Upcoming Projects in India

6104 PNC Infratech Limited has been awarded the contract for Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Government of India sponsored project of Rehabilitation & Upgradation of the 80 Km long road stretch of Sonauli - Gorakhapur Section of National Highway 29 E in Uttar Pradesh on EPC Basis by UP PWD. The estimated cost of the project is Rs. 441 Crore and it is slated to be completed in two years. Mr. Yogesh Jain, MD, PNC Infratech Ltd said, "this is a strategically important National Highway Development Project, as it connects the Indo-Nepal border at Sonauli with Gorakhpur. Given the location and terrain, this is a logistically and topographically challenging project and we would endeavour to complete the project within the stipulated time maintaining high quality standards."

6103 NSL Consolidated has come forward to set up Iron ore pelletisation plants at Karimnagar and Siddipet with an initial investment of Rs. 1,000 crore. The proposal came up during a meeting the company Director Sean Freeman had with Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao at the MCRHRD Institute here on Wednesday. Mr. Freeman was informed that the State had iron ore to the extent of about 200 million tonnes in Medak and Karimnagar districts alone. When told that the iron content in the ore was only between 25 to 30 per cent, he assured the government that pellets with iron content of up to 65 per cent could be made for industrial use.

6102 Indore based Balaji Phosphates (P) Limited (BPPL) has announced to set up a single super phosphate (SSP) plant in Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh. The proposed project will have a manufacturing capacity of 400 tonnes per day of single super phosphate (SSP). The project would utilize outsourced sulphuric acid and rock phosphate for producing single super phosphate (SSP). The company has applied to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) for issue of terms of reference (TOR) for conducting environment impact assessment studies on the project.

6101 Geminy Acid & Fertilizers (P) Limited has announced its plan to set up a single superphosphate (SSP) plant in Hoshiarpur district of Punjab. The proposed plant will have a capacity to manufacture 300 tonnes single super phosphate (SSP) per day. The project will need Rs 8.3 crore to get complete. The will produce powder and granular grades of single superphosphate (SSP). project envisages manufacture of 300 tonnes per day of powder and granular grades of SSP. The company would also produce sulphuric acid. The Ministry of Environment and Forest (MOEF) expert committee for appraisal (EAC) has asked the company to submit a revised prefeasibility report on the project.

6100 National Peroxide Ltd, one of the largest manufacturers of hydrogen peroxide, is completing its capacity expansion from 84,000 tonne to 95,000 tonne. The Rs 65 crore expansion will it a capacity to supply for the next couple of years, said managing director SR Lohokare. The Wadia Group company has a 42 per cent market share in the hydrogen peroxide market. Once the capacity is established, the company will be looking at the second half of the current fiscal year.

6099 Madras Fertilizers Limited, under the administrative control of the Department of Fertilizers, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, is planning to set up a urea plant, involving an investment of about Rs 4,500 crore. The company is reportedly exploring joint venture route for the new plant, which will be based on gas. “The government wants us to set up a greenfield facility, which can use gas instead of naphtha to produce urea and this would help the government to cut down the subsidy,” stated I Vijayakumar, CMD, Madras Fertilizers Limited. Madras Fertilizers has around 130 acres of vacant land near to its existing facility, which can be used to set up the new greenfield facility. The company currently has a manufacturing facility near Chennai with a capacity to manufacture 4.87 lakh tonnes of urea per annum.

6098 Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao is likely to lay the foundation stone for the Rs 338 crore World Bank-aided drinking water supply scheme for Malkajgiri in June last week. The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) officials had recently met KCR to brief him about the ongoing drinking water and sewer network projects. On the occasion, the officials invited the CM to lay the foundation stone for the Malkajgiri project. "We are waiting for the green signal from the chief minister's office (CMO). As per the schedule, the CMO officials said the chief minister is free in the last week of June. The date and time will be confirmed in a day or two," sources in HMWS&SB.

6097 Madhya Pradesh government has approved Narmada-Malwa-Gambhir Link Project with an estimated cost of Rs 2,143 crore. The project was approved during a meeting of Narmada Control Board chaired by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan yesterday, an official release said. The Board sanctioned Rs 2,143 crore for the Narmada-Malwa-Gambhir Link project which will provide irrigation facility in 158 villages covering 50,000 hectares area in Indore and Ujjain districts, it said. Indore's Yashwant Sagar lake can also be filled up whenever needed through this project.

6096 Bihar Urban Development Minister Samrat Choudhary on Wednesday gave the green signal to the much awaited Patna metro train project. "We have decided to go ahead with the metro train project instead of the monorail," Choudhary told media persons. The department was also pondering over a monorail project for the state capital. Choudhary said the metro train project will be completed in four phases, and the Patna Metro Train Corporation will be set up before Aug 15. An interim report of the project would be sent to the union urban development ministry soon, he said. The Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES) will conduct a survey for the construction of the metro in Patna. The Bihar capital is home to more than two million people, and congestion is a serious problem with the city's overcrowded lanes.

6095 Suzlon Energy Ltd. said Suzlon Group had received the Notice to Proceed (NTP) from CLP India, a leading investor-owned power business in Asia and one of the largest foreign investors in the Indian power sector, for a 100.8 MW wind power project. The project, located at Tejuva in Rajasthan, will comprise 48 units of Suzlon's robust S97-2.1 MW wind turbines featuring Doubly Fed Induction Generator (DFIG) technology. This is the latest addition to Suzlon's wind portfolio of over 8000 MW projects across eight states. Upon completion, this project will boost CLP India's wind power portfolio to close to 1000 MW, reinforcing its position as the leading independent power producer in the wind sector in India, foreign or domestic.

6094 The West Bengal government's proposal to set up a large solar power plant — billed as the largest in the world — is "under consideration" of the central government, an official said on Wednesday. According to solar energy expert SP Gonchaudhury, who is also advisor to the state government's power department, "If sanctioned, the power plant planned in Purulia district will generate 250MW of power." "There is plenty of land in Purulia ... we are scouting locations near an existing water pumping plant in the Baghmundi area. The detailed project report is under consideration of the ministry of renewable energy," "If sanctioned, it will be the world's largest solar power plant in terms of capacity generation," he said. Moreover, the unique aspect of the project is that solar energy will be used to pump water during the day, while the water stored in the process will generate electricity during the night when solar energy is not available. "The entire process will rely on non-conventional energy source, that is, solar and hydro, and will be completely green," he added. With an estimated cost of Rs.1,700 crore, the venture will top other solar power plants of 150-160MW capacity.

6093 Wartsila India is eyeing the cement industry for the combined heat and power business opportunities it offers. The company says that setting up power plants using waste heat will help cement plants bring down their cost of electricity and reduce emissions. According to James Rajan, Director-Service Unit (South Asia), Wartsila, there are more than 100 cement plants in the country where such waste heat recovery systems can be installed.

6092 Premier Polyfilm Ltd, a manufacturer PVC products, is reportedly setting up a new unit at Sikandrabad District Bulandshahar (Uttar Pradesh) to make PVC products. Premier Polyfilm Ltd has informed BSE that the Board of Directors of the company has approved a proposal for setting up of a new unit at its industrial plot at Sikandrabad District Bulandshahar (UP) for manufacturing PVC products at an estimated cost of Rs 15.50 crores. Premier Polyfilm will make PVC sheeting and films, soft touch cushion type of artificial PVC leather cloth, knitted fabric and PVC calendered geomembranes and various other superior products at the planned site.

6091 The government on Friday gave environment clearance to public sector undertaking GAIL for setting up a 380 mw gas-based power plant in Guna district of Madhya Pradesh. The project will be located within GAIL's existing LPG manufacturing facility-cum-compressor station at Vijaypur, one km west of the Agra-Mumbai highway. "Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) had cleared it after environment impact assessment of the project in its last meeting in May. The formal clearance has now been given, paving the way for GAIL to start construction," said an official of the environment ministry. The ministry took three years to give its final clearance after approving the project's terms of reference (ToR) in June 2011. The power plant, which is to be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 1,209 crore, will employ nearly 200 people during the construction phase. Around 100 people will be employed during the operational phase of the project. The approval came as the ministry under the new government has decided to give clearances on priority to defence-related projects and those of state-owned companies. More green approvals for power/mining projects and key infrastructure projects are expected in the coming months. The ministry had earlier given its nod to a major naval infrastructure project at Karwar in Karnataka, a radar station at Narcondam in Andaman & Nicobar Islands and many other coastal facilities along both the eastern and western coasts.

6090 India Cements plans to refurbish and expand capacity of its cement plant in Salem in Tamil Nadu at a cost of Rs.80 crore. The old cement plant is being replaced with new equipment and in the process the output will increase to about 17 lakh tonnes from the present six lakh tonnes. The company has sought environmental clearance and once these are in place the project will be take off, according to reliable sources. It will optimise the existing kiln and add a new line. The total power requirement for the expanded capacity will be about 28 MW, including about 13 MW for the new line. This will be sourced from group captive sources or from the grid.

6089 Brigade Hospitality Services, a part of real estate developer Brigade Group, plans to invest around Rs 750 crore to open up to eight new hotels by 2020. The company partners international hospitality chains like the InterContinental Hotels Group and Accor is looking at cities, including Bangalore, Mysore and Chennai, for the new properties. "We propose to invest between Rs 650-750 crore in our upcoming six to eight hotels. This cost is exclusive of the land price," Brigade Hospitality Services Ltd CEO & Executive Director Vineet Verma told PTI. Of the new upcoming hotels, two will be opened in the later half of 2015 -- Grand Mercure, Mysore in partnership with Accor and the Holiday-Inn Tidel Park, Chennai in partnership with InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), he added. When asked about the other cities where the hotels will be located Verma said: "The remaining projects are still in the planning stage. However, the development would be made in key city locations of Bangalore, Mysore and Chennai". On being asked about financing for the upcoming projects Verma said: "We propose to fund our new projects through a combination of internal accruals and debt. We are also open to taking in investment partners and are on the look out." The realty major had earlier entered into a partnership with global hospitality chain InterContinental Hotels Group to open Holiday Inn Express hotels is also open to other such pacts. "We have signed an MoU with IHG for setting up 10 Holiday Inn Express hotels. While the focus will be to expedite the setting up of these properties, there are other international brands as well with whom we work. Some of our other hotel projects will be in association with these brands," Verma said.

6088 Accor will be doubling its hotel network in India by next year. It is also planning to introduce upscale brand Grand Mercure in India. Accor currently operates 25 hotels and two convention centres in India. It is adding 14 more hotels this year and by next year Accor will be managing 50 properties, said a report in Financial Chronicle. “We have large ambitions for our business in India and are making significant investment for the long-term in this country – both to capture domestic business and to capitalise on the large flows of outbound Indian travellers to other parts of the world where Accor hotels operate. We expect to double our network in size by 2015 and we are leveraging our unique brand portfolio from luxury to budget to expand in this key market,” said Jean Michel Cassé, Senior Vice President, Operations – Accor India. Accor will continue to look at management and partnership model of operation. But it will also consider brownfield and greenfield opportunities as and when they arrive. Accor is also launching its Grand Mecure in India by customising the brand to suit the needs of the Indian market. “The Grand Mercure brand is our upscale brand that is tailor-made to suit individual markets. Launched in 2012 with the debut of Grand Mercure Mei Jue in Greater China and the launch of Grand Mercure Maha Cipta in Indonesia, the brand has been a success with our developers and guests alike. We’re looking to introduce a tailor-made for India version of the product,” he said.

6087 NHPC is planning to set up a 50-mw floating solar power plant for NHPC in Kerala. This will be the world's first large floating solar power plant. "There are large stretches of water bodies in Kerala which NHPC wants to harness for solar power. This floating solar power technology was developed by the Renewable Energy College and has been implemented in the city. The first plant — a pilot project — is scheduled to be commissioned in October this year. NHPC had contacted us for offering technical know-how and installation assistance for their proposed 50-mw plant," said SP Gon Choudhury, chairman of the Renewable Energy College. "Estimated to cost between Rs 350 crore and Rs 400 crore, the College will assist in sourcing material till commissioning of the plant."

6086 Solar power could soon drive Chennai airport. Airports Authority of India is planning a solar plant that will meet the airport's requirements and the surplus power supplied to the grid. The move is part of a plan to install solar power plants at 30 airports across the country and an MoU was signed between AAI and Solar Energy Corporation of India in May. The project is expected to generate a total of 50MW in the first phase. This will save on power bills and also reduce carbon emissions. The new terminals at Chennai airport eliminate the need for lights during the day but the quantity of power required of air conditioning and lighting at night is huge because the terminals are bigger than the old structures. AAI wants to install solar panels on the buildings or in the space between the runways at the airport that is spread over more than 3,000acres. The airport now spends a lot of money to keep the land clear of grass and bushes and it is felt this is a better way to use the land. World over, solar panels are installed in the operational area near runways. Delhi airport has panels to tap solar energy. "Usually remote parking bays are opened in the space between runways. But we cannot have too many remote bays at Chennai because aircraft will have to cross the runway to reach the terminals," said an official.

6085 The Maharashtra government has approved to two railway projects worth Rs 1,809 crore in the state. The two projects which have been accorded approval include doubling of Karjat-Panvel railway route and construction of an elevated corridor between Kalwa and Airoli. Both the projects are part of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP-III) and are being implemented by Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC). The work of doubling the Karjat-Panvel route will be implemented at a cost of Rs 1,437 crore, while the two km long elevated corridor, connecting Kalwa near Thane and Airoli in Navi Mumbai, will cost Rs 336 crore. About 50 per cent of the project cost will be shared by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and CIDCO, while the balance expenses of the project will be borne by the Railways.

6084 Pennar Engineered Building Systems & Pennar Enviro bagged orders worth Rs 105 crore. The companies received orders from UltraTech Cement , Reliance Industries , Abhir Infra, Integral Coach Factory (ICF), BGR Energy , JSW and SRK Engineering among others. In the engineered building systems, it bagged repeat order from UltraTech Cement for a gypsum storage shed at Gujarat and from Reliance for the national distribution centre. It also received some repeat orders in environment and water treatment segment. "We received repeat order from Chowgule Ports & Infrastructure for the design, manufacture, erection and commissioning of 3 sewage treatment plants, and also from JSW for the design, supply, erection and commissioning of packaged sewage treatment plants," says the company in its filing.

6083 Inox Wind Energy, a subsidiary of Gujarat Fluorochemicals Limited, has bagged a Rs 900-crore order from a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley to build wind power complexes of 170 megawatt (MW) capacity in Madhya Pradesh. The project will come up at Ratlam and Mandsaur districts of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the largest wind turbine orders in the country for a single project, Inox Energy said in a statement. The order is for 85 units of Inox Wind’s recently launched 2MW wind turbine with 100- metre rotor diameter, a variant of its 2MW wind turbine platform. Inox will also be responsible for erecting, commissioning, operating and maintaining the project.

6082 A consortium led by GMR Infrastructure Limited has won three construction packages of rail line doubling of Multi Modal Transport System (MMTS) – Phase II works on Secunderabad Division of South Central Railway in the State of Andhra Pradesh, India. Rail Vikas Nigam Limited has issued the Letter of Award to the GMR consortium on 11th June 2014. The total contract is valued at Rs 389 crore of which GMR’s share of work is about Rs 207 crore. The work includes construction of roadbed, major and minor bridges, track linking, outdoor signal & telecom (S&T) Works, Over Head Electrification (OHE), Traction Sub Station (TSS) & General Electrical works for MMTS – Phase II on Secunderabad Division of South Central Railway in the State of Andhra Pradesh, India. GMR is the Lead Member of the consortium with TATA Projects & Kalindee Rail Nirman Ltd. as the partner for OHE and Track works, S&T works respectively. The Project is scheduled to commence by middle of July 2014, with a completion period of 30 months.

6081 National Real Estate Consulting Services is Invited Tender for Construction of LIG and MIG Houses in 128 cities across 16 states. LIG House will be of 600 Square Feet of Carpet Area, 1BHK set,4 houses on one floor with 3 storey per city. MIG House will be of 900 Square Feet of Carpet Area, 2BHK set, 4 houses on one floor with 3 storey per city. Expected time of the construction is 24 to 36 months on the bases of the priority of the state.

6080 Bheema Cements Limited is looking at options, including roping in a strategic partner, to meet the funding requirement of its expansion as well as financial restructuring plans, according to unconfirmed reports. The company owns a cement plant with a one million-tonne annual production capacity at Ramapuram in the neighbouring Nalgonda district. It had received clearances for the expansion of the installed capacity by an additional 1.5 million tonnes and also to set up a 45-Mw power plant proposed for captive usage.

6079 Rays Power Infra, an ISO 9001 and 14001 certified company has announced solar power project commissioning 10MW solar power plant at Midjil in Andhra Pradesh. The total cost of the project is Rs.65 crores and has an estimated annual output of 18 million KWH. The power will be sold at competitive market prices which are equivalent to commercial tariffs in Hyderabad. Rays Power infra director Ketan Mehta, said: "Completing the project within hundred days exhibits our team's excellent capability and expertise in building solar power projects. I am proud of our team that they were able to pull it off in such a short span and I am sure that this will go on to become one of the best plants the country has seen. "

6078 Aiming to promote energy conservation in the state, the Haryana government on Sunday announced that solar power generation would be made mandatory in some categories of buildings and areas with a suitable enforcement mechanism. Chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said this would not only lead to generation of 200 MW of power but also an annual saving of Rs 151 crore on coal and 16.60 lakh kilo-litres of water. "The annual energy saving by implementing the mandatory provisions will be 320 million units. Three lakh metric tonnes of annual carbon emission will also be prevented in the atmosphere," a Haryana government spokesman said. For residential buildings of 500 square yards and above, located in municipal limits and in urban sectors, it would be made mandatory to install solar power plant of minimum one KW. The installation of the system, with subsidy, would be Rs 52,500, the spokesman said. All private schools, educational institutes, colleges, hostels, technical, vocational education institutes and universities having connected load of 30 KW and above will be required to have mandatory installation of solar power plant of five KW. This plant will cost around Rs.2.5 lakh. Mandatory installation of solar power plants has been made in case of other categories like nursing homes, hospitals, group housing societies and others.

6077 Construction of the 1320MW thermal power plant at Katwa will begin from next September, a senior official of the the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) today said. NTPC chairman Arup Roy Chowdhury, who met Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today in this connection, said construction of the project will start in September as the land-related hurdles were over after farmers agreed to sell the requisite 150 acres of land needed for it. "It will take four years' time to finish the first phase of the 660MW," he said. Incidentally, the Corporation already has around 570-acre of land in its possession. The proposed Rs 8,000-crore project was first conceived by West Bengal Power Development Corporation but could not be executed due to land acquisition related issues. It was later handed over to the NTPC.

6076 Apollo Tyres proposes to expand the manufacturing capacity for off-highway tyres by investing about Rs.400 crore in its Kerala plant, said its President-APMENA (Asia Pacific-Middle East and North Africa), Satish Sharma, on Saturday. Talking to reporters, he said at present the Kalamassery unit manufactured 30 tonnes of various types of tyres per day and it would be increased to 110 tonnes over the next 18 months. The off-highway tyres were used in specialised vehicles such as loaders, golf vehicles, agriculture equipment, mining and others and most of them were exported to European markets.

6075 ThyssenKrupp’s Indian subsidiary said on Thursday that the company has bagged engineering, procurement and construction deals worth Rs 1,000 crore from three leading national and international business conglomerates for delivery and installation equipment of their mining & bulk material handling and boiler & power plant divisions. One of the contracts won by ThyssenKrupp Industries India (TKII) is from Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd’s Kochi refinery to provide complete bulk material handling system for petcoke. Another contract is for an unnamed Indian petrochemical company, which is setting up a coal/petcoke based captive power plant at its facility. For this, TKII will provide bulk material handling system for fuel and limestone on an engineering, procurement and construction basis. The boiler package being supplied to a Thermal Power Project in Philippines comprises three 220 TPH coal-fired CFBC boilers along with auxiliaries like electro static precipitators (ESPs), fans, fuel feeding system, elevators, electrical & instrumentation packages on design, engineering & supply basis for a 3 x 55 MW thermal power plant at Balingasag, Mindanao, Philippines. So far, TKII has commissioned over 50 CFBC boilers, while another 15 are under various stages of commissioning.

6074 The Department of Telecom is looking at various models to expedite the rollout of National Optical Fibre Network that aims to link all panchayats with broadband connectivity. The options being looked at include restructuring the special purpose vehicle for the project, BBNL or handing over the entire task to state-owned telecom firm BSNL and fixing greater accountability on officers involved in NOFN's execution.

6073 The North Eastern Electric Power Corporation will take its generation capacity to around 2000 MW by March 2016, the company's Chairman and Managing Director P C Pankaj said here today. Pankaj, who came here to review the proposed Manarchak power plant in Sipahijala district, met Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and Power Minister Manik Dey and discussed various issues related to power sector. After the meetings, he told reporters that NEEPCO wanted to increase its power generation from the current 1130 MW to 2000 MW power by March 2016. "Currently, we are producing 1130 MW power which is almost 40% power generation in the north eastern region. As of now, five power projects are in the pipeline which could produce more than 800 MW power by March 2016," he said. Besides, the Mizoram government had cleared DPR for three power projects while the NEEPCO was going to ink a Memorandum of Understanding with Manipur government very soon for taking up four power plants, he said. Pankaj said the Manarchak power plant was likely to be commissioned by December next with the ONGC working hard to lay gas pipeline within the stipulated time of December 31. "The 101 MW power plant is ready to be operation since September, last year but could not be commissioned as ONGC had failed to supply gas to the plant," he said. The NEEPCO is going to rope in Tripura State Electricity Corporation (TSECL) to increase power generation of the existing power projects in the state. "We are going to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with TSECL to increase power generation at Rukhia and Barmura gas thermal power plants on June 21," he said. The joint venture comprising NEEPCO and TSECL would also increase power generation of state's lone hydro electric plant at Dumbur from 7 MW to 16 MW. "All the three projects will cost around Rs 320 crore and the expenditure will be shared by the NEEPCO and the TSECL", he said.

6072 Chhattisgarh tourism board, which was recently allottedRs 113.5-crore project prioritisation by the Ministry of Tourism, will aim at privatisation of its hotels in the coming year. The hotels are located in Raipur, Manipat, Gangrel, Barnawapara, Chitrakot, Amadob and Sirpur. The board plans to revamp its existing state-run hotels by offering external players a chance to operate and manage their hotels or develop them further. we are looking at establishing successful public private partnerships for seven state-run hotels, spread over approximately 70 acres of land across the state to run efficiently and we need to revamp them," says the tourism board's managing director, Santosh Misra.

6071 Emami Biotech Limited is contemplating a third manufacturing facility in the western part of the country to deepen its footprint in the edible oil market. "We are focusing on packaged consumer brand 'Healthy and Tasty' edible oils. We want gradual expansion of our footprint in the national edible oil market and for that we are giving a thought to a manufacturing facility in western India," Emami Biotech CEO Sudhakar Desai said.

6070 The laying of pipelines for the ambitious Saurashtra Narmada Avtaran Irrigation (SAUNI) scheme launched by former chief minister and present Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the run up to the 2012 Gujarat polls will commence in a month. SAUNI is entirely a pipeline-based project planned on the assumption that 115 irrigation dams of all the seven districts of Saurashtra will be filled with surplus Naramda water at a cost of Rs 10,000 crore. Sources said in the first phase that will be completed in the next two years, 40 dams will be connected. "Work is moving at a fast pace. We will start by linking four major projects of Saurastra first," an official said. The four projects identified for linking are Macchu 2 in Morbi and Und 1 in Jamnagar that will be connected with a 57-km-long pipeline. The second one is Limbdi Bhugau 2 in Surendranagar with Bhimdod in Bhavnagar with a 51-km-long pipeline. The third one is Wadhwan Bhugau 2 in Surendranagar with Macchu 1 in Morbi with a 66-km-long pipeline and the fourth is Limbdi Bhugau 2 in Surendranagar with Ankadiya in Rajkot with a 54-km-long pipeline. The three-phased SAUNI project is to be completed in a span of four years. Its critics say the government is trying to serve old wine in new bottle. A plan to utilize surplus Narmada waters was reportedly first outlined by the Narmada Planning Group in a report titled 'Planning for Prosperity' in 1987, wherein a chapter talked of augmenting "extra monsoon water" in Narmada in Saurashtra, Kutch and north Gujarat. It suggested lifting Narmada waters 20 metres high for the transfer to Saurashtra. It also concluded that the reliability of the transfer was "very low". Hence, it was left for an expert hydrological study to work out the details.

6069 As many as 50 mini and micro hydel power projects have been identified in different districts of Meghalaya aimed at meeting the state's power requirements. "The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) have identified nine mini and micro hydel power projects with the potential of producing 13.06 MW out of which three are commissioned and one is under construction," Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said during Question Hour in the Assembly here today. The projects which were already commissioned include Sonapani on Wahumkhra-Umshyrpi river (East Khasi Hills District) of 1.5 MW, Pashyiang Micro HEP on Barim river of .04 MW (East Khasi Hills District) and Umsaw Micro HEP on Umsaw river of .02 MW in the Jaintia Hills district, he said. The Lakhroh Micro HEP of 1.5 MW on Lakhroh river in Jaintia Hills district, which was sanctioned in 2007 was under construction, he added.

6068 ACME Solar today said it would develop 30 MW solar power projects in Chhattisgarh. "This would entail an estimated investment of USD 40 million/Rs 240 crore," the company said in a statement.

6067 The first phase of the much-awaited Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal broad gauge rail project in Manipur is expected to be completed by March 2016 with work on in full swing, railways authorities said. The state has the only rail head at Jiribam which is an extension of the 1.5 km Lumding-Silchar meter gauge section in Assam. The first phase of the project covers 84 km of the Jiribam-Tupul section and work is in progress on 1,263 hectare of the 1,310 hectare area. Railways said the Jiribam-Tupul section will have 112 minor bridges, six major bridges, three road over bridges (ROB) and two road under bridges (RUB). It informed that already work on 52 minor bridges, ROBs and RUBs has been completed. In the first phase, there will be a total of 34 tunnels covering a total length of 39,401 meters. Railways authorities said tunneling work for 1,852 meters out of the 39,401 meters has been completed so far. "There will be six new station buildings of which work for one station building is in progress. The 12.5 km track linking main line from Jiribam to Dholakhal section and 1.20 km of loop line have also been completed. It is expected to complete the project by March 2016," a railways statement said. The railways also informed that the Tupul-Imphal section covering 27 km is expected to be completed by March 2018 with final location survey completed. The Railway Board has sanctioned Rs1,397 crores for this section. There will be 12 tunnels with a total length of 15.1 km, three major and 27 minor bridges along with two station buildings. The longest tunnel in Jiribam-Tupul section will be 4.9 km in length, while the longest tunnel in the Tupul-Imphal section will be 10.75 km. Railways said the special feature of Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal project is that Bridge No.164 with pier height of 141 meter will be the tallest girder rail bridge in the world. The existing the Malarijeka viaduct in Montenegro, Europe, is 139 meter high. Once the project is completed, Manipur will have full-fledged railway connectivity with the rest of the country.

6066 Shree Cement plans to establish a 3Mta cement grinding mill in Dhenkanal district, Odisha state. The Rajasthan-based company wants to use fly-ash generated from the nearby power plants at the cement mill. “The proposed location at Odapada would be ideal for the cement grinding unit as the ash generated from industries in the locality such as Bhushan Steel, GMR (Kamalanga), Lanco Badbandh Power and Navabharat Ventures can be effectively utilised by the proposed unit for producing cement,” said the project proposal of Shree Cement. Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) has asked the district administration to identify a suitable area of land for the cement mil.

6065 The state government has sanctioned Rs 3.5 crore for starting construction of the ambitious Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu Memorial on 27-acre land at Shahu Mill. The decision will boost the project which has been delayed since its announcement in November 2012. The Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC) has appointed Pune-based firm Designs Consultants Architect Private Ltd to prepare a detailed project report, which is likely to be submitted to the state government soon. The KMC had selected the design submitted by the firm through an open competition held in December last year. Project co-ordinator Gauri Chorage said, "We have not received any communication regarding the sanctioning of the funds. However, it will definitely help us in starting the project at the earliest." The project is estimated to cost Rs 117 crore. Since the project comprises construction of the memorial, conservation of the existing heritage structure and landscaping, the civic administration claimed that it will take time to prepare the detailed report. "At present, the abandoned mill land is with the Textile Corporation of India. The process of transferring the land to the KMC is underway. Recently, the district administration demanded information related to the status of the transfer. The state government has assured immediate transfer of the land," Chorage said.

6064 Giving the final governmental push to the ambitious IT City project in Lucknow, the Uttar Pradesh government on Friday signed the concessionaire's agreement with developers Vamasundari Investment (Delhi) Private Ltd, the investment arm of HCL, to build the HCL IT City project at Chak Ganjaria farms in Lucknow. With the signing of the contract agreement done, Vamasundari Investment will now be able to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the project. The DPR will contain detailed project specifications for which the developers will need to seek a final stamp of approval from the Lucknow Development Authority to begin actual spade work on the site. The HCL group has dubbed the IT City as a unique initiative. Besides an IT, ITeS, software development centre, the group plans to build a large skill development centre for 5,000 students and residences for those working in the IT City bringing in the walk-to-work concept for the first time in Uttar Pradesh. Nadar has also promised to make the IT city in Lucknow among the prettiest campuses in the world, generating 5,000 direct jobs in five years and 25,000 jobs when developed fully in 10 years. Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav has also projected the IT City project as a flagship SP government enterprise that will stop the state's talent from migrating to other states in search of better career opportunities. Headquartered in Noida, the USD 6.4 billion HCL groups expansion into Lucknow boosts the state's image in terms of its ability to attract investment. For the UP government, the next big investment opportunity lies in Agra, where the state plans to bring another IT City similar to the one in Lucknow.

6063 The power department took one more step to reduce power failures in Goa by sanctioning an estimate of Rs 12 crore for replacement of aged electrical parts at all the 33KV sub-stations in Goa. Electricity department officials told STOI that the works advisory board headed by the chief secretary has sanctioned the project that will be tendered by the end of this month. Under the project, the department will replace parts which are over 25 years old at all the 50-odd 33KV/11KV sub-stations in Goa. The parts include circuit breakers, isolators, lightning arrestors, battery chargers, earthing equipment etc. Sources said that repairing these aged parts is very time-consuming and procuring them is also difficult. This revamp of the sub-station is not only expected to reduce the power failures in the state, but also improve the department's revenues. The move to carry out the 12 crore revamp comes at a time when the department has received much flak for the frequent power failures all over the state.

6062 Mr RC Bhargava chairman of Maruti Suzuki India Limited is confident of rolling out the first car from its Gujarat project in 2017. Mr Bhargava said that “Market conditions are changing now. We had put our Gujarat project in a slower mode (due to slack sales last year). We are confident of starting production in 2017.” Car sales in the country dropped by 10% for the first time in 11 years from 1.99 million units sold in 2012 to around 1.80 million units in 2013. He added that “Within days of assuming office, Modi took a first step in right direction by abolishing the Group of Ministers (GoMs), which was the reason for delays in implementation. This indicates that the new PM doesn’t believe in passing the buck, discussing issues and yet not taking any decision. There will be accountability.” Mr Bhargava had made a “courtesy call” on the new CM, Mr Anandiben Patel, and also interacted with her team, including Finance Minister Mr Saurabh Patel, over the issues that cropped up after the company changed its project model in Gujarat. He said that “It was a courtesy visit. Secondly, it was to apprise, both the CM and the Finance Minister, of the change from a single-company model for the Gujarat project to a two-company model. It is a change only in the concept, while everything else remains the same about project, be it investment, production of cars, setting up of ancillary units or training, nothing changes.” MSIL had signed a State support agreement (SSA) with the State government in June 2012 to set up a manufacturing facility with a capacity of about 250,000 units a year with an initial investment of INR 4,000 crore. However, earlier this year, MSIL board had announced the transfer of control of the Gujarat manufacturing plant to the Japanese parent Suzuki Motor Company.

6061 Himachal Pradesh government is all set to re-allot the controversial 960MW Jangi-Thopan-Powari hydropower project in Kinnaur district. As Himachal Pradesh Infrastructure Development Board (HPIDB) is already examining the terms and conditions of fresh proposal, the matter would be brought before the cabinet committee for approval soon. Confirming the development, a senior government official said that fresh proposal has already been submitted to HPIDB to examine terms and conditions of the new proposal. "Once the proposal is examined, cabinet committee approval would be sought," he added. Sources said that after the new power policy, rebidding is going to benefit the government as bids would be decided according to the highest percentage of free power offered to state by the bidder that too over and above the fixed free power quota. New power policy mentions that free power bidding is in addition to the fixed upfront premium of Rs 20 lakh per mega watt. While the free power quota is 12% for first 12 years, 18% up to 30 years and 30% up to 40 years, after 40 years the bidder would require to hand over the project to the state government. Earlier, the state government had around five years ago allotted the project to Brakel corporation as two separate entities of 480MW each as Jangi-Thopan and Thopan-Powari through competitive global bidding process. But on April 23, 2013, the state cabinet decided to re-bid Jangi-Thopan and Thopan-Powari projects as a single Jangi-Thopan-Powari project of 960MW capacity according to the new hydel policy. Cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Virbhadra Singh had decided to reject representations made by Brakel Corporation NV and Reliance Infrastructure. In the cabinet meeting held on July 23 last year, state cabinet had decided to go for the rebidding process to allot 960MW Jangi-Thopan-Powari hydropower project while in another cabinet meeting held on September 4 last year, a nod was given to initiate action for damages-penalty against Brakel Corporation in implementation of the project

6060 NTPC has invited bids for construction of the 1,320-MW Khargone thermal project, estimated to cost Rs 7,000 crore. Bids have been sought for EPC (Engineering Procurement and Construction) package for the Khargone super thermal power plant coming up in Madhya Pradesh. The plant would have two units, each having a generation capacity of 660 MW. The state-run major plans to finance the EPC package for Khargone plant through External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) and own resources, according to the tender document issued on Saturday. Scope of work include design, engineering, manufacture, supply, construction, erection, testing and commissioning works for the EPC package. NTPC would be awarding the work through international competitive bidding process that would have two stages -- techno-commercial and price bids. The utility is already working on projects, together having about 4,800 MW capacity in Madhya Pradesh. These include 1,600 MW Gadarwara and 2,640 MW Barethi plants. Overall, the power producer has an installed generation capacity of 43,108 MW. Meanwhile, recently, NTPC had put in place a detailed policy on banning business dealings involving unprofessional and frivolous vendors. Under the policy, an agency could be banned on various grounds, including instances where it "employs a public servant dismissed/removed or employs a person convicted for an offence involving corruption or abatement of such offences

6059 Visakhapatnam Steel Plant would soon complete the major expansion project taken up at a cost of around INR 12,500 crore, with state-run steel major Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited expected to complete commissioning of its 6.3 million tonne per annum expansion project by September. Mr P Madhusudan, CMD of RINL, said that "We have completed commissioning of all units except 2 rolling mills a special bar mill and structural mill. The commissioning will be completed in the first half of the fiscal." According to RINL sources, blast furnace-3, steel melting shop-2 and converter have been commissioned along with continuous casting machines and sinter plant 3. The thermal power units have also been commissioned along with water, power and utility systems. RINL sources said that following the completion of the expansion it would take around one year for production to be on full steam. A RINL official said that "Blast furnace 1 is undergoing capital repairs and this should be over by the end of this month. It will take about 1 or 2 months for the blast furnace to run at full capacity as each of the allied systems have to be put in place and the production will slowly be raised over a period of time so that it will reach 100% capacity utilisation."

6058 With the Centre yet to approve the detailed project report (DPR) of 4-lanning of NH-52A from Itanagar to Banderdewa, Arunachal Pradesh PWD Minister Gojen Gadi has assured to take up the matter with the Centre for its early sanction. The minister assured to take up the matter with the Centre after he inspected Itanagar to Banderdewa stretch of NH-52A yesterday which, was damaged at various locations following incessant rain in the past couple of days. On discussion regarding fund constraints in maintenance of NH-52A, the minister said that he was keen to take up the matter and assured to approach the Centre for allocation of flood damage and maintenance fund, the release informed.

6057 DB International has won a key contract in India with the company being entrusted to act as the quality and safety consultant for Kochi Metro, an elevated railway more than 26 kilometers in length with 21 elevated stations and one depot. Energy is supplied with a 750 volt DC third rail. Work on the project has already been underway since February. DB International, a DB AG company, is rising to meet this new challenge by opening a branch in Bangalore. Taking this step will bring Deutsche Bahn's experts into close proximity with the important Indian market, clients and projects, giving them the opportunity to build local expertise in railway construction. "This initiative has strategic significance in light of the continuing process of globalization and the rising prominence of the Indian market," says Niko Warbanoff, Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors."DB International has the requisite global skills and reputation in project work to offer high-quality services here, too. We are confident that we can lend our support to India with our expertise in all areas of rail transport," said Warbanoff.

6056 The Central government has sanctioned electronics manufacturing projects worth Rs 88.65 crore in two districts. The projects, coming up at Badwai near here and Purva near Jabalpur, will provide employment to over 17,000 people, said a release issued by the state government's Information Technology department. The cost of the cluster project at Badwai is pegged at Rs 48.34 crore, wherein the contribution of Centre will be 50 per cent. The state government through the Madhya Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation (MPSIDC) and the units to be set up under the project will equally bear 25 per cent cost. "For the project, 50-acre land has been allotted where world-level high quality facilities of power, water, road and other infrastructure will be provided. The project will be operational within 2.3 years," the release added. According to the state government, a collective investment to the tune of Rs 260 crore by the units is expected for the project. "In them, 3000 people will get direct and 9000 indirect employment," the release said. The cost of the cluster project at Purva is estimated at Rs 40.31 crore. "The pattern of cost sharing for this project will be same as in Badwai cluster," the release added.

6055 The Odisha government today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Essel Bhubaneswar MSW Ltd for treatment and disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW) generated from the twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. "The MSW management facility will be very helpful for the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack," Chief Secretary J K Mohapatra said adding Essel Bhubaneswar MSW Ltd (a consortium of M/s Essel Infraprojects Limited and M/s Rochem Separation Systems (India) Pvt Ltd) would prepare the detailed project report (DPR). The project would be implemented within two years, he said and about 15 MW of electricity could be generated from the MSW disposal facility. The twin cities together generate approximately 550 tons of MSW daily. The developer would obtain approval from all statutory authorities and achieve financial closure within six months. The project shall be implemented in Design Build Operate and Transfer (DBOT) basis. Earlier, the housing and urban development department had proposed to develop a Regional MSW Processing and Landfill Facility through Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode over an area of approximately 61.485 acres at Bhuasuni for treating and disposing the MSW collected from the twin cities.