set aside Rs 500 crore for
project preparation of the same.
This shows continued thrust from
the government for the development of
roads with the priority on the execution
rather than awarding of new projects
with the emphasis on EPC mode.
The budget looks to develop more
nuanced models of contracting
in order to remove the rigidities
in contractual arrangements and
develop quick dispute redressal
mechanism, an institution called 4P
India will be set up with a corpus of
Rs 500 crore.
The intent is to boost the private
participation in the road sector in
the long term which has remained
subdued in the past one year.
Railways
The Railway Budget for FY15
more people, especially the young
working class population; to buy
homes and this could trigger renewed
interest in the real estate market.”
Cement
The Indian cement industry, which
is second to only to China, has over
340 million tons of capacity, but the
capacity utilization of the major makers
of the building material has been far
from encouraging.
The industry witnessed a dismal
demand growth in the past few years.
In FY14, the consumption of cement
showed a tepid growth of 3.5 per cent
on a yoy basis, the lowest growth over
the last one decade.
The government kicked off several
initiatives to develop smart cities,
airports and highways, and announced
big energy investments along with a
promise to decontrol diesel in a year.
Infrastructure development, which
has suffered due to slow approvals,
disputes and scandals in the past, was
a key plank of the budget.
The task before me today is very
challenging because we need to revive
growth, particularly in manufacturing
and infrastructure to raise adequate
resources for our developmental
needs,” said Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley.
The continual increased focus
of the government on infrastructure
development especially roads, smart
cities, ports, watershed development,
airway, and waterway would be
beneficial for the construction sector in
terms of providing increased orders.
In the energy sector, the government
plans to expand city gas distribution,
where Gujarat has taken the lead, and
build a national gas grid.
Further, ensuring funding support
from banks through relaxation of norms
for lending to infrastructure sector
will be an impetus to construction
industry.
Real estate
The PM’s vision of developing
‘100 smart cities’ as satellite towns
of larger cities and modernizing the
existing mid-sized cities would be
done through allocation of Rs.7,060
crore. Requirement of built-up area
and capital conditions for FDI is
reduced from 50,000 sq mtrs to 20,000
sq mtrs and from $10 million to $5
million with a 3 year post completion
lock-in period.
To increase impetus to watershed
development in the country, a new
programme called ‘Neeranchal’ has
been introduced with an initial outlay
of Rs.2,142 crore in FY15.
The incentives for REITs and low
cost housing (allocation of Rs.4,000
crore for National Housing Bank),
development of 100 smart cities,
increase in deduction of interest on
self-occupied properties, and inclusion
of slum rehabilitation under CSR will
benefit real estate developers as these
measures will create a favourable
environment that will boost housing
sector in the country.
“The opening up of FDI will bring
in opportunities for cheaper capital
for smaller projects as well, improving
quality and delivery of low cost and
affordable housing projects,” said
Getambar Anand, Managing Director
of ATS Infrastructure and President of
the Confederation of Real Estate
Developers Association of India
(Credai).
Brotin Banerjee, MD & CEO, Tata
Housing said, “Extending additional
tax incentives by increasing the interest
deduction to Rs 2 lakh would help
expecting it to be considered under the
category of ‘Declared Goods’ under
section 14 of the Central Sales Tax
Act to enjoy the tax benefits that other
core sector goods like coal and steel
are currently availing.
Further, an increase of custom
duty on coal would result in marginal
increase in cost of production of
cement by about Rs 0.15 per bag.
Steel
The increase in customs duty on
coal (bituminous coal, steam coal and
coking coal) and metallurgical coke
is likely to result in increase in cost
of production of steel manufacturers,
who import coal & coke for production
existing held up projects could have
helped turn things quickly.”
Roads & highways
A huge investment of Rs 37,880
crore (including Rs 3,000 crore for
North East) is proposed in the NHAI
and state roads along with measures
to reduce maze of clearances as
the government intends to construct
national highways of 8,500 km during
FY15.
The government intends to set
up the National Industrial Corridor
Authority, with a view to give impetus
to transport connectivity which will lead
to India’s growth in manufacturing and
urbanization.
proposed construction of 1,785 road
under bridges and road over bridges
and provision of escalators, lifts
via PPP route at all major stations.
It also focused on expansion of
r a i l infrastructure with faster
implementation of projects planned.
The budget proposes construction
of urban metros including light rail
systems through PPP mode to be
supported by the central government
through Viability Gap Funding (VGF).
During FY15 government intends
to set aside Rs 100 crore for metro
projects in Lucknow and Gujarat.
Further, a sum of Rs 1,000 crore is
provided towards rail connectivity
in border areas and an additional
Rs 1,000 crore is provided for rail
connectivity in North-Eastern states.
Ports
To boost trade, 16 new port projects
are expected to be awarded with a
focus on port connectivity. Rs 11,635
crore is expected to be allocated for
the development of Outer
Harbour Project in Tuticorin for
phase-1. Sezs are also expected to
be developed in Kandla,
Gujarat and JNPT, Maharashtra.
This is expected to enhance the
overall capacity of the Indian port
sector, thereby decongesting the
existing ports and improve turnaround
time.
Inland waterways
Development of inland waterways
through construction of Jal Marg
Vikas (National Waterways-1) between
Allahabad and Haldia covering a
distance of 1,620 km. It would enable
commercial navigation of vessels
with at least 1,500 tons capacity at an
estimated cost of Rs 4,200 crore.
Power – focus on renewable
energy
With the extension of 10-year tax
holiday (u/s 80IA) till FY17, the power
firms continue to enjoy lower tax rate till
FY2017. Since, the power generation
capacity addition is expected at
18-20GW per year in the next two-three
years, it will benefit power
generators and transmission (PGCIL)
companies.
The launch of feeder separation
scheme in rural areas is likely to aid
distribution sector (DISCOMs) where
it would strengthen transmission and
distribution in rural areas and is likely
to improve the service levels.
Further, the reduction in customs
duty and excise on imported machinery
and domestic for solar power plants
will reduce the costing for solar power
plants (per mw cost) thereby boosting
the power capacity addition in solar
sector.
The increase in clean energy cess
from Rs 50 per ton to Rs 100 per ton
is expected to raise Rs 30 billion for
the purpose of the National Clean
Electricity Fund for FY2014-2015.
Finance Minister, Mr. Arun Jaitley

2. domestic July 14-20, 2014 2
Rail Budget 2014:
‘Highest ever’ plan outlay
for railways
Centre may tweak Land Act to help
speed up key projects
The NDA government is set to
tweak the Land Acquisition Act 2013
which was brought in by the previous
UPA government to redress some of
the issues regarding compensation
and rehabilitation of owners of
land acquired for industrial or other
purposes.
The ministry has at various
meetings sought state chief ministers’
advice on the proposed tweaking
since many of them expressed
dissatisfaction with the present Act
as discouraging for industry.
Sect ion 40 states that the
government would be empowered
to acquire land on an urgent basis
with a notice of just 30 days for the
purposes of defence and national
security, and for reasons arising out
of national calamities.
State governments have said
that land acquisition for the purpose
of road building and government
or public-private power projects are
added to this list of purposes for which
The Centre proposed ‘highest
ever’ plan outlay of Rs 65,445 crore
to the railways for the current fiscal,
with a budgetary support of over Rs
30,000 crore. Presenting the Railway
Budget for 2014-15, Railway Minister
Sadananda Gowda said the ‘highest
ever plan outlay’ would include
market borrowing of Rs 11,790 crore
and internal resources of Rs 15,350
crore.
Another Rs 6,005 crore would be
mopped up through public private
partnerships (PPP) mode, while the
railways would create a safety fund
of Rs 2,200 crore. As per Budget
Estimates for 2014-15, total receipts
are projected at Rs 1, 64,374 crore,
while total expenditure at Rs 1, 49,176
crore.
Operating ratio would be 92.5
per cent, which is an improvement
of 1 per cent over the last fiscal.
While passenger traffic grew by 2
per cent, passenger earnings stood
at Rs 44,645 crore after revenue
foregone of Rs 610 crore on account
of rollback in monthly season ticket
fares, Gowda said.
He added that freight earnings
are estimated at Rs 1,05,770 crore
for this fiscal. The expenditure on
pension is pegged at Rs 28,850
crore, while Rs 9,135 crore would
be spent on dividend payment. On
the challenges facing the railways,
Gowda said, “Surplus revenues
are declining. There is hardly any
adequate resource for development
works. The surplus resources, which
stood at Rs 11,754 crore in 2007-08,
are estimated to be only Rs 602 crore
in the current financial year, he added.
He also said Rs 5 lakh crore was
required to complete the ongoing
projects alone as only 317 of the
674 projects sanctioned in the past
three decades could be completed.
Completing the unfinished projects
would require Rs 1, 82,000 crore,
he said.
Reliance Infra to
restructure `7,000 cr
project
A Telangana government entity
has approved a restructuring plan by
consultancy firm EY for a project that
includes a 100-storey trade tower in
Hyderabad. Reliance Infrastructure
which was to implement the Rs
7,000-crore project is hoping that the
government will give the plan its go-ahead
to the stalled venture.
Rel iance Inf rastructure had
proposed to build the project on 76.2
acre at Manchirevula on Hyderabad
outskirts, involving 20 million sq
ft of built-up area. The Industrial
Infrastructure Corporation (IIC), a
government arm, will have 11 per cent
equity holding in the special purpose
vehicle executing the project.
A senior IIC executive, who did not
want to be identified, said Reliance
Infrastructure paid a little over half
of agreed amount of Rs 527 crore
through debentures and cash, but
could not pay the rest. It is now
seeking waivers for the remaining
payments and penal charges and
wants to first execute a business
district project and take up the tower
project later.
Touted as India’s largest public-private
real estate project that was
comparable to skyscrapers such as
Burj Dubai and Petronas Towers, it
could not get off the ground because
of the global economic downturn and
the Telangana statehood agitation.
With a stable government in place
and an improving global economic
environment, Reliance Infrastructure
evinced interest in reviving the
project while seeking some relief.
The company has also initiated steps
towards critical project clearances,
including environmental approvals. Lodhas eye third of profits
from London market
Mumbai-based rea l es tate
developer Lodha Group has bought
two landmark properties in central
London in the past seven months,
and plans to derive about 30 per
cent of its annual profit mainly from
Britain’s capital in the next 10 years.
“We are committed to our London
business and we would look forward
to expand it as opportunities keep
coming our way... we would ideally
want 30% of our annual profit to come
from markets other than Mumbai and
mainly from London,“ said Lodha
Group’s Deputy Managing Director
Abhinandan Lodha.
The developer, which has
expanded its footprint in the south
Mumbai market with several marquee
launches, has 37 projects in all,
including in Pune, Hyderabad and
London. Some of its big assets
include The Park, World Towers,
New Cuffe Parade and Palava City
in and around Mumbai. The overseas
business will help increase the depth
of the company, which derives all of
its profits from Mumbai and Pune
projects, Lodha said.
In November 2013, Lodha Group
acquired MacDonald House in prime
central London that housed Canadian
consulate in UK for over £306 million
or Rs 3,120 crore. In February this
year, it furthered its expansion plan
there by picking up one more property
on Carey Street close to London
School of Economics for over £90 Rs
1,000 crore million or so.
land can be thus acquired. Sources
also said the PMO has made it very
clear to the rural development ministry
that neither compensation, nor the
mode of acquisition which protect the
rights of landowners and those who
derive a living of it can be touched.
The Land Acquisition Act of 2013
was cleared after many hurdles and
had bipartisan support in Parliament
with the standing committee on rural
development discussing the Bill
threadbare.
Hero Honda Chowk to
get 8-lane flyover
After a long wait, a proposal to
construct a flyover at Hero Honda
Chowk, along the Delhi-Jaipur
Highway in Gurgaon, was passed
during a meeting of the Public Works
Department (PWD) (B&R) Haryana,
the National Highway Authority of
India (NHAI) and the Gurgaon district
administration.
The junction at Hero Honda
Ch owk wi l l b e imp r o v e d b y
providing a three-tier facility for
traffic movement — a flyover along
the highway, an underpass below
the highway and a ground level
road, according to PWD Principal
Secretary Sajeev Kaushal.
The state government has also
agreed to provide land for ‘Right
of Way’ for the flyover. It has also
approved to hand over a portion of
land belonging to the Haryana Urban
Development Authority (Huda) free of
cost to the NHAI.
The land would be required to
build the flyover towards the left side
along the Delhi-Jaipur route, from the
main carriageway, which would then
be merged with the existing road,
officials said.
ADB invests $50 m
in Welspun Renewables
The Asian Development Bank
(ADB) has invested part of a $50
million commitment of equity capital
into Welspun Renewables Energy
Pvt Ltd (WREPL). This deal will
help demonstrate that profitable
investments are achievable in the
renewable energy space and will help
catalyze more private investments.
Vineet Mittal, Vice Chairman,
Welspun Renewables Energy Pvt Ltd
said, “With a vision aimed towards
securing energy security for the
country, Welspun Renewables has
emerged as one of the leading
independent developers of renewable
energy projects in India within a short
span of time.
“Wi th thi s inves tment , the
renewable energy sector has got
a much needed shot in the arm, it
shows the promise that this sector
can realize and ADB’s investment is
a testimony to that. With this deal, we
can only hope that India becomes a
shining example of focusing on clean
energy to meet its energy security
needs and help build a cleaner,
greener India for the generations to
come.”
WREPL’s power plants are among
the highest generating projects in the
country and have been built ahead of
committed timelines, thereby helping
the country meet its renewable
energy targets. WREPL operates one
of the world’s largest solar projects
which is located in Neemuch district
of Madhya Pradesh with a nameplate
capacity of 151 mw (DC).
Spread across eight states, it has
328 mw (DC) operational capacity
of renewable energy generation till
date. The company plans to set up a
total renewable capacity of 1,750 mw
in solar and wind in next three years
with an incremental capital outlay in
excess of INR 11,000 crore.

3. ARCHCEITURE July 14-20, 2014 3
Yet another global
first for young
Indian architects
After being the first Indian firm to win
at the WAF awards, Morphogenesis
gets awarded with the SIA-GETZ
Architecture Prize 2014.
Sonali and Manit Rastogi, of
Morphogenesis, one of India’s leading
award-winning Architecture and
Urban Design practices based in
New Delhi, have been awarded the
SIA- GETZ Architecture Prize 2014 at
a luminous ceremony recently held in
Singapore.
This prestigious prize seeks to
bring recognition to Asian architects,
who ‘through their vision and
commitment have made a significant
contribution in shaping the changing
landscape of Asia, and to honour a
living architect’s remarkable career
that is in progress’.
Previous Laureates of the SIA-Getz
Architecture Prize are Chan Soo Khian
(Singapore), Dr Hitoshi Abe (Japan)
and Wong Mun Summ and Richard
Hassell (Singapore) and Prof Jimmy
Lim (Malaysia).
The jury at SIA GETZ Prize ceremony
felt their works are very much rooted
into the culture, climatic, social and
economic conditions of India. Their
work has put India’s architecture on
world stage. The jury felt that their
work will be an inspiration to not only
young Indian architects but also other
Asian architects.
Receiving these accolades, Sonali
Rastogi said, “The SIA Getz award
is a hugely significant award for any
architect to be honoured with. Based
on an entire body of work, reviewed
by peers, it brings emergent Asian
architecture to the forefront of global
discourse.”
“This recognition has converted
their lifetime of commitment into a
conviction. A conviction which will go
a long way in building ‘Brand India’
which is their vision,” said the jury.
Manit & Sonali Rastogi of Morphogenesis honored with SIA GETZ Prize in Singapore
Team Shunya
Pluss Polymers & Team Shunya
promotes Indian participation
at Solar Decathlon Europe 2014
Home by Team Shunya
Pluss Polymers, the leader in
r e s e a r c h , development and
manufacture of specialized polymers
and phase-change materials (PCMs)
aided Team Shunya, India’s entry at
the Solar Decathlon Europe 2014, get
closer to their goal of a zero energy
house.
The project of Team Shunya is
to demonstrate zero energy homes
at the Solar Decathlon Europe 2014
in France. Team Shunya is the first
team from India to be selected for this
prestigious event. This inter collegiate
platform will witness 20 international
teams competing to design, construct
and demonstrate full scale houses
with minimal energy consumption and
powered by renewable energy.
The partnership between Pluss and
Team Shunya is to integrate Phase
Change Material (PCM) into its solar
thermal system for water heating
contributing to other solar powered
sustainable solutions in the house.
The participating teams will be judged
across 10 categories, each carrying
different weightage; hence the name
Decathlon.
The hot water requirement of such
houses is usually up to a temperature
of 45-50 degree celsius. However, in
conventional solar thermal systems,
the water is heated up to 60-70 ^C.
This excess heat can rather be stored
in Phase Change Materials (PCM)
which can be tapped when enough
solar energy is not available.
Pluss Polymers has provided
extensive support and technical
assistance during trials to help choose
the right PCM which effectively
eliminates the need of a back-up
electric heater.
Samit Jain, Managing Director,
Pluss Polymers commented, “It
is a matter of pride for us to be
associated with Team Shunya
that shal l be working towards
safeguarding the environment at an
international platform. It has been
our constant effort to contribute in
the preservation of nature and the
energy resources derived from it
and therefore this alliance is another
initiative towards the same. We
couldn’t have asked for a better
platform than the Solar Decathlon
to highlight this cause.”
IIT Bombay and the Academy of
Architecture joined hands in November
2012 to form interdisciplinary teams of
architects and engineers working
hand-in-hand to find the perfect
synergy for homes.
The team, named Shunya to
reiterate the goal of a zero-energy
house, became the first team from
India to ever be selected in the
Solar Decathlon, whose previous
participants include MIT, Purdue,
Cornell, CMU, TU Darmstadt, among
others. The team consists of over 70
students.
The Solar Decathlon was started
as a biennial event by the US
Department of Energy in 2002 and
has since expanded to Europe and
China. Collegiate teams from across
the world will build solar energy
powered houses, complete with all
amenities from a dish washer to a
building automation system.
The houses are judged on 10
extensive criteria namely architecture,
engineering and construction, energy
efficiency, electrical energy balance,
comfort conditions, urban design,
transportation and affordability,
sustainability and innovation.

4. INFRASTRUCTURE July 14-20, 2014 4
Highway contracts to
become flexible
The Centre, to expedite highway
projects, has decided to make award
contract rules flexible allowing changes
even after the agreement is made. The
National Highways Authority of India
(NHAI) has prepared the draft which
makes provisions for making changes
in the model concession agreement
(contract between government and
road developer) if the project gets
stuck due to unforeseen reasons.
In i ts present form, model
concession agreement (MCA) has
no provision for adding changes,
thus making contracts very rigid and
tight-fitted, inconveniencing both the
government and the developer even
as it added to project delays.
“In the newly drafted MCA, the
NHAI has provided clauses to give
Ajay Piramal Group set to buy
six road projects
The Ajay Piramal Group is close
to finalizing transactions to purchase
controlling stakes in six road assets
spread across the country, signaling
the emergence of cash-rich investors
to infuse life into the stressed road
sector and boost infrastructure
development in a big way.
The real estate to financial services
group has signed non-binding
preliminary term sheets to acquire
four projects and is in advanced
negotiations to do it for two more.
The combined valuation for these
proposed transactions will be close
to Rs 2,000 crore.
“We have signed term sheets
to acquire four road projects. Two
L&T construction wins
orders worth `1,459 cr
Larsen & Toubro has informed
stock exchanges that its construction
business has won orders worth
Rs 1,459 crore. Among the major
orders received were an order for the
construction of Kannur International
Airport in Kerala, involving an integrated
terminal and an air traffic control tower
complex.
The airport is expected to have a
domestic and international terminal
of 75,000 sq m with 48 check-in
counters, 32 emigration counters,
and 16 escalators to handle a peak
capacity of 2,000 passengers an hour.
Apart from this order, there were
orders from an educational institution
in UP, and another order from an
automobile manufacturer for the
construction of a regional stockyard
and a spare parts distribution centre
in West Bengal.
Gammon Infra to raise
`500 cr to fund projects
Gammon Infrastructure Projects,
the infrastructure arm of Gammon
India, plans to raise Rs 500 crore
through a qualified institutional
placement (QiP) to facilitate fund
requirement for some projects and
retire part of its debt.
The company will use the proceeds
to complete those projects over the
next six to nine months that require
funds and to retire around Rs 100
crore of debt, said KK Mohanty, MD,
Gammon Infrastructure Projects.
The projects where funds from
the QiP will be infused include the
Godavari Bridge project in Andhra
Pradesh, the Pravara co-generation
project in Maharashtra and the Patna
Highway Project, a 63.17-km annual
annuity road project of the National
Lower toll rates
for bad roads hinted
The Economic Survey 2013-
14 talks about the need to evolve
cont ract mechanisms to have
lower toll rates for bad roads, when
users do not get requisite quality of
service.
Going by international practice,
concepts such as ‘traffic trigger’ and
‘re-equilibrium discount’ could be
examined to see whether they can
be applied to address some of the
problems of the Indian road sector,
said the Survey.
“The ‘re-equilibrium discount’
is used to reduce tar i f f when
performance parameters are not
being met. A table of discounts is
pre-defined in the contract. The
discounts represent the resources
that are not invested as a result
of a failure to meet performance
parameters.” In India’s toll roads,
such concerns have usually been
addressed by political interference
or by legal interventions.
The survey has also commented
on the need to look at the level of
tolls being levied. “…toll should have
correlation with users’ capacity to
pay as well as reasonable payback
for the financing entities,” it said. A
Highways Authority of India. Part of
NH-77 connects Hajipur (Patna) to
Muzaffarpur.
The first quarter of FY15 has
witnessed a 10-times rise in the
amount of capital raised through QiPs.
The QiPs of two other infrastructure
companies, GMR Infrastructure and
JP Associates, hit the capital market
earlier this week, raising around Rs
3,300 crore.
The amount of capital raised
through QiPs in Q1FY15 stood at Rs
12,151 crore against Rs 1,222 crore
in the corresponding period last
year, according to Prime Database.
The total capital raised through
institutional placements (QiP + IPP)
in June quarter stood at Rs 12,569
crore.
‘traffic trigger’ clause in the contract
implies that if a certain volume of
identified traffic is reached, the
developer is obligated to increase
the roadway’s capacity in order to
maintain a minimum level of service
for users.
The survey also stresses on
the need to have a regulatory
body in the highways sector. An
independent organization with
specialized expertise in contracting
is required, it said. At a time when
the Roads Ministry is considering a
proposal to allow developers to exit
the road sector, the Economic Survey
has reiterated the need to allow
developers to exit road projects.
At present, there are limits on the
extent to which road developers can
exit projects. This issue had been
flagged by the earlier Economic
Survey as well. “Of late, financing
of road projects has also run into
difficulty as leveraged companies
implementing road projects are
unable to raise more debt in the
absence of fresh equity. In the current
market conditions, these firms are
unable to raise new equity,” stated
the survey.
powers to change bidding documents
if the projects are stuck midway,” said
a senior NHAI official. The NHAI has
already forwarded the proposal to the
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways
for approval.
At present, road projects worth Rs
60,000 crore are awaiting completion.
“The purpose is to create space to
make adjustments in the project
costs due to delays that happen
at various clearances level (forests
and environmental permits, land
acquisitions) and steeply increase
project costs,” said the official.
Due to the economic slowdown in
the past couple of years, awarding of
contracts for national highways has
slowed down. Besides, issues related
to environment and forest clearances,
and land acquisitions have been
major impediments in the completion
of Rs 60,000 crore worth of highway
projects.
Many road projects were halted as
developers were cash strapped and
lenders were shy of putting in money
in the sector, forcing the government
to allow them to reschedule the
payment of premiums.
“Highways Minister (Nitin Gadkari)
is also keen that that we make
provisions for making changes to the
contract rules to ensure that projects
are not stuck in red tape. He had
said that there was a need to add
provisions which allow changes in
the MCA if the nature of the project
requires it for any valid reasons,” said
a senior official of the Road Ministry.
more are in the offing. In all these
cases, we are looking to buy more
than 51 per cent to take management
control with an investment horizon
of six years. We expect to close
these transactions by the end of this
fiscal,” said Parvez Umrigar, co-head,
structured investment group, Piramal
Enterprises.
T h r e e H y d e r a b a d - b a s e d
companies--NCC, Gayatri Projects
and IVRCL--are already negotiating
with potential buyers to sell road
assets to retire debt and infuse
money into fresh projects. Around
200 road projects with equity
investments of Rs 60,000 crore
are up for sale as promoters face
liquidity problems after the economic
downturn squeezed toll collections
significantly.
The value of total roads and bridge
infrastructure is expected to grow at
a compounded annual growth rate
of 17.4 per cent to reach $ 19 million
by 2017, according to a report on the
road sector by India Brand Equity
Foundation.
Around 189 projects out of a total
332 projects, with an outlay of Rs
27,209 crore, are stuck in various
disputes. The money involved in
disagreements between private road
developers and the NHAI has more
than doubled to Rs 27,201 crore from
Rs 11,000 crore in 2011.
Centre okays expansion of
highways in five states
The Cabinet Commi t tee on
Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved
four- and six-laning of highways
covering over 676 kilometres in Uttar
Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Kerala and
Andhra Pradesh at a total cost of about
Rs 13,987 crore.
“ The CCEA has approv e d
development of four-laning of the
Kazahakkottum-Mukkola section of
NH-47 in Kerala at an approximate
cost of Rs 587.49 crore and the length
is 26.79 km,” according to sources.
The 95.38-km long Ambala-Kaithal
section (four-laning) of NH 65 in
Haryana will be undertaken at a cost
of about Rs 1,176.48 crore.
Likewise, four-laning of Yadgiri-
Warangal section of NH-163 in
Andhra Pradesh will be done. After
the completion of this phase, the
Hyderabad and Warangal stretch
covering a total length of 99.10 km will
be developed into four-lane at a cost
of around Rs 1,487.95 crore.
Four-laning of Sultanpur-Varanasi
section of NH-56 in Uttar Pradesh,
spreading over 146.22 km, will also
be completed at a cost of about
Rs 1,975.83 crore. The CCEA also
approved four-laning of 159.30-km
long Bikaner-Falodi section of NH-15
in Rajasthan at an estimated cost of
Rs 903.40 crore.
On the Delhi-Meerut expressway,
construction of connected roads
would be undertaken.
There will be six- to eight-laning of
NH-24 (Hapur bypass), six-laning of
NH-58 (Delhi-UP border), six-laning
of NH-235 (Delhi-UP).

5. CONSTRUCIOTN July 14-20, 2014 5
A case for durable buildings
The occurrence of
building collapse
of occupied and
underconstruction
buildings should
prevented at all cost and
durability should be the
buzz-word
On Saturday, June 28, 2014 a
four-storey building collapsed in
Inderlok area of Delhi, killing 10
occupants. On the same day an 11-
storey building, under construction
in Chennai collapsed. The tragedy
left over 60 workers dead, and 40
were trapped.
One evening seven years ago,
on July 18, 2007, a wing of Lakshmi
Chhaya housing society at Borivli in
Mumbai came down crashing like a
pack of cards, killing many innocent
lives. The list of building collapses
over the years can be very long.
What was the fault of occupants
and workers who lost their lives
in the above instances and many
other similar mishaps across the
country? Because of someone else’s
irresponsibility the properties were
destroyed and people lost their
precious lives. The above unfortunate
incidents caught the attention of
the respective state governments –
Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. It was
too late, however.
There are other incidents where
people are killed due to collapse
to construct buildings that are
earthquake-resistant.
Again, on July 26, 2005 and on
June 30, 2007 ground floors of many
buildings in many suburbs of Mumbai
were flooded due to continuous
heavy downpour. Underground tanks,
including pumps, were submerged
in contaminated water. It took a few
days to restore water supply.
Now there is another cause for
alarm – we are told that the level of
sea water is going to rise, eventually
inundating regions near the coast.
All the above points need to be
considered and a policy framed for
buildings, but the most important fact
This necessitates early restoration
of structures. Many a time this is
delayed. Even if it is taken up, it is not
done in totality and as per the latest
scientific methods.
The second major cause is misuse
of the building and RCC members for
which they are not designed.
The third major cause is our
indifferent attitude to housekeeping
and regular maintenance of buildings.
The four th major cause i s
indiscriminate renovations.
The fifth major cause is violation of
instructions, precautions by owners
and builders of the neighbouring
plot.
The following are a few suggestions
for consideration of all concerned.
New costructions
Buildings (all new structures) must
be built durable. My simple and
straightforward definition of durable
building is this – buildings in which
there is no leakage, seepage or
dampness and ducts (where plumbing
lines are housed) are accessible
easily for a life time of the building
for inspection, regular maintenance,
repairs and replacement when required.
Every construction should have a
durability consultant to co-ordinate with
the architect, designer, civil engineer,
contractor and other specialized
agencies like plumbing, electrical,
etc. Durability parameters need to be
included in the tender document itself.
This ensures proper implementation.
Financial institutions should not
approve loan to a new project unless
durability parameters are included in
the project report.
From decades codes are available
for design of buildings to cater to
forces generated by earthquakes. The
BIS code is mandatory. Even then the
Government of Maharashtra thought to
bring in a legislation that every building
should be designed for earthquake
impacts.
The Chief Minister of Maharashtra,
Prithviraj Chavan, has declared Draft
State Housing Policy. Let us request
him to include a clause in the state
housing policy, making it obligatory
on the part of builders to construct
durable buildings.
It is high time something is done
to in-built durability into every new
construction.
Should there be a separate institution
to monitor durability parameters
for every project? Should there be
a legislation to specify durability
parameters in every project?
In any case, something has to be
done urgently on a war footing as we
cannot afford constructions which
are not durable -- requiring heavy
funds for repairs during the lifetime
of buildings.
Upgrading buildings
After the collapse of Pushpanjali
building in Khar, Mumbai, many
years ago, corporators in Mumbai
demanded to set up independent
‘Repair Board’ for repairs of buildings
in suburbs as suggested by the
then Afzulpurkar Committee of the
Maharashtra government. It is felt that
the idea of setting up an independent
‘Repair Board’ is good. Such a board
can take up various aspects connected
with astronomically increasing repair
work.
Structural audit: Now all buildings
are to have structural audit. This will
require a large fleet of civil engineers.
However, We must not insist for
engineers registered with MCGM. Civil
engineers who are members of any
civil engineering institution, such as
the Institution of Engineers, ACI, ICI,
ISSE, etc be roped in for this job.
Renovation: Housing societies
must ensure that none of the RCC
frame members such as columns,
beams, slabs are touched. All changes
must be done with permission of a civil
enginner.
MCGM/Repair Board Permission:
This should be made simple. In fact
if socities are going in for upgrading
their buildings, they should be given
incentivies.
Drinking water supply to flats: At
times there is no water supply for a
day or two. Hence loft tanks should
be made compulsory and slab on
which they are placed should be
designed accordingly.
Jayakumar
Jivraj Shah
Civil Engineer and
expert in durability,
repairs, waterproofing
How to avert building collapse
The collapse of structures,
including buildings, may result in
death or serious injuries to occupants,
labourers, employees and general
public. There have been numerous
incidents where structures have
collapsed. This has been due to:
Rough, stormy inclement weather,
especially strong wind; the foundations
or temporary supports of the structure
being undermined; lateral supports
of the structure being removed; the
structure receiving a heavy impact,
or any combination of these and other
factors.
Control measures
Duty holders should monitor the
structures under their management
and control for adequate stability to
ensure employees and members of
the public are not put at risk from
structural collapse.
Structures should be able to resist
extreme weather including high winds
and surface water or run-off. They
should be capable of withstanding
dynamic forces and have solid
foundations.
If unstable or likely to become
unstable, a suitable large exclusion
zone should be established around
the structure until rectification works
are completed.
Temporar y brac ing should
be considered if the structure is
incomplete or works may affect
stability. Where lateral support from
piers, cross-walls, floors and roof
framework is missing or being altered,
temporary bracing should also be
used.
Temporary bracing or other stability
controls should be designed by a
competent person who is experienced
in such works eg professional
engineer.
To ensure work will not compromise
stability, a competent person should
be consulted before adding or
making changes to or undertaking
any structural work on the structure, or
before excavating near the structure.
Temporary bracing check
A competent person should inspect
the temporary bracing arrangements
and verify in writing the stability of
the structure when the bracing is first
installed.
A competent person should
regularly assess the stability of the
structure while temporary bracing
is required. Inspections should be
done at regular intervals, based on
a risk assessment that takes into
account the structure’s condition,
environmental factors and length of
time the bracing has been in place.
In addition, an inspection should
occur as soon as possible after
an extreme weather event or other
incident that could affect stability.
No part altered or removed
Duty holders should ensure no
part of the structure that provides
structural support, including temporary
bracing, is altered or removed unless
specifically approved in writing from
a competent person. If the competent
person requires additional bracing
to be installed to ensure stability,
the changes should be made in the
sequence specified by the competent
person
Credai to cull safety,
quality manual for
buildings
The Confederation of Real Estate
Developers Association of India
(Credai) will compile a safety and
quality manual to ensure structural
stability of buildings and work with
state government to incorporate
i t into construction clearance
procedures.
The apex body of real estate
developers has initiated this process
after an 11-floor building under
construction in suburban Porur near
Chennai collapsed claiming over
60 lives.
Ajit Chordia, President, Credai-
Chennai, said that the industry
body has constituted an eight-member
expert team to suggest the
standard operating procedures to be
incorporated in the manual. This will
be obligatory for Credai members and
be part of the clearance process.
of just a compound wall or when
the earth caved in and people are
buried alive.
A few years back there was a
severe earthquake in Gujarat and in
Latur, Maharashtra when hundreds of
buildings collapsed and thousands of
lives were lost. However, it should be
noted that people died not because
of the earthquake, but because the
buildings collapsed.
Afterwards, the government
decided to bring in a legislation
is that there has to be an agency to
implement them.
Root causes
Let take a look at the root causes
for building collapse.
The first major cause is seepage
and dampness in buildings. However,
these days many buildings are not
properly planned, designed and built
so that there is no leakage. Water
corrodes reinforcement in the RCC
frame members, deteriorating the
same and reducing their life.

6. July 14-20, 2014 6
Govt mulls greenfield
airports within 150 km of
existing ones
Operators developing greenfield
airports (built from scratch on
undeveloped land) are likely to face
increased competition with the Ministry
of Civil Aviation considering tweaking
the norms to allow such airports to
be developed within 150-km radii of
existing ones.
According to norms in the ‘policy
on airport infrastructure of India’,
the government will approve the
establishment of greenfield airports in
places where an existing one is unable
to meet the projected requirements
of traffic or in case a “new focal point
of traffic emerges with sufficient
viability”. This could either be as a
replacement for an existing airport, or
for simultaneous operations.
The current policy states, “No
greenfield airport will normally be
allowed within an aerial distance of
150 km of an existing airport. Where
it is allowed as a second airport in
the same city or close vicinity, the
parameters for distribution of traffic
between the two airports will be clearly
spelt out.”
A senior ministry official said, “In
the case of existing airports that are
operated by private players, we will
honour the concession agreement. If
there is a need to develop a second
airport within a 150-km radius, we will
take the stakeholders into confidence
and look at ways to resolve the issue.”
UK must invest in B’luru-Mumbai
economic corridor: Hindujas
The Hinduja brothers, have called
on British Prime Minister David
Cameron to invest in India’s ambitious
Bengaluru-Mumbai economic corridor
(BMEC) to be the best link between the
two countries.
Speaking about the ongoing high-profile
India visit of two of Britain’s
most senior ministers — Foreign
Secretary Wi l l iam Hague and
Chancellor the Exchequer George
Osborne — Gopichand and Srichand
Hinduja believe that an investment in
the mega infrastructure project would
undoubtedly boost Britain’s economic
ties with India.
“The Prime Minister has visited two
or three times which is a good sign of
his intentions, and his new counterpart
has a great vision to build India,”
stated Gopichand Hinduja.
The Mumbai-Bengaluru industrial
corridor could be the spark for a new
economic partnership which could
finally deliver the returns Cameron has
hoped for, he said.
“By deputing his chancellor
(chancellor the exchequer) and
foreign secretary gives a further
good signal the Mumbai-Bengaluru
industrial corridor would be the best
link between the countries, but they
have to take a financial package with
them,” he said.
“Even if Britain does not have
funding like Japan, London is a
financial centre, they can at least
create a fund. They should go with
something concrete ... Mr (Narendra)
Modi is looking for foreign funding and
our interest is that India-UK trade and
industry grows,” he added.
The Indian government hopes
to generate more than $50 billion in
investment and 2.5 million jobs with
the project and Britain is working with
it on feasibility studies. The corridor
will connect India’s financial and IT
capitals with Pune, Belgaum, Dharwad
and other growing towns in between.
The Asian Development Bank has
made financial commitment of $350
million in loan and equity investment
for two energy projects in India.
“The ADB has approved a
multi-tranche loan facility of $300
million to help India’s Assam state
continue its drive to eliminate power
sector inefficiencies that are hurting
consumers and the economy,” the
multilateral lending agency said in
release recently.
In an equity investment of $50
million in a renewable energy company
ReNew Power Ventures Private Ltd, it
would help India meet clean energy
targets.
“The ADB has made an equity
investment of $50 million in a
leading Indian renewable energy
company ReNew Power Ventures
Private Limited, underscoring ADB’s
commitment to help India meet its
clean energy targets,” it said in a
separate release.
The three tranches $300 million
loan facility will fund generation and
distribution upgrades as well as
contribution of a 120-megawatt hydro
power plant.
PROJECTS UPDATE
ADB clears $350 m funding
for 2 projects in India
Navi Mumbai Metro
project may become
operational by 2017
The first phase of the ambitious
23.4-km Belapur CBD to Khandeshwar
Metro project in the neighbouring Navi
Mumbai is now expected to begin
operations only by 2017 after missing
the original deadline of 2014.
The project deadline is extended
as the implementing body, Cidco,
has decided to increase the width of
the coaches so as to align with the
Mumbai Metro.
Accordingly, the first phase of the
over Rs 2,500 crore 11.1-km corridor
from Belapur CBD to Pendhar has
missed the deadline of 2014 and will
hopefully be launched by 2017 as
Cidco has to give time to its rolling
stock vendor, Ansaldo to rework the
coaches.
Adani’s AUS$16.5 b
mine, rail project
awaiting final nod
The proposed AUS$16.5 billion
mine and rail project of Indian
mining major Adani Mining Pty Ltd in
Queensland is awaiting the final nod
from Federal Environment Minister
Greg Hunt and is expected to be
taken by August 1 this year.
The Carmichael mega-mine
project, which was subject to 190
conditions at the time when Adani
launched the proposal, was approved
by the Queensland’s co-ordinator
general two months ago,
paving the way for Adani
to develop one of the
biggest coal mines (in
the Galilee Basin) in
the world.
T h e p r o j e c t
includes a 300 km
rail line connecting
Adani’s planned
Carmichael Coal
Mine, Northwest
of Clermont, to the
Abbot Point Coal
port, near the Great
`1 lakh cr funds for
highways in a year: Gadkari
The Narendra Modi-led government
will initiate measures to turn-around
the highways sector in two years’
time by garnering funds to the tune of
Rs 1 lakh crore in a year, said Road
Transport & Highways Minister Nitin
Gadkari.
“I will prepare a blue print for
road sector reforms in a month. I will
arrange funds to the tune of Rs 1 lakh
crore in a year... The results will be out
in two years,” stated Gadkari.
His statement comes a day after
the new government in a White Paper
blamed the previous regime’s policies
“We had to make certain changes
in the original structural plan. We have
decided to increases the rail car width
to 3.2 metres from the original plan of
the 2.9 metre keeping in mind that in
future the Mumbai Metro, which uses
the standard gauge rolling stocks,
may be integrated with our metro.
This resulted in a delay as we had
to rework on our plan,” said a senior
Cidco official.
On the construction side, he said
that 73 per cent of the civil work
of the viaduct is completed, while
nearly 55-60 per cent work on the 11
stations, proposed on the corridor, is
still pending. Besides, 15-20 per cent
of the civil work of the metro depot at
Taloja is also completed.
Barrier Reef.
Adani in a statement said,
“After receiving the Queensland
Coordinator General’s approval on
May 8, Adani’s Carmichael Coal Mine
was deemed a prescribed project by
the Queensland Minister for State
Development & Deputy Premier Jeff
Seeney, another step towards the
project’s timely commencement.”
such as awarding of projects without
proper land acquisition for the poor
performance of road sector wherein
about 60 per cent of the NHAI’s
scheme are embroiled in disputes.
Gadkari said that “good days” were
on the anvil for the people of India as
the new government has understood
the problems of the nation, including
impediments faced by the highways
sector and was working hard to
solve it.
He said the contractors working
in the highways sector will have their
payments within a month.

7. INFRASTRUCTURE July 14-20, 2014 7
Vertical headway
Lifts or elevators have
boosted the growth
of the construction
industry with which the
lift industry’s fortunes
are closely bonded
The late 19th century saw a
whole new dimension added to
transportation – vertical transportation
and since then vertical transportation
has become a part and parcel
of modern urban commut ing
experience.
Getting to office therefore is often
not only about commuting from point
A to point B by bus, train, etc but
also taking the elevator to the final
destination to cover the last lap in the
race to beat the clock.
But the woes of commuting apart,
to which lifts make at worst only
a marginal contribution, the rise
and rise of lifts has continues to
drive the upward growth of human
civilization.
Boost to construction
industry
Lifts or elevators as they are called
in the US have not only spawned an
entire industry by themselves, but
have also boosted the growth of the
construction industry with which the
lift industry’s fortunes are closely
bonded.
Lifts have indeed come a long
way from the cage-like structures that
trundled up and down in their shafts,
tucked away in some dark corners of
buildings at one time, to their sleek,
almost chic avatars that glide up and
down in swank malls and shopping
arcades.
Lifts today come in a variety of
shapes, sizes and technological
sophistication from the unpretentious
strictly functional contraptions one
finds in mid-market residential
complexes to those that not only
serve the basic purpose of vertical
transportation, but also make a
statement while doing so.
Whatever the end application, there
are no free lunches, there is a cost to
everything and lifts are no exception.
Maintenance programme
The tightening economy is forcing
many, whether they are facility
executives or the management
committee of residential societies
to cut costs, to ensure continued
running of lifts which is always a
high priority.
This can often be successfully
a c h i e v e d b y d r a w i n g u p a
c o m p r e h e n s i v e p r e v e n t i v e
maintenance programme.
Lifts are, in the final analysis,
e l e c t r o -me c h a n i c a l d e v i c e s
and require ongoing consistent
maintenance to offer a level of safety
and operational efficiency.
In many countries it is mandatory
for the building/facility owners/
managers to have an ongoing
maintenance programme under
relevant building codes.
Test performance
The starting point, of course,
should be to regularly test the
performance of lifts. A fairly
good idea of this can be had
from keeping note of the
wait times of the user’s
experience after pushing
an elevator’s button.
In most buildings,
w a i t t i m e s a r e
expected to be about
20 to 30 seconds from
the time a button is
activated.
Another attribute that
should be checked is
how the lift comes to a
stop. The car should stop
level or within a quarter-inch of
the floor so that the risk of tripping
as users enter or leave the elevator
is minimized.
Lifts in most upmarket facilities
have phones which also should be
checked to ensure they are in working
order and that they connect to the
monitoring entity.
Smooth and slow pace
The operation of the doors should
be smooth and these should not open
and close so quickly as to create a
fear in the minds of the occupants
that they might be caught between
the closing doors if they move too
slowly when exiting and entering the
elevator.
Though there is at times pressure
on facility managers to increase the
operating speed of the doors, to
reduce trip times, occupants mostly
prefer a slightly slower pace.
Facility executives should also
check out the callout rate, or the
number of unplanned service outages
during a set time period.
This is often expressed either
as the number of calls experienced
during a quarter or year, or as the
‘mean time between call outs’.
So, in case an elevator requires
maintenance about once each
quarter, the mean time between
failure would be 90 days.
Technical cause
It is often required for those
charged with the maintenance of
the lift to separate service calls into
those that are controllable arise from
a technical cause, and those that
cannot be controlled from an elevator
maintenance perspective.
The second group includes calls
due to mishandling or inappropriate
elevator use, such as a call to repair
a door that was knocked off track due
to abuse by tenants.
It is a rule of the thumb that those
tasked with the maintenance of the
facility should reduce the rate of
Preventive maintenance
comprises scheduled
appointments during
w h i c h e l e v a t o r
t e c h n i c i a n s c a n
check whether the
elevator is running
as it should be.
C a l l - b a c k
m a i n t e n a n c e ,
o c c u r s wh e n t h e
building engineer or
facility executive calls the
elevator company to report
elevator malfunction.
While the technicians focus
on investigating and resolving the
immediate problem and getting
the lift back in service again, the
possibility of a deeper underlying
issue with the system should not be
ignored.
Service pacts
There was a time when most
elevator maintenance was handled by
companies that actually manufactured
elevators.
However, the picture is different
today with companies offering service
contracts entering the marketplace,
adding competition.
While this opens up options for
facility executives, what should
not be lost sight of is whether the
stakeholder is getting the bang for
his buck.
It generally makes more sense to
go with the manufacturer’s service
agreement even if this comes with a
small premium.
Given that the company’s expertise
in building the elevator, its employees
can be expected to be experts.
As regards the length of the
contract period, though this is best
left to the concerned parties, before
signing on the dotted line past
experience can be an excellent
guide.
Referrals may also come in
handy where there is no first-hand
experience. Generally a longer term
contract may be taken a sign that
the company is serious about the
business.
The company would be more likely
to make the required investments in
people and equipment.
Experts point out that the contract
should be tailored to equipment type,
age and usage, rather than simply
follow a generic maintenance plan.
The exact maintenance schedule
would however depend on the type
of lift as also its age and the level
of use it experiences. Maintenance
requirements may differ across towns
and cities as per stipulations of local
municipal authorities which might
range from annual, or even quarterly
or monthly testing.
Provider service needs
As part of its services, the providers
should develop and maintain a
database that identifying all the
elevator equipment, along with their
age, condition, usage patterns and
maintenance records.
Providers would do well to assign
a team to each building, so that the
facilities team knows who to call when
problems occur.
It is imperative on the part of the
facilities executive to understand how
the contract sets the boundaries of
elevator maintenance, and where
it expects building maintenance to
start. For example, the contract might
call for facility executives keeping
the machine room door locked, so
to block unauthorized entry and
potential disruption/tampering with
the controls.
Safety factor
Elevator systems today incorporate
a variety of features designed to
offer accident proof operation to the
extent possible and users get a quick,
dependable ride.
It should be the endeavour of
all concerned to strictly follow the
manufacturers’ guidelines and
directions to ensure that this critical
piece of equipment functions to the
highest level of safety at all times.
Lifts today incorporate safety brakes
along with a speed-sensing governor
that acts to stop an elevator in case it
over speeds during descending.
Elevators today make use of sensors
to detect passengers or objects in
the door opening, preventing the
continued closing of the doors. More
sophisticated systems use light rays
for detecting people or objects in the
doorway and reverse or stop the doors
without requiring physical contact.
Hoistway doors are interlocked
in such a manner as to render the
elevator non-operable unless the
doors are fully closed and secured. In
case of forced opening of the doors,
the interlock circuit is broken, causing
the elevator to immediately stop.
Switches installed in the elevator
shaft detect the presence of the car at
different stages during its movement
and trigger slowdowns or stops at the
proper points, and help prevent further
travel in the up or down direction.
Elevator cabs have several items
installed to help increase safety.
An emergency alarm switch can
be activated by passengers in an
emergency.
Many elevators feature emergency
telephone or intercom to serve a link
to assistance in case of stalling of
the car.
Further in the event of a power
failure, emergency lighting systems
kick in to provide illumination for hours
if needed.
Some systems also ensure
availability of emergency power to
permit movement of the elevator and
evacuation of the passengers.
Vivek Dev
Electrical Engineer
and freelance writer
controllable outages to about one
call per quarter.
This by no way means that facility
executives can ignore the manner
in which tenants use (or abuse) the
lift.
For instance, acts like use of the
lift for heavy equipment beyond the
stated service weight, marking or
denting of the sides, of the lifts should
warrant prompt action on the part of
facility executives.
This could call for posting signs, or
talking with the concerned authorities
as per discretion.
Frequent service calls for the
same lift/elevator should be taken
as a pointer to deeper malfunction
and should be raised with the service
company.
Also, increasing wait times that
should be a good enough reason for
a proper in-depth investigation.
There could be many reasons
ranging from a large tenant changing
work hours, affecting traffic flow in the
building to problems with the elevator
controls.
Lift performance
While keeping a watch on lift
performance is critical, proper
maintenance usual ly requi res
professional assistance.
According to experts a strong
focus on preventive maintenance
pays off much better in the long
rather than call-back maintenance.

8. July 14-20, 2014 8
Investment sale route
What Govt can do
for real estate
Cidco to build 3,000
low-cost houses for poor
The City & Industrial Development
Corporation (Cidco) plans to develop
over 3,000 affordable houses for lower
income groups and economically
weaker sections. “To fulfill the
objective of shelter for all, Cidco has
decided to develop the houses for
economically weaker sections and
lower income groups,” said Cidco
Chairman Pramod Hindurao in an
official statement.
The yet-to-be-named affordable
scheme, slated to be completed by
March 2016, would have 2,590 houses
for the lower income group segment
and 704 flats for the marginalised.
REAL ESTATE
The scheme is set to be launched on
July 22 and application forms along
with an information booklet, which
costs Rs 50, would be available on
the same day for a month.
“To make it more feasible to buy
a home in the scheme, the applicant
has been given the facility to pay the
amount in six equal installments,”
he said.
A flat meant for economically
weaker sections of around 28.55
square metres would cost Rs 15.78
lakh, while lower income group flat
of 34.36 square metres would cost
Rs 23.93 lakh.
Indian real estate’s
long-term potential
is wholeheartedly
acknowledged by
investors across the
globe. Investor interest
is expected to grow
multi-fold in future
Real estate is a business that
requires regular funding, be it at
the acquisition or execution stage.
To raise funds, developers in India
opt for modes like joint venture,
pre-sale and construction finance.
Construction finance can work out
cheaper but is difficult to obtain
because of the strict guidelines laid
down by the Reserve Bank of India.
Other routes are relatively easier but
cut into a developer’s profits, since
they involve sharing approval as well
as execution and marketing risk for
the project.
Con s ide r i ng t h e t ime a n d
complexity involved in the approval
processes in India, coupled with
delays in execution due to various
reasons, a new option is becoming
popular among developers and
inves tor s . Thi s opt ion i s the
investment sale route.
In this mode, investors acquire
a stake in partially or fully-leased
properties rather than entering at
early stage of construction. This
eliminates the execution risk for
investor and provides regular rental
income along with possibilities of
capital appreciation, and developers
enjoy better valuations for their
properties.
Distinct advantage
Since the objective is to hold
the property for a longer term to
earn regular rental income while
retaining an option to exit later, the
quality of development as well as
the project’s tenants become very
important. This puts commercial
Modi government is
likely to remove most of
policy roadblocks that
prevent the velocity of
the housing sector
The dust has settled on the
elections drama and the BJP is now
firmly in the driver’s seat. By and large,
this is being seen as the best possible
news for the Indian real estate sector -
and rightly so. Narendra Modi has the
business mind-set, background and
also determination which are called for
to bring India’s entire economy back
on track. What the real estate sector
now awaits is his policy approach to
the issue of housing in India.
Now, as the country stands poised
on the verge of a major change
in economic climate, it is a good
time to reflect on why boosting the
housing sector is so important for the
country. Economists typically measure
economic health on various different
parameters, including Gross Domestic
Product (GDP), the momentum of the
manufacturing sector, inflation rate,
etc. However, in India, the appetite
for home ownership can and must be
included as an important variable.
Forward momentum
The heal th of the economy
influences people’s desire to either
invest or hold on to their money. Since
real estate is an investable asset
class, forward momentum in the real
estate sector depends heavily on
economic climate.
In fact, real estate is also a priority
investment route in India, because
the desire to own homes is extremely
high in this country. It is also an
extremely important vertical from an
economic viewpoint, because the
transacting of real estate generates
massive revenue for the government.
This revenue can, in turn, be used
for the creation of infrastructure,
reducing national debt and generally
uplifting the country.
These aspects are extremely
important from the point of view of
the country’s ability to attract more
investments from abroad. The Modi
government is quite aware of this
fact, and - in the interest of overall
economic growth - is likely to remove
all or most of the policy roadblocks
that have been preventing the
velocity of the housing sector in
India.
This process will involve better
incentives towards first-time home
ownership, quicker approvals for
residential projects, a sharp focus on
the creation of affordable housing,
boosting rental housing schemes,
unlocking government-held land for
development, putting infrastructure
properties at a distinct advantage,
since a commercial lease transaction
is, in most cases, an agreement with
a corporate for a longer tenure of
between 3 - 9 years.
A residential lease arrangement,
on the other hand, is with an individual
and invariably for a shorter term that
usually does not exceed 11 months.
Also, while office or retail assets
provide higher yields of 10-12%, the
yield for residential properties rarely
exceeds 3-5%. Hence, residential -
while indubitably the most popular
asset class in India - is not preferred
for investment sales transactions.
Long-term potential
Real estate in India is currently
at an interesting juncture. While it
remains impacted by an uninspiring
economic scenario that is likely to
prevail for some time to come, Indian
real estate’s long-term potential is
wholeheartedly acknowledged by
investors across the globe. With the
government taking active steps to
improve transparency in the sector,
investor interest is expected to grow
multi-fold in the future.
The Indian of f ice sector i n
the top seven cities is currently
valued at around USD 72 billion.
Completed office space accounts for
approximately USD 45 billion, while
under-construction stock accounts
for USD 27 billion. In terms of area,
completed A Grade office stock in
the top seven cities is as high as
376 million square feet and is highly
concentrated in Mumbai, Bangalore,
Chennai and the NCR region, which
together constitute more than 80%
of the total area.
Out of this A Grade office stock,
nearly 45% is FDI compliant which,
combined with higher rental yields,
has made India an automatic choice
for global investors.
Weak currency
The country’s weakening domestic
currency has made investment in
India all the more lucrative. If an
investment of $1 fetched a foreign
investor an asset worth INR 49 two
years back, it fetches an asset worth
of INR 59 today. While this is a double-edged
sword, the advantages of a
good entry point can certainly not
be ignored. If the REIT commences
in India, it will also provide easier exit
with better valuation.
Uncertainty
While India offers interesting
inves tment sale opt ions , the
challenges it presents remain. The
restriction on investments into specific
asset classes, ever-changing policies
on FDI, taxation and development,
coupled with a lack of transparency
in the system and high amount of
friction in approval mechanisms,
have led to an uncertainty in yields
and tenure of lock-in for investments
in real estate. This has affected
investor sentiment and as a result,
FDI in real estate and infrastructure
in India dropped considerably from
$5.8 billion in FY10 to USD 1.3 billion
in FY13.
Foreign investment
The new government at the Centre
and its various ministries have been
distributed with focus on ‘minimum
government, maximum governance’.
By giving high importance to good
governance and development in his
mandate, India’s new Prime Minister
has made it clear that he will go
the extra mile to encourage foreign
investment into the country and, in
turn, improve the country’s business
environment and prospects.
With massive real estate stock
available at high rental yields, India’s
excellent investment opportunity
will multiply exponentially. If FDI
regulat ions are relaxed going
forward, investment sales as a
market vertical will grow substantially
in years to come.
creation on the fast lane, and many
more initiatives that the previous
government had failed to address.
Tangible benefits
At the citizen level, these changes
are going to bring very tangible
positive benefits. With the increased
viability of home ownership, more
and more people will finally be able to
live in self-owned rather than rented
homes. Home ownership is not only a
matter of pride and financial security,
but is also an important fulcrum for
social change.
People who live in self-owned
homes are more responsible citizens
- they are personally invested into
their neighbourhoods, become
actively involved in maintaining
law and order and generally see
themselves as stakeholders rather
than detached audience members.
Such citizens tend to join hands with
the government as agents of even
greater change at all levels.
The effect that the policies and
actions of a government which is
dedicated to boosting the economy
with real estate as an important card
in the deck can have at a city, state
and finally national level must not be
under-estimated. We are now looking
at the real possibility of a revival in the
Shobhit
Agarwal
Managing Director,
Capital Markets,
JLL India
economy, the infrastructure, home
ownership and interest by foreign
companies who have been waiting
to invest into India.
Apart from an increase in national
pride, this can result in significantly
reduced loss of valuable talent to
other countries, meaning a sustained
growth in home sales within the
country. The increased attractiveness
of real estate as an investment class
will also result in a major revival of the
second homes market.
Arvind Jain
Managing Director,
Pride Group
The statement said that applicants
would have to pay a refundable
deposit. They would have to deposit
Rs 25,000 for the economically
weaker section flat and Rs 50,000 for
the lower income group flat.
Monthly income of the applicant
for the economically weaker section
applicants should be under Rs
16,000 and the lower income group
applicant should earn between Rs
16,001 and Rs 40,000.
“We have also decided to give
special reservation for Navi Mumbai
project affected people. Cidco is
committed to provide quality houses
at affordable prices. To make the
dream of owning a house a reality
for economically weaker sections
like housemaids and autorickshaw
drivers, the ‘Nano’ housing scheme
is in the pipeline,” he said.

9. July 14-20, 2014 9
EQUIPMENT
New Secretary General
The appointment of the new
Secretary General was taken by the
Cece Steering Group and confirmed
by the association’s Presidents’
Committee in May 2014.
De Vries commented, “The
construction equipment industry
forms an important part of the
machinery manufacturing sector
in Europe, and EU legislation has
a direct impact on its ability to
stay competitive. I look forward to
promote the interests of this industry
towards the European Institutions
and work together with the Cece
members, partner associations
SDLG celebrates 10th year
in Russia
Shandong Lingong Construction
Machinery Co Ltd is celebrating its
10th anniversary of doing business
in the Russian market. To mark the
special occasion, the company invited
Moscow municipal government
officials, the China Construction
Machinery Association and related
industry bodies to toast a long and
Caterpillar India launches new
backhoe loader
Caterpillar India announced the
launch of its new backhoe loader
at the Chennai Trade Centre. Over
the past few years, the Cat 424B
Backhoe Loader designed for the India
market and customer requirements
has been recognized as the best in
class performance, productivity and
durability. In this new product, further
design improvements have been made
in the machine to deliver significant
improvement in fuel consumption.
“We continue to invest and improve
on our 424B to better serve our
customers in India which continues
to be the largest backhoe market
in the world. Fuel cost represents
nearly 50 per cent of the operating
cost for customers here. Imagine
what a 20 per cent reduction in fuel
consumption will deliver to the bottom
line,” said Silvana Godelaine, World
Wide General Manager for Caterpillar
Backhoe Products. While Ramesh
Tipirneni, Country Manager, Caterpillar
India said, “We are the global leader
in the construction equipment and
mining products and have developed
world class R&D and product
development center and factory
operations here in India. We have been
actively leveraging our capability in
India to support our global business.”
at CECE
The Committee for European
Construction Equipment (Cece)
industry has hired a new Secretary
General as of the first of July. It
secured the commitment of Sigrid de
Vries, partner in the public relations
agency Quick Communications, to
represent the sector towards the
EU institutions and manage the
association’s Brussels office.
The new Secretary General
succeeds Ralf Wezel who leaves after
a 12-year tenure with Cece in order
to undertake new responsibilities
within the industry association VDMA
in Frankfurt.
Eric Lepine, President of Cece
and Managing Director of Caterpillar
France SAS, welcomed the new
Secretary General to Cece. “I firmly
believe Sigrid will do an excellent
job. She has a strong management
experience and a very solid knowledge
of both our industry and the Brussels’
political environment. I am looking
forward to working with her.”
Lepine thanked Wezel for his
commitment, adding, “Ralf has
strengthened the role and influence
of Cece throughout his time with the
association. We wish him all the best
in his new challenge.”
Eric Lepine, CECE President (left) with Sigrid de Vries, New Secretary General (right)
successful partnership at Crocus
Expo International Exhibition Centre
in Moscow.
Since ramping up investment
in infrastructure over the past few
years, Russia has seen an influx of
construction equipment manufacturers
all vying for a piece of the action.
However, one Chinese manufacturer
On the occasion, H Jayaram,
Managing Director & CEO of GMMCO
Ltd, Caterpillar dealer for South, West
and Central India commented, “We
at GMMCO are extremely happy
that the new backhoe loader with
product improvements will further
help customers in reducing the cost
of operation. GMMCO with its best-in-class
product support capabilities will
be able to significantly help our valued
customers improve their productivity
and profitability. The wide network of
GMMCO branches with experienced
technical personnel and parts back up
will help us in positioning CAT 424 as
the first choice of customers, thereby
– Shandong Lingong Construction
Machinery Co Ltd (known as Lingong)
– has shown that longevity and strong
relationships are the keys to success
in this market.
Lingong’s well-known and trusted
SDLG-branded equipment was first
introduced into the Russian market
10 years ago, and since then the
significantly growing the sales of Cat
424 Backhoe Loaders in our market.”
Furthermore, Sunil Chaturvedi,
Managing Director & CEO of Tractors
India Pvt Ltd (TIPL) Caterpillar dealer
for northern and eastern India, said,
“The expectations of Indian customers
have transformed with time. Customers
expect much more than a product
– and we at TIPL are fully geared
to provide extraordinary customer
experience and serve as a one-stop-shop
for all the customer needs. I am
confident that the new 424B will scale
very high on customer satisfaction
levels.”
Amit Bansal, Head of Marketing
and other stakeholders to achieve
common goals.”
Sigrid de Vries, a Dutch national,
is an experienced EU governmental
a f f a i r s and communications
professional, who served many
company has gone from strength
to strength, becoming the country’s
largest importer of wheel loaders.
At the 10th anniversary celebration
held in Moscow on June 4, 2014,
Lingong’s CEO, Yu Mengsheng,
said, “Dealing with overseas markets
can pose challenges, not to mention
dealing with a country as vast as
Russia. But over the past 10 years,
we have grown from the ground up
to achieve the number 1 position for
wheel loaders. This is thanks to the
support of our loyal customers and
dealers who have helped us create
a mature parts-supply network. With
more than 30 sales and service
centres throughout Russia, we are well
positioned and committed to serve
this market through continuous proven
technology and improved aftermarket
support. We are not only here to grow,
we are here to stay.”
“The market has picked up
gradually after a sluggish winter and
we are seeing increased demand for
construction machinery in the housing
sector,” Yu continued. “We have
plans to bring new equipment to the
country -- and since 2013, we have
successfully introduced our backhoe
loaders, compact equipment and
excavators – and as a result, we’ve
seen rapid growth in the number of
(L-R) Vivek Chandrashekaran, Sales & Marketing Director, Asia Region, Building Construction
Products, Caterpillar; Ramesh Tipirneni, Country Manager, Caterpillar India; and H Jayaram,
MD & CEO, GMMCO Ltd
& Sales Caterpillar India Building
Construction Products Division, added,
“My team is so excited to have this new
and improved product in the market.
Our customers will be absolutely
delighted. At this launch we are also
pleased to announce attractive offers
to our customers who book now and
take delivery shortly. They can enjoy
further 20 per cent reduction in their
EMI during the monsoon season or
years as director of communications
at Acea (the European Automobile
Manufacturers Associat ion) i n
Brussels and later led the institutional
relations activities of CNH Industrial
in Europe.
orders customers are placing thanks
to a more diverse product range.”
Over 150 guests attended the
10th anniversary event including
customers, SDLG’s Russian dealer
–Rus Business Auto Ltd – senior
management from SDLG in China and
officials from the Moscow municipal
government.
The event took place during the
CTT Russia trade show in Moscow
and the company showed a range
of SDLG construction equipment
including a wheel loader – the SDLG
LG953N – a compact road roller
SDLG RS8140, the SDLG LG6225
excavator and the customer-made
SDLG LG944MSK wheel loader.
Among those in attendance were
GBU Zhilishnik, Chief Technical Officer
Alexey Sharin; Rus Business Auto (RBA)
CEO Taraskin Yuri Aleksandrovich;
Purchase Director Alexey Tsepenkov;
Bank of China Moscow Manager Shao
Jin; Secretary-General of the China
Construction Machinery Association
Su Zimeng; General Manager of SDLG
Export Company Wang Xiaohui; and
Chief Technology Officer at Lingong,
Zhi Kaiyin.
“We have remained loyal to SDLG
over other brands because of the
machines’ reliability and versatility,”
said Alexey Sharin.
India CE market to grow
18.5 pc CAGR during 2012-16
SDLG and RBA senior management line up in front of the newly delivered LG944MSK wheel loader model, custom-made for GBU Zhilishnik Moscow
The India construction equipment
market is to grow at a CAGR of 18.52
per cent over the period 2012-2016, as
per a new market research report.
One of the key factors contributing
to this market growth is the
increasing investment in infrastructure
development. The construction
equipment market in India has also
been witnessing an increasing focus
on R&D.
However, the fluctuation in raw
material prices could pose a challenge
to the growth of this market.
The construction industry in India
includes a large number of small
construction companies, which
prefer low-cost products from China.
These Chinese products are priced
competitively about 5-10 per cent
cheaper than the Indian construction
equipment products.
20per cent reduction in their initial
maintenance cost. In addition we are
also offering a free motorcycle for
the customers who buy the machine
before July 15.”
To be manufactured at the new
facility in Thiruvallur, Cat backhoe
loaders bring together reliable and
time-tested features with unique
and market leading technologies at
competitive rates.
Chinese equipment manufacturers
have a strong presence in some
segments such as wheel loaders and
dozers, where they hold a market
share of more than 10 per cent.
Therefore, due to the availability of low-cost
products from Chinese vendors,
the construction equipment market
in India is witnessing an increase in
imports of construction equipment
from China.
One of the major growth drivers in
the market is increasing investment
in infrastructure development. The
Government of India is increasing
its investment in infrastructure
development to provide better roads
and bridges across the country; this
has led to an increase in the demand
for construction equipment in the
country.

10. REAL ESTAET July 14-20, 2014 10
Tata Housing to invest
`600 cr in Gurgaon
Tata group firm Tata Housing will
invest Rs 600 crore over the next
four years to develop a new luxury
residential project in Gurgaon. With
expanding presence in the Delhi-
NCR market, the company launched
fourth project in this region, all in
Gurgaon, to develop about 150 villas
in a price range of Rs 3-8 crore.
Tata Housing Development
Company strengthened its presence
in the high-end luxury segment in
NCR by launching its fourth project
Arabella. It did not mention project
cost, but sources said the investment
on development of this project would
be around Rs 600 crore over the next
four years, including land cost.
The project, to be designed by
architects Perkins Eastman, USA, is
spread over 35 acres on Gurgaon-
Sohna Road. Tata Housing is a
subsidiary of Tata Sons Ltd, which has
99.86 per cent stake in the realty firm.
The company has 70 million sq
ft under various stages of planning
and execution and an additional
19 million sq ft in the pipeline. Tata
Housing has presence in Mumbai,
Pune, Ahmedabad, Goa, Gurgaon,
Chandigarh, Bengaluru, Chennai,
Kolkata and Bhubaneswar. The
company has also ventured into
foreign markets such as Maldives
and Sri Lanka.
HDIL to sell 1 m sq ft
commercial space
in Mumbai
Rea l t y de v e lope r Hous ing
Development & Inf rast ructur e
(HDIL) has put its nearly 1 million
sq ft commercial complex at Kurla in
Mumbai on the block as it seeks to
reduce debt. HDIL is looking to raise
over Rs 500 crore through the sale of
this under-construction property called
Premier Commercial.
“The developer is currently in talks
with two entities including a private
equity fund, that has already started
due diligence for the property,” said
one of the people quoted earlier.
The transaction is expected to be
completed in the next 45 days.
HDIL has already completed
around 70 per cent of the project for
which construction had started in
late 2010. It was earlier considering
converting the commercial project
with large floor plate area of 2 lakh
sq ft into a residential project.
But it has now shelved the plan
and decided to completely offload
the project to support its debt-reduction
strategy. We are looking
at reduction of debt by Rs 700-800
crore this financial year and various
options are being considered for
this, said Hari Prakash Pandey, Vice
President (finance) at HDIL. Recently,
the developer sold its 45 per cent
stake in its subsidiary that owned a
hotel property at Juhu in Mumbai for
Rs 290 crore.
Kolkata consortium buys
realty firm for `150 cr
A Kolkata-based real estate
consortium has acquired 100 per
cent stake in realty firm Keppel Magus
Development Pvt Ltd for Rs 150
crore.
The consortium, comprising Sureka
Group, Merlin Group and JB Group,
has bought the entire stake in the
company, a special purpose vehicle
set up to develop 25 acre township
in Kolkata, Elita Garden Vista.’ After
completing the first phase of the
project, Keppel Group decided to
divest 100 per cent of its stake to the
consortium for Rs 150 crore, said the
release.
The group of developers now
plans to execute the remaining two
phases covering 13 lakh sq ft, which
will comprise multiple towers of 15-32
storey and 1.6 lakh sq ft of developed
commercial space, besides speeding
up the remaining few deliveries from
phase-1, it said. Around 850 apartments
of 2/3BHK configurations are slated to
DDA to auction plots to
private developers in Rohini
The Delhi Development Authority
(DDA) plans to auction plots to
private developers for the first time
in Rohini’s Sector 40 and 41 for
constructing group housing societies,
a step aimed at meeting the demand
for high-end flats in the capital.
In all, 33,600 flats will be built on
these plots — 17,400 high-end flats
and 16,200 flats for economically
weaker sections spread over 131
hectares. The group housing
societies, which will be high-rises,
will come up on plots of five hectares
each.
“This proposal to sell land to
private developers for constructing
group housing societies is being
considered for the first time. We
felt that private players can offer
quality high-end flats,” said DDA Vice
Chairman Balvinder Kumar.
“These will be high-end flats.
be constructed in phase-2.
“We were comfortable dealing
with Keppel Magus because of their
commitment to quality and customer
satisfaction. It fits our Group’s core
values of delivering quality products
and dealing with transparency and
fairness,” said Sureka Group Director
Pradeep Sureka.
Commenting on the deal, JB Group
Head Rajendra Bachhawat said,
“Our group of developers has a
strong financial foundation and real
estate know-how. Being debt free, we
have enough strength in the group
balance sheet to fund the 13 lakh sq
ft development.”
In addition to the Kolkata venture,
Sureka and Mer l in are joint l y
developing 15 lakh sq ft of residential
space in Odisha under two projects
-- Springville Homes and Springville
Greens. Individually, they have projects
in Hyderabad, Raipur, Chennai and
Ahmedabad.
Group housing societies similar to
the ones being developed in Noida
and Ghaziabad will come up here.
Around 15 per cent of extra floor area
ratio will be provided for housing for
the economically weaker sections,”
he said.
There will be 4,500 one-room flats
for the elderly, which will be spread
over 24 acres with common kitchens,
canteens, medical and recreational
facilities. The DDA is also planning
to develop around 15 secondary
schools. “There is a requirement for
good schools in the area. So, we are
looking at that also,” he said.
The DDA has been struggling to
provide adequate housing in Delhi. It
is planning to roll out housing scheme
2014, which is expected to offer 26,000
flats across various categories. The
scheme is now expected to be rolled
out by August.
Prestige buys land from
Siemens for `345 cr
Prestige City Properties, an arm of
real estate company Prestige Estates,
has bought 8.5 acres in Bengaluru
from Siemens for Rs 345 crore.
The land parcel is located at
Koramangala, across the Forum
Mall, built by the Prestige group.
In a stock exchange notification,
Siemens said it sold the land as part
of a continuous asset optimization
exercise.
“We have sold the land parcel in
Bengaluru on July 3, 2014 to Prestige
City Properties. The proceeds of the
sale are approximately Rs 345 crore.”
The Prestige group is planning a
mixed-use development, but mainly
residential.
The group has 171 completed
projects aggregating 52.39 million
sq ft and 63 ongoing projects with
59.47 million sq ft of developable
area. Twenty-eight of its upcoming
projects aggregate 31.96 million sq
ft and span residential, commercial,
retail and hospitality sectors in major
South Indian cities.
ASK exits Pune realty investment
Financial services group ASK,
a player in the real estate private
equity business, is exiting from
Liviano, a project by Darode Jog
Properties, in Kharadi, Pune. The
phased investment in this project
was made between September
2010 and March 2011, from ASK’s
first Rs 326 crore worth Special
Opportunities Portfolio.
The investment of Rs 37 crore has
given a multiple of 2.35 amounting
to an exit value of Rs 87 crore. ASK
raised its maiden fund in 2009 and
has fully deployed the same by
March 2012, in seven projects in
Pune, Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai.
For this fund the group has
partnered developers like Darode
Jog, Paranjpe Schemes and Amit
Enterprises in Pune, ATS in Noida,
Real Value and Mantri Developers
in Chennai and Godrej Properties
in Mumbai.

11. July 14-20, 2014 11
Limitless gets nod
for Halong Star
development in Vietnam
INTERNATIONAL
Solairedirect – one of
European Cleantech
Companies of the Decade
Midgard to begin
Croydon Gateway
in S London
Borehamwood contractor Midgard,
a unit of JRL Group, will begin work
on long-awaited Croydon’s massive
£500m Ruskin Square development
soon. Work under the first phase
includes construction of the 161 flats
under a £34m contract with joint venture
developer Stanhope/Schroders.
These new flats will be arranged
over two high-rise blocks, 22 storeys
and 9 storeys, accommodating a
mixture of one and two bedroom
apartments. Developers Stanhope
and Schroders secured planning
approvals in 2013 for the first phase
of the development.
The project includes hundreds of
flats, offices, shops and restaurants
on wasteland by East Croydon station.
The nine-acre site, dubbed as ‘East
Croydon gateway’, has been empty
since for 15 years and completely
derelict after the closure of the
Warehouse Theatre in 2012.
Dubai developer Limitless will now
move forward with the plans to build
a residential and tourism project in
Vietnam, following the approval from
Quang Ninh state authority.
The authority has issued an
investment certificate for Halong
Star, which allows Limitless form a
joint venture for the project, on which
infrastructure work is anticipated
to begin later this year once the
land lease has been obtained.
Halong Star’s master plan includes
homes, retail facilities and a hotel,
all overlooking the Unesco World
Heritage Site of Halong Bay on
Vietnam’s north-east coast. In May
2013, Limitless had signed a new
joint venture deal for the construction
of Halong Star.
Saudi Aramco to build
11 sports stadiums in S Arabia
Saudi Aramco, a national petroleum
and natural gas company, will build 11
sports stadiums across the country.
The stadiums will come up in regions
including Madinah, Qassim, Eastern,
Asir, Tabuk, Hail, Northern Borders,
Jazan, Najran, Baha and Jouf.
Minister of Petroleum & Mineral
Resources Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi
said the projects will be established
within King Abdullah programme for
establishing main stadiums in the
different regions of the country. Each
of the stadiums will have capacity
for 45,000 spectators. Aramco has
started forming special teams for
taking initial steps in implementation,
planning and supervision of the
stadiums. Further, Saudi Arabia is
constructing three more stadiums
than Qatar, which will host the football
world cup in 2022.
Presently, the Kingdom has 23
large stadiums in different regions of
Saudi Arabia including the King Fahd
International Stadium in Riyadh that
has one of the largest stadium roofs
in the world.
Solairedirect, a global pioneer of
competitive solar power generation,
was named by Cleantech Group
(CTG), developer of the i3 market
intelligence platform, as one of CTG’s
five picks as a European Cleantech
Company of the Decade.
“As solar power now becomes
competitive around the world, we
are very proud to see Solairedirect’s
model, resilience and achievements
recognized by this prestigious
Award,” said Thierry Lepercq,
Chairman of Solairedirect.
This one-off award was made in
connection with the 10th anniversary
Cleantech Forum Europe, held in
Stockholm this year. The award was
made in Stockholm’s City Hall, the
venue of the annual Nobel Prize
ceremony.
“We set out to select private
companies that got started and
have achieved impressive results
in the timeframe since we first
conceived of a Cleantech Forum
Europe. We sought companies
whose stories are illustrative of
the collective journey we have all
been on, and whose promise for
2014 and beyond is exciting and
speaks to the sustainable innovation
opportunities in front of us,” said
Sheeraz Haji, CEO, CTG.
“Solairedirect was picked to
represent the roller coaster that
has been the solar market these
past years,” explained Richard
Youngman, Managing Director
Europe & Asia, CTG.
“To survive the turmoil required
not only perseverance, but also
ingenuity in adapting fast to changed
circumstances and the need to pivot
on business models and plans. Now
with 500 mw on five continents, they
look well set for the grid parity phase
of solar,” he added.
Solairedirect is a global pioneer of
competitive solar power engineering
and generation. The company was
founded in 2006 with the mission of
making solar power accessible to
all and fully competitive with other
sources of energy.
Solairedirect industrializes the
downstream photovoltaic processes
with a cost-driven, risk-controlled
and grid-compatible approach:
project development, design and
EPC (engineering, procurement,
construction), structured financing
and legal engineering, etc. The
company has operations in France,
India, South Africa, Chile, Thailand,
China and the USA.