Cial has non-metro, foreign airports on radar

November 21, 2007

It plans to participate in the modernization of the 35 airports in the country, apart from the overseas projects

New Delhi: Cochin International Airport Ltd (Cial), the company that built the new international airport at Kochi, India’s first to be built by a private sector firm, is looking to build airports in India and in other countries in an effort to tap growing demand for airline infrastructure in many parts of the world.

Cial plans to participate in the modernization programme of 35 non-metro airports in the country and also wants to build airports in Sri Lanka, Ghana, Angola and Papua New Guinea, according to S. Bharat, managing director, Cial.

Cial was promoted by the Kerala government, financial institutions, airport service providers, non-resident Keralites and a group of entrepreneurs.

The single largest shareholder in the company is the state government with 35% of the paid-up capital.

Bharat added that Cial is in talks with an international finance company and a technical partner to promote a new company that will handle these projects.

Cial’s overseas plans come at a time when international airport operators such as Singapore’s Changi Airport International (CAI), Airport Company South Africa Ltd, Fraport AG and other leading players from Mexico, Turkey, Paris and Germany are looking to partner with Indian companies to bid for airport projects in the country. Singapore’s CAI had floated a joint venture company with Tata Realty & Infrastructure Ltd, a subsidiary of the Tata group for the airport modernization projects in India.

If it wins any of the projects to build airports outside the country, Cial will be following in the footsteps of Bangalore-based GMR Infrastructure Ltd, the lead partner in the consortium that runs Delhi International Airport, which will be developing Sabiha Gokeen International Airport (SGIA) at Istanbul, Turkey. GMR’S partners in this project are Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhard and Limak Insaat Sanavi San Ve Tic A S Turkey.

Bharat confirmed Cial’s overseas aspirations.

“The government of Sri Lanka has invited us to study the possibilities of building an airport there. We have got offers from Ghana, Angola and Papua New Guinea. Cial’s team will shortly visit those countries,” he said.

Cial plans to take up overseas airport projects on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) or build-own-operate (BOO) basis. Under the BOT model, the developer constructs and manages a project for a specified time before handing it over to the government; in the BOO model, the developer continues to operate the project with a local partner.

“The funding of these airport projects would be done by a special purpose company formed under Cial,” Bharat said.

He declined to name the international partners citing confidentiality agreements.

“We are also looking at bidding for the ongoing airport projects within India as we can make airports at lower cost,” Bharat added. The Cochin airport was built at a cost of Rs315 crore including the cost of land.

A government committee on infrastructure, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has estimated that India will need to spend more than Rs40,000 crore in developing airports between 2006-07 and 2013-14. Of this, an estimated Rs31,100 crore is expected to come from public-private partnerships.

The ministry of civil aviation has decided to modernize and upgrade 35 non-metro airports across India.

Besides, the government is also planning to build greenfield airports at Navi Mumbai (Maharashtra), Kannur (Kerala), Hassan and Gulbarga (Karnataka), Ludhiana (Punjab), Greater Noida (NCR), Paykong (Sikkim), Cheithu (Nagaland) and Chakan (near Pune, Maharashtra).

“At a time when current airport modernization programmes envisage spending at least Rs5,000 crore for a single project, Cial had built a world class product on a very modest budget. Cial can cash in on its expertise in the upcoming non-metro airport projects,” said a Mumbai-based aviation analyst, who does not want to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under BOT, Construction, Infrastructure, Investment and Finance, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Media, Projects

Marginal player

November 19, 2007

Kaushalya Infrastructure has plenty to prove since it is yet to gain a critical mass.

Kaushalya Infrastructure Development (Kidco), a construction and engineering company focussed on eastern India plans to raise Rs 42-51 crore from the public by offering 85 million shares, a 43.4 per cent share of its fully-diluted equity capital.

The price band for the issue is fixed between Rs 50-60 a share. The company aims to garner a market capitalisation of about Rs 98-118 crore upon listing.

From the issue proceeds, Kidco will acquire construction and infrastructure equipment and make investments in its build-operate-transfer (BOT) and build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) projects. It also plans to acquire land for real estate development.

Kidco operates in three verticals, which include construction and engineering, rural electrification and irrigation infrastructure, and residential and commercial real estate.

The company has carried out projects in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Sikkim. Central and state governments, state public works departments and a few private entities have been its main clients.

At present, the company has 16 ongoing projects aggregating to an order book of Rs 144.8 crore, of which work worth Rs 76 crore is yet to be completed. These projects will be executed over a time-frame of 12-18 months.

The top three projects are of the size of Rs 25-30 crore, which appears small. Kidco owns 28.4 acres of land at Zaheerabad, Andhra Pradesh, and 4 acres in Rajarhat, a Kolkata suburb. It is in the process of acquiring another 8 acres in Rajarhat, which will be concluded with a part of the issue proceeds.

The company registered a top line of Rs 54 crore in FY07, with operating margins of about 8 per cent.

Going forward, the poor margins are unlikely to improve significantly, unless the ticket size and the nature of projects changes drastically, along with the company’s clientele. Investors may want to wait for the company to gain some more ground, before betting on it.

Source: business-standard.com

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

Reliance Energy Ltd(REL) to hive off infrastructure projects

November 12, 2007

NEW DELHI: In a bid to separate the power and infrastructure projects, Reliance Energy Ltd. (REL) has now decided to transfer all its infrastructure projects to a separate wholly-owned subsidiary.

The REL board had already given its approval to the proposal.

The move comes hot on the heels of REL deciding to hive off its power generation business as a separate company — Reliance Power Limited (RPL).

RPL has filed a draft red herring prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for an initial public cffering (IPO) of around Rs. 12,000 crore.

The decision to hive off infrastructure portfolio to a new subsidiary comes in view of the increasing portfolio of the company on this account in recent months.

REL is developing highways for the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under the build-own-transfer (BOT) scheme.

It is involved in five National Highway projects in Tamil Nadu, covering a length of 400 km at a cost of Rs. 3,100 crore. In addition, it is pursuing road projects, including the proposed Rs. 5,000 crore Western Freeway sea-link project connecting Worli and Nariman Point in Mumbai and the Rs. 6,000-crore Jaipur Ring Road project.

On the real estate side, the REL-led consortium had emerged as a winner for developing a business city in Hyderabad with an estimated investment of Rs. 6,500 crore. The city will be built in 77 acres, which will include a 100-storey trade tower. It has also bagged the metro rail project in Mumbai that involved the development and operation of a fully-elevated metro rail.

The total cost of the project is around Rs. 2,500 crore. It has also bid for line 2 of the Mumbai metro elevated track between Mankhurd and Charkop with an estimated investment of Rs. 6,500 crore. The company is also bidding for the Rs. 6,000 crore Mumbai trans-harbour link.

Source : The Hindu

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under BOT, Construction, Highway, Hyderabad, Infrastructure, Investment and Finance, Maharashtra, NHAI, Projects, Reliance

Ashoka Buildcon Ltd. becomes the first Indian infra company to get the prestigious IMS international certification

November 1, 2007

Ashoka Buildcon Limited (ABL), a renowned infrastructure developer with a track record of over 25 years, has achieved the distinction of becoming the first Indian infrastructure construction firm to receive the prestigious Integrated Management Systems (ISO 9001:2001, ISO 14001:2004 & 18001-1999) certificate (IMS) from International Standards Certification Pty., Australia, covering all business operations, which includes all BOT (build-operate-transfer), EPC (engineering procurement construction) projects, RMC (ready mixed concrete) plants and Toll operations.

This certification is in recognition of the Company’s commitment to continuing improvement of quality, environmental and occupational health and safety management system performance and complying with all applicable legal and contractual requirements while adopting state-of-the-art technology in project execution.

Mr. Ashok M. Katariya, Chairman, ABL, said, “Our technological superiority, rapid progress, quality and construction management skills are guiding us towards our dream of building India 2020. The principal objective of our organisation is to offer the latest technology in civil construction and structural engineering, besides maintaining a quality oriented economy. We have now steadily progressed towards being one of the country’s most experienced infrastructural developers.”

Mr. Satish D. Parakh, Managing Director, ABL, said, “The initiative of acquiring this prestigious international certification was taken in June 2007. Subsequently, we launched a campaign through training reviews, documentation and internal audits, covering all our divisions including operations and maintenances of road infrastructure.” Mr. Parakh added, “This is an endorsement of our ability to conduct operations in a manner wherein we protect people, property and the environment. We do this by identifying, controlling and reducing all associated risks to a level as Low as ReasonablyPracticable.”

Ashoka Buildcon Ltd. had earlier adopted quality management system (QMS) current standard ISO 9001-2000 during the year 1998. In view of the emerging scenario of globalisation of the Indian infrastructure industry and the increasing need for compliance to the requirements of the stakeholders and also for continual business improvement based on sustainable development, the Company went for IMS certification to include EMS (ISO14001) and OHSAS 18001.

This IMS certification will benefit the Company in areas such as reducing multiple assessments; improving legal statutory and regulatory compliance; enhancing employee related safety and good housekeeping, making it more socially responsible; and being perceived as a quality player with a competitive edge for better customer satisfaction.

The Nashik-based Ashoka Buildcon Ltd. is among the first few companies in India to get the ISO 9000 certification, keeping in kind the need of the times to prevent global warming and to preserve the environment. It has received recognition from United Nations for its contribution towards the “billion tree” plantation campaign.

Starting off as an industrial contractor, the Company has now steadily progressed towards being one of the country’s most experienced infrastructural developers spanning across a plethora of mega-infrastructural assignments. It received the Limca Book Awards from completing the bridge across the Mandve river, Maharashtra, within 38 days as against the allotted time period of 12 months.

Over the years, the Company has completed several major bridges and 94 minor bridges. In addition, it has also completed 4 railway-over bridges, 5 flyovers and 7 foot-over bridges. In terms of road length, the Company has completed 1,888 lane kms of road and 988 lane kms of road work is in progress. It has also an established track record of commissioning 13 BOT road projects — the largest in the country. The Company is committed to become an icon in infrastructure development,through innovation, professionalism, active leadership in product quality and sustained growth by delivering value to its customers.

Since its inception in the early 1980s, Ashoka Buildcon Ltd. has successfully completed projects in several states including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and the NCR region. It has emerged as a major BOT toll road operator in the country. It was the first infrastructure Company to complete the work among the seven corridors of Phase I of RIDCOR (Road Infrastructure Development Company of Rajasthan) much ahead of the schedule. It has executed several prestigious projects including the BOT project of Indore Edlabad Road and the East Coast Road from Chennai to Pondicherry, which is reputed as a world class road. The prestigious projects executed by the Company in the western region also include the Pune Shirur Road Project and the Nagar-Karmala road project. It has also executed various projects including the construction of a five star Hotel Sun-N-Sand at Shirdi, Railway overbridge at Nashirabad, Yashvantrao Chavan Open University Building at Nashik. The Company is a responsible corporate citizen engaging in philanthropic activities committed to environment protection, education and agriculture.

Source: indiaprwire.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under BOT, EPC, IMS, ISO, Maharashtra, NCR, Rajasthan

Sensex up 258 points by close

October 25, 2007

The markets ended firm on Thursday with the benchmark index closing at 18,770 levels, up 1.4 per cent or 258 points.

In broader markets, the Nifty moved up 1.3 per cent or 73 points to end the day at 5,568 levels.

“The Nifty needs to close above 5,580 levels to make an attempt of breaching the previous high,” said Anil Manghnani, Director, Modern Shares & Stock Brokers

“The markets are expected to be volatile. It is better that investors stay clear for at least a week,” added Vikram Bhatt, Director, Ajmera Associates.

The markets are also awaiting the developments of the crucial SEBI meet that will decide on regulatory norms for the stock markets.

SEBI Chairman M Damodaran along with his team is unlikely to go back on its P-Notes stand on Thursday. However, it may rework eligibility criteria for FII registration to help investors.

In world markets, Wall Street recovered from steep losses Wednesday amid hopes for an imminent interest rate cut. According to preliminary calculations, the Dow ended flat with a marginal fall of 0.01 per cent.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 3.71 points or 0.24 per cent, while the technology-dominated Nasdaq composite index lost 24.50 points to end the day at 2,774 levels.

Back home, leading the charge at the Sensex was Tata Steel. The counter moved up over eight per cent or Rs 73. ICICI Bank, Maruti Suzuki India, Bharti Airtel, Wipro, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank and Mahindra & Mahindra were some of the other notable gainers.

However, Cipla at Rs 186 levels tanked five per cent. Dr Reddys, ACC, HDFC, Reliance Energy, Infosys Technologies, Satyam Computer, Reliance Communication, Ranbaxy, TCS and BHEL also closed in the red.

Metals hot

Among sectoral indices, the BSE metal index was the biggest gainer that moved up four per cent or 629 points. Jindal Saw, SAIL, Ispat Industries, Jindal Steel & Power, Sesa Goa, Bhushan Steel, Sterlite Industries and NALCO logged smart gains besides Tata Steel.

Banking scrips continued on their journey north with ICICI Bank surging 4.4 per cent or Rs 48. Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank, SBI, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Centurion Bank of Punjab, Karnataka Bank and Axis Bank also held firm.

Amtek Auto (up 8.9 per cent), MRF Limited (up 6.1 per cent), Bharat Forge (up 4.1 per cent), Maruti Suzuki India (up 3.6 per cent), Tata Motors (up 2.4 per cent), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 1.7 per cent) and Exide Industries (up 0.7 per cent) raced ahead in the auto pack.

New listing

Maytas Infra made its debut at the bourses on Thursday. The stock listed at Rs 511 as against the Initial Public Offer (IPO) price at Rs 370.

The Hyderabad-based construction company and infrastructure developer was focused on irrigation, roads, bridges and buildings.

“We have a pan-India presence and have recently opened an office in Dubai. We are pursuing BOT projects in roads and other infrastructure projects. Some of the road sectors give us 12-13 per cent EBDITA margin,” said PK Madhav, CEO, Maytas Infra.

It is now positioning itself for water and waster water management, SEZ, ports and airport sectors. The stock closed at Rs 614 levels.

Source: ndtvprofit.com

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

Maytas Infra FY08 revenues seen at Rs 1,600 cr

October 25, 2007

Teja Raju, Vice Chairman, Maytas Infra said that FY08 revenues are seen at above Rs 1,600 crore while profits are seen at over Rs 100 crore. He added that EPS for FY08 will be seen at Rs 18-19.

According to Raju, they have an order book of Rs 4,500 crore, mostly to be executed in 18-24 months. He added that they have no intentions of entering into real estate and that they intend to focus on construction.

Raju said that they have tied up with a Thai company for the Hyderabad metro projects. He added that they are looking at tie-ups for small projects in South and North India.

Excerpts from CNBC-TV18’s exclusive interview with Teja Raju:

Q: What kind of numbers are you looking at in FY09 given the kind of order book that you have on hand now?
A: We did revenues of about Rs 800 crore last year. We are looking at maintaining 100% growth, so about 100% last year’s growth is what we are looking at.

Q: You are saying that you’ll do Rs 1,600 crore in FY08?
A: We’ll do close to Rs1,600 crore profit, would go by that percentage. We did Rs 53 crore last year, so hopefully it would be double than this year is what we looking at.

Q: So you will probably deliver more than Rs 100 crore in net profit at the end of this fiscal year?
A: That’s true, that’s what we are hoping to do. We are on track and we are very confident that we should be able to achieve that.

Q: That is pretty much higher than our estimates, if you do a Rs 100 crore plus on net profit, what’s your own target on an earnings per share as a company?
A: 18 or 19 is what I think the market is, so we should be around that.

Q: Can you explain to us what’s contributing to this big growth that you expect in this financial year and what is your order book and how much of it gets executed within this year to bring your revenue up to that figure?
A: We have an order of about close to Rs 4,500 crore and this order book is spread across sectors like the road sector, the irrigation sector, oil and gas pipeline and power division. Most of the order book are supposed to be implemented over the time frame of 18 months or 24 months. All these order books have crossed the initial hurdle of globalisation, which would typically take longer time. So this is where we are quite confident about the numbers, which we are projected on.

Also lot of new work is coming out in these sectors, especially the power sector and oil and gas sector where we expect lot of orders to be called from the government. So if we can win a few more orders this would ensure that we have achieved these numbers.

Q: You have no designs of getting into the real estate business?
A: No, we are not getting into real estate, we want to be focused on infrastructure, that is construction and BOT development project.

Q: What kind of visibility do you have for the next year, FY09? Do you expect it to continue to grow at a 100% even next year or this year or the growth rate should moderate somewhat?
A: Lot of it depends on the kind of order, which should be called up by the government. Especially, next year being the election year. There would be many aggressive contracts coming up from the government or there might be a bit of a slow down. It would be very difficult to credit so far, but in the last couple of years things look good but election year is always a bit difficult to credit.

Q: You’ve got a couple of interesting tie-ups as well for the construction side. Can you just talk about who you have tied-up with and do they kick off within the next four to six months?
A: We have tie-ups, both in the construction side as well as the infrastructure development sector. In infrastructure development we have qualified for the metro rail project in Hyderabad. We have tied up with the Italian-Thai of Thailand over there. For some small airports in Karnataka, we have tied up with Vienna airports. The government has announced a couple of airports in the North recently, so we are looking at new tie-ups over there. In the construction side, we work with a lot of companies, Nagarjuna Construction is one of them, Gayatri Infra, Soma Construction. So these are the various partners we have.

Source: moneycontrol

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under BOT, Gayatri, Hyderabad, Infrastructure, Investment and Finance, Karnataka, Media

MSK Projects expects Rs 455 mn from Jalandhar project

October 24, 2007

Baroda-based MSK Projects (Q, N,C,F)* (India), a significant player in BOT projects, completed the construction of the Jalandhar bus terminus that handles the interstate and intrastate, private and government passenger bus vehicles of Jalandhar.

The project is expected to add Rs 454.86 million to the gross revenue of the company over a period of 7 years. The BOT (build, operate, and transfer) project will earn revenue for the company in the form of terminus fees, lease rentals of shops, passenger amenities, advertisements and parking fees. The traffic at this terminus is on an average 3,000 buses per day increasing at an average rate of 3% per annum thus making the project an excellent one.

“We are glad to provide quality infrastructure to the once cramped bus terminal which will help organize the traffic and provide recreational facility to the travellers. Transport being a key source of increased trade and commerce, the revamp of the Jalandhar terminus will not only improve the state productivity but also check the leakage of revenue“ said Amit Khurana, executive director, MSK Projects (India).

The company is in the process of completing a water supply project for Dewas Industries in M.P. This is the first water supply project executed purely on a public – private partnership basis. MSK Projects is also on the verge of completing the construction of Ludhiana Bus Terminus.

MSK Projects (India) is a civil construction company executing infrastructure contracts such as building roads. The company entered the field of industrial construction and undertook works such as mass housing and township, multi-storied buildings, industrial projects for coal mines, fertilizer plants, petrochemicals, water retaining structures, and have also successfully executed them. It is well established today in the field on infrastructure development, particularly roads on build- operate & transfer (BOT) basis.

Shares of the company declined Rs 1.10, or 1.07%, to trade at Rs 101.5. The total volume of shares traded was 13,921 at the BSE. (2.16 p.m, Wednesday)

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

IDFC buys 48.4% in SMS Shivnath Infrastructure Ltd

October 22, 2007

SMS Infrastructure Ltd. and IDFC announced today that IDFC has purchased 48.4% equity in one of its SPV viz. SMS Shivnath Infrastructure Limited (SSIL). SSIL owns, operates and maintains an 18.4 kms 2-lane road on National Highway 6 which serves as a bypass to the city of Durg in Chattisgarh. The concession was awarded in 1997 by NHAI under a BOT format, and extends until 2031. The project is amongst the first concessions awarded by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Anand Sancheti, Managing Director of SSIL, said that “participation by IDFC, a leading financial institution in the infrastructure sector, in the equity of a Group company, reconfirms our business philosophy of creating enduring value in our businesses. This investment also marks the starting of a partnership approach, which would foster aggressive growth in the years to come in the chosen fields of road, waste management and power which the Group has embarked upon.

Dr. Rajiv Lall, MD & CEO of IDFC remarked “Our investment in SSIL is part of an important initiative to set up a new infrastructure fund to invest in the equity of operating and greenfield assets. SSIL will be one of the seed assets for this fund. IDFC will work with companies like SMS Infrastructure Ltd. to help in the creation and operation of infrastructure assets.”

Mr. M. K.Sinha, President & CEO of IDFC Project Equity Company Limited, remarked “The investment in SSIL is part of our build up of seed assets for the India Infrastructure Fund. We look forward to working with the SMS Group in building quality infrastructure assets in India.”

Source: moneycontrol.com

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

MSK Projects raises 336 mln rupees

October 22, 2007

MUMBAI (Reuters) – Construction firm MSK Projects India Ltd said on Monday it had raised 336 million rupees through a preferential issue to a private equity firm, which would help it bid for bigger toll projects.

MSK said it had issued 4 million shares to Subhkam Ventures at 84 rupees each, raising the latter’s stake in the company to 24.26 percent. Subhkam will now make an open offer for another 20 percent at the same price.

“We need money for our development. We have an existing relationship with Subhkam, so we agreed to this,” MSK’s Managing Director Ashok Khurana told Reuters. “We will be using this money for our BOT (build-operate-transfer) projects.”

The Baroda-based construction firm has forayed into toll road and water distribution projects and is also developing a couple of bus terminals. It has completed seven BOT projects and is currently doing two toll road projects.

After the fund infusion, the company will be able to bid for larger projects, Khurana said. It is also working on raising 3.5-4 billion rupees as debt for this purpose. “After this deal, the funding process will be completed,” he said.

Subhkam said it had not decided whether to take up a board representation, but retained an option for one board seat.

MSK shares, which hit a day’s high of 101.40 rupees on the news, ended at 100 rupees, up 3.5 percent in the Mumbai market.

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

DS Constructions forays into automated parking sector

October 12, 2007

DS Constructions Ltd., the pioneer in PPP infrastructure development and engineering construction in India, today announced that it has bagged an Automated, Multi-storey car parking project on BOT basis from New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). Located on the Kasturba Gandhi Marg near Connaught Place, the parking lot would be spread over 6200 sq mtrs and will have a capacity of accommodating 1500-1600 Equivalent Car Spaces (ECS). The concession period for the project is 30 years.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. M S Narula, Managing Director of DS Constructions said, “Our vision is to be a leading Infrastructure developer and investor in India. We already have significant presence in the roads and highways, hydro power, railways and SEZ sectors and are actively pursuing Sea Port & Airport projects and today we are proud to have made our debut in the automated parking sector with this project. We are evaluating the opportunities in this sector and are keen to develop and invest in more such parking projects in the country.”

“This project holds grave importance owing to its magnitude and strategic location, as it lies in the heart of the sprawling business and commercial zone of the capital. We will be deploying the latest technology from Germany for multi-storey automated parking, with optimum space utilization to ensure that the facility accommodates the maximum number of cars. We are confident of completing the project much before the Commonwealth games.” Mr. Narula further added.

Source: moneycontrol.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under BOT, Construction

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