Upcoming Projects in India

5954 Patel Engineering has reportedly formed a joint venture (JV) with Kanakia Spaces the real estate arm of Kanakia group. JV is formed in order to develop a 16-acre property in Bandra, Mumbai, owned by the company. The company will hold a majority stake in the venture. Kanakia will infuse Rs 210 crore as its own consideration. The total saleable area for the property works out to be about 7 lakh square feet. The real estate firm Kanakia will develop a mix of residential and commercial properties. Patel Engineering provides a wide range of civil engineering services involved in design and construction of power projeccts, hydroeletric projects, commercial building, industrial complexes, dams, tunnels, underground structures, steel and concrete structures, bridges, marine works, flyovers and national highways in India and abroad.

5953 Su-Kam Power Systems, lndia's leading power back up solutions provider, has bagged a first of its kind large scale solar project in Uttar Pradesh to install and commission solar power systems in 40000 rural households in the state. The company has bagged this prestigious project after winning a tender from Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA), which has been assigned this project under the "Lohia Awas Project" by the Government of UP. As part of this project, Su-Kam shall be installing "Solar PV power packs" which comprise of 3 nos. of LED lights (2 LEDs of 3 W & 1 LED of 5W), 1 DC ceiling fan (25 W) and 1 solar charge controller with mobile charging point in each of the rural houses. The project that aims to provide electricity to these 40000 homes shall span over a period of 1 year. Su-Kam has already finished installation in first set of 7 homes in the Shahpur Majgaon village in rural UP where the solar installation under this project has commenced. Speaking on the occasion, Ashish Sethi, VP-Solar projects, Su-Kam said, "It is indeed a proud moment for Su-Kam as we have undertaken this highly prestigious project to enable 40000 rural households in Uttar Pradesh to enjoy the benefits of electricity in their homes powered by the sun. As part of our solar plan this fiscal, we are bullish in making solar power available to both the urban & rural residential as well as commercial sector in Uttar Pradesh. We are working towards making our solar presence felt in homes, offices, institutions like schools, colleges, government buildings, hospitals, commercial establishments etc. in the state. "With a view on the present energy crises and the ever increasing difference between the generation of energy through non-renewable sources and its consumption, solar energy is going to play a major role in fulfilling this gap in the near future. We are pleased to offer our services to UPNEDA for providing customized solutions of 'solar packages' to harness solar energy to meet basic power requirements in these rural homes." he added.

5952 Godrej Properties Ltd has entered into a partnership to develop a 100 acre residential township in North Bengaluru, the real estate development arm of the Godrej Group, has entered into an LLP to develop a residential township project in North Bengaluru. The project, spread across 100 acres, will offer a potential saleable area of approximately 0.87 million square meters (9.4 million sq. ft.) though its proximity to the new international airport may lead to a reduced consumption of FSI. This project is proposed to be developed as an integrated township with a mix of residential unit types as well as a school, convenience retail, and other amenities to ensure an integrated self-sufficient lifestyle for its residents. The proposed site is strategically located between the Bangalore International Airport and Hebbal and has easy access to the city from the new signal free corridor created on NH7. The location is in close proximity to several IT parks and schools and is one of the fastest developing areas in the city. As with most GPL projects, this project will be developed as a profit sharing partnership. Mr. Pirojsha Godrej, MD & CEO, Godrej Properties said, We are happy to have entered into an agreement to develop a large new township in Bengaluru. This will be our third township project after our projects in Ahmedabad and Mumbai and we will seek to create an outstanding destination. We are currently developing several projects in Bengaluru, which has been India's best performing real estate market and this new development will substantially strengthen our presence in this important city. This project fits well with our strategy of developing world class residential projects in key markets across the country.

5951 Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group is planning to have 200 hotels in India by 2020 and expecting to introduce two new brands Raddison Red and Quorvus Collection in the country soon. "We currently have 66 properties in operation and 42 in the pipeline in India. This year we are planning 12 properties in the country. We are eyeing 200 hotels by 2020 in India," Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group Chairperson Diana L Nelson said.

5950 Essar has announced that its Projects Minerals & Metals Asset has won a second contract from Indian state-owned steelmaker Steel Authority of India for a project at the SAIL Bhilai steel plant in Chhattisgarh. This order follows a contract awarded by the SAIL Rourkela plant in Odisha last year. The new contract covers equipment erection, testing and commissioning of basic oxygen furnace and continuous casting plant at the Bhilai plant. The total value of the contract awarded by SAIL is INR 850 million. The basic oxygen furnace will consist of three converters, and the continuous casting plant will have four casters; two billet casters, one billet and bloom caster and one beam blank caster. The project is scheduled to be completed in 14 months.

5949 Lubrizol Corporation, a fully-owned subsidiary of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc, plans to set up a thermoplastic compound plant in Dahej, south Gujarat, with an initial investment of $50 million (Rs. 300 crore). This is Buffett’s first investment in India. Groundbreaking at the plant site is scheduled to take place on Friday. Eric Schnur, President of Lubrizol Advanced Materials, and other company officials will attend the function. The plant, which will come up in the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) estate in Dahej, will make TempRite chlorinated polyvinyle chloride (CPVC) compounds. It will be operational in the first quarter of 2015 and will have the capacity to produce around 55,000 tonnes of CPVC compounds annually. Lubrizol will manufacture the compounds, which will be supplied to its two licence holders in India – Astral Poly Technik Ltd and Ashirwad Pipes – to manufacture CPVC pipes. “This is Lubrizol’s first plant outside the US and Europe. Our investment in India is a major step forward for our customers based in the region. This plant will help us meet the growing demand in the market,” said Manoj Dhar, head, TempRite, India & SAARC. TempRite is a brand owned by Lubrizol. “The overall investment in CPVC plants for resins and compound manufacturing will be $400 million, which will be made in two phases. As a part of the first phase, we are investing $50 million for the plant in Dahej,” said Schnur.

5948 VIT University, a private university, will open its campus in Bangalore – the third after Vellore (its headquarters) and Chennai. The 100-acre campus will be ready in one year, according to its founder and chancellor G Viswanathan. Details of investment and the number of seats the new campus will have are being worked out.

5947 The KUFOS budget has proposed the establishment of an industry incubation centre at the varsity with the support of Kerala Life Science Park of State Industrial Development Corporation. Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) budget for 2014-15 has proposed setting up three new centres and two chairs in various areas. Vice-Chancellor B. Madhusoodana Kurup presented the budget, with a total expenditure of Rs. 433.28 crore. The budget has envisaged setting up Centre for Aquaculture Genetics and Biotechnology Research; Centre for Germplasm Conservation of Inland Aquatic Organism; Centre for Bio-floc Technology; Professor Alikunhi Chair for Sustainable Aquatic Systems and Dr. Anantha Krishnan Chair for Monsoon Studies, according to an official release. It has also been proposed to establish an industry incubation centre at the varsity, with the support of Kerala Life Science Park of State Industrial Development Corporation.

5946 The Chennai-based developer Casa Grande Pvt Ltd has launched a 30-acre residential project, the Casa Grande Arena at Oragadam, to the west of Chennai. Arena offers 440 independent villas priced at ₹47.5 lakh each. It also includes 250 studio apartments priced at about ₹21 lakh. The project’s unique feature will be the wide range of sports facilities. The sport villa community, as the developer describes the project, comes with 20 sports facilities, including a football ground, tennis courts, basket ball court, volley ball court, squash, cricket and golf. The villas will be of 1,450 sq. ft on a land area of 1250 sq. ft with three bedrooms, two family rooms, dresser, exclusive car parks and landscape garden on a ground plus one design. Arun Kumar, Managing Director, Casa Grande Private Limited, said the villas are priced at ₹3,050 a sq. ft and studio apartments at ₹2,900 a sq. ft. The sports facilities are aimed at offering leisure activity for the entire family and build an active community life.

5945 Real estate firm Chintels today launched group housing project 'Chintels Serenity' in Gurgaon with investment of about Rs 450 crore. The project will come up on 1 million sq ft in Sector 109 in Gurgaon, located on the edges of Dwarka Phase II. It will consist of 9 high rise towers with 370 apartments in all. Chintels India Managing Director Prashant Solomon said: "The size of apartments will be in the range, built-up area of 2,100 sq ft to 6,500 sq ft." Solomon added that in the initial phase they will launch 3-4 bedroom flats. "The three bedroom flat with built up area of 2,100 sq ft and 2,375 sq ft will cost Rs 1.85 crore and Rs 2.10 crore respectively, while four bedroom flat with built up area of 2,925 sq ft would cost about Rs 2.65 crore," he added. The company will launch penthouses with built up area of 6,500 sq ft in the later stages of the project. The total investment in the project would be around Rs 450, comprising of Rs 300 crore for development and Rs 150 crore as land cost. "We would like to complete this project by the end of 2017," he added. Chintels group is developing 600 acres sectors 109, 108 and 106 of Gurgaon. Its another project Chintels Metropolis has been jointly developed with Sobha Developers and QVC Realty.

5944 Choice Hotels India, part of Choice Hotels International, with over 6500 hotels across the globe announced to sign 6 more properties by 2015 in India. Choice Hotels India is one of the hotel chains with 24 properties in over 20 destinations in India and another 14 properties under different stages of development. “We plan to focus on extensive development resources on growing our presence in India. As we have last year expanded our presence with the opening of 5 properties: Clarion Hotel Chennai, Clarion Hotel Coimbatore, Quality Inn Kumabakonam, Quality Inn Bangalore and Comfort Inn in Ahmedabad. In addition another 03 properties have been inked Comfort Hotel in Khanvel Silvasa , Comfort Hotel, Abu Road in Rajasthan and Quality Hotel in Chennai. We are planning to add another 3 properties this year. By 2015, we will have about 32 Properties,” said Vilas Pawar, CEO, Choice Hospitality India. “India is an extremely important key market.In near future we are looking for 2 to to 4 tier cities for our growth and we’re looking forward to the great development potential that it holds for our brands and our hotels.” he added further.

5943 Marriott International is planning to introduce their brand- 'Edition' in India. The first hotel under this brand will be launched in Gurgaon. With this brand, Marriott will have eight operational brands under its tag in India. Presently, Marriott has seven functional brands in India namely; Courtyard by Marriott, Ritz Carlton, Fairfield by Marriott, JW Marriott, Marriott, Renaissance Hotels, Marriott Executive Apartments. Speaking exclusively to Financial Express Online, about the new brand, Rajeev Menon, area vice president, South Asia, Marriott International, said, “Last year we brought Fairfield by Marriott into India, we did a Asia-Pacific launch, we also opened Ritz Carlton. In a couple of years we are also bringing our brand 'Edition' in India, with the first property which is being built in Gurgaon. I feel that with eight very strong brands in India we have a fairly robust portfolio to grow in this nation.” Marriott International is also venturing into North East India with hotels coming up in three cities in the next couple of years. Marriott will launch a Courtyard by Marriott in Shillong, Courtyard by Marriott and JW Marriott in Siliguri and three properties in Guwahati. Menon said, “We are aggressively looking into the North East region and we will launch hotels in Shillong, Siliguri and Guwahati. We have three properties coming up in Guwahati. All the properties in North East will be developed within the next two years.” Speaking about the challenges which Marriott faces in the Indian market, Menon said, “Every market is unique, over the last couple of years the Indian economy has been a little bit shaky. We know that the financial situations in India has changed with the interest rates being very high compared to other parts of the world and the cost of land is high from a hotel business point of view. In our view India remains a decade long growth story.”

5942 Tata Power, one of India’s largest private sector power generators, has a gross installed capacity of approximately 8,560MW through thermal, green energy and waste gas sources, of which, as of February 28, 2014, 7,647MW comes from thermal power sources and 912MW from green energy sources. In addition, Tata Power is in the process of executing a number of power plant projects, which, upon completion, are expected to increase the company’s overall generation capacity by 849.2MW, according to Tata Sons Ltd. Tata Power has eight projects under execution that are solar, wind, hydro and gas-based projects in India and overseas, which are as follows: Wind projects: Tata Power has entered into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Tata Power Renewable Energy (TPREL) for the purchase of wind energy from the 32MW wind energy project located at Ambheri, in Satara district of Maharashtra. The project is currently under execution and is expected to be commissioned in the fiscal year 2014. The company entered into a PPA with TPREL on January 16, 2014, for the purchase of wind energy from the 49.5MW wind energy project being developed by TPREL for generating and selling renewable electrical energy to the beneficiary entities. The PPA shall commence from June 01, 2014, and remain effective up to May 31, 2027. This project is currently under execution and is expected to be commissioned in the fiscal year 2015. Tsitsikamma is a 94.8MW wind power generation project currently under execution in South Africa and is expected to be commissioned in the fiscal year 2017. Tata Power is developing this project through its joint venture company, Cennergi (Pty) (Cennergi). As of December 31, 2013, Tata Power holds a 50 percent share and Exxaro Resources holds the remaining 50 percent share in Cennergi. A PPA has been signed with Eskom Holdings SOC (Eskom) for the sale of power for a period of twenty years from the date of commencement of commercial operations. Amakhala Emoyeni is a 134.4MW wind-powered generation project, located approximately 14 kilometers south west of the town of Bedford in the Eastern Cape, expected to be commissioned in the fiscal year 2017. Tata Power is developing this project through its joint venture company, Cennergi. A PPA has been signed with Eskom for the sale of power for a period of twenty years from the date of commencement of commercial operations. Solar project: Tata Power has entered into a PPA with TPREL for purchase of solar energy from the 25MW AC solar plant located at Palaswadi, Maharashtra. The PPA has been entered into for a term of 25 years commencing from March 31, 2014. The project is currently under execution. Hydro projects: The Dagachhu Hydroelectric Power Project (Dagachhu Project) is a joint venture wherein Tata Power holds 26 percent stake as of December 31, 2013. The Dagachhu Project is proposed to have an installed capacity of 126MW and is being implemented in Bhutan by the Dagachhu Hydro Power Corporation. On June 25, 2008, Dagachhu Hydro Power Corporation entered into a PPA with Tata Power Trading Company (TPTCL), which was subsequently amended on September 12, 2008, whereby TPTCL shall purchase and import power generated at the Dagachhu Project into India. This PPA is valid for a period of 25 years from the date of commissioning of the Dagachhu Project. Adjaristsqali Georgia LLC (“AGL”) is developing hydroelectric projects in Southwest Georgia. AGL is a joint venture company wherein Tata Power is one of the joint venture partners. As of December 31, 2013, Tata Power holds 40 percent interest in AGL. AGL is expected to export power to Georgia and Turkey. Gas-based project: The Kalinganagar Project is a 202.5MW cogeneration plant located at Kalinganagar Industrial Complex at Duburi, Odisha, being set up by Industrial Energy (“IEL”). Tata Steel and IEL entered into a MOU on August 30, 2011, for the establishment of the captive power plant for a period of 48 months. Civil work for this project is currently in progress and the project is expected to be fully commissioned in the fiscal year 2015. A PPA between IEL and Tata Steel is under negotiation.

5941 BS Limited has announced it has bagged several orders worth Rs 722 crore from various power utilities, including in Madhya Pradesh. The Hyderabad-based infrastructure and EPC services provider in the power sector, in a statement to BSE, has informed that the orders are for turnkey EPC contracts for 220 kv and 132 kv transmission lines and associated sub stations in Madhya Pradesh. The projects, funded by the Asian Development Bank, are aimed at strengthening the grid and enhancing transmission capacity, bringing in much needed electricity to the region to meet the growing domestic and industrial demand. Rajesh Agarwal, Chairman and Managing Director of BS Limited, said, “These projects in Madhya Pradesh will enhance capacity and operational efficiency in electricity transmission and distribution system where BS has a strong presence. Our EPC business has been growing at a rate of around 20 per cent year on year basis and we continue to focus our efforts in India and are exploring business in South Asia, Middle East and North Africa regions which have immense potential.” These orders will contribute to EPC business earnings until mid 2015, he said.

5940 Chennai-based Vivendi Ventures, which is into real estate development and fund management, is planning to launch a private equity arm headquartered in Singapore, to invest in real estate projects in India. “We will be launching an entity in Singapore with an initial offer of Rs 200 crore in 2015, which would be increased to Rs 500 crore by end of 2016,” said Srinivas Anikipatti, chairman and managing director of Vivendi Ventures. It expects to invest in real estate projects in India and complete investments in three years starting from 2016. After this, it would be looking for a major fund raising for the real estate PE investments, he said. The company today launched a joint venture residential real estate project, Masken Heights, here, in collaboration with city-based Greata Enterprises and Developers. The project includes a 72-apartment residential area and commercial space involving a cost of Rs 175-200 crore. Vivendi is planning to develop a few more projects with a total project cost of Rs 1,000 crore in collaboration with Greata, which holds the land bank. Besides this, it is developing a Rs 45-crore row house project; a Rs 60-crore commercial space and Rs 9-crore boutique housing units.

5939 The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has given its nod to road widening project for construction of 16-lane DLF-HUDA expressway in Gurgaon, which was embroiled in controversy over cutting of trees. The 16-lane expressway is 8.3 km long signal free corridor connecting NH-8 toll plaza to the Golf Course Road and is to come up in sector 55-56 of Gurgaon. A bench of NGT headed by Justice P Jyothimani in a recent order held that widening of road project does not adversely affect the residents of nearby areas. "Recognising the need of the project in question which will serve the larger public interest by way of resulting in smooth flow of traffic, we are of the opinion that project in question may be allowed subject to the environmental safeguard which would keep the likely adverse impacts to the bare minimum," the tribunal said. The tribunal's order came on a plea by residents of the National Media Centre (NMC), a housing society located in sector 55-56, who had challenged cutting of trees by HUDA, DLF and Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS).

5938 Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT) has proposed to increase the capacity of its ammonia storage facility at Kochi Port in order to meet its increased production requirements. The objective is to set up additional storage tanks in the port area with a capacity of 20,000 tonnes so that the company would be able to bring in bigger shipments, which would be more economical, Jaiveer Srivastava, Chairman and Managing Director, FACT told Business Line. Right now, the existing capacity is only 10,000 tonnes and the capacity constraints in storage tanks have forced the company to depend on part shipments. The port has agreed to allot additional land adjacent to the present storage facility in Willingdon Island. “We would adhere to all environment safety measures and create public awareness before proceeding with the project,” he said, adding that the company has envisaged an investment of Rs.120 crore for this, which would be raised mainly through internal resources. At present FACT is importing ammonia, which is cheaper than the ammonia produced in its own plant following the decision to stop ammonia production using LNG. Ammonia production is one of the core activities in fertiliser productions. Material Handling The company has also held discussions with the port authorities to improve its material handling facilities to increase import of materials. FACT’s imports mainly consist of rock phosphate, sulphur, ammonia, urea, potash, complex fertiliser and so on. Srivastava said FACT mainly depends on import for most of its raw material requirements and sourcing from foreign markets at reasonable prices and timely delivery have always been a problem. This has often affected production, he said. To overcome this handicap the company is planning to source materials from global markets on the basis of long term tie-ups.

5937 Global hospitality player Starwood Hotels & Resorts is planning to bring its luxury brands St Regis and W Hotels to India shortly to meet the expanding demand of the Indian market. With this, Starwood will have eight out of its nine brands in India. “We are also looking at bringing our luxury brands St Regis and W Hotels to India soon with one St Regis and four W Hotels currently under development. With this, Starwood will soon have eight of its nine brands in India,” Dilip Puri, managing director India and regional vice president, South Asia, Starwood Asia Pacific Hotels & Resorts told Financial Chronicle. The company currently operates 38 properties under six of its nine brands with a total room count of over 8,500 keys. It has around 6,000 more rooms under its pipeline with a total of 35 hotels under development. The company also believes that the Indian market will emerge as the third largest market in the next couple of years. “India is Starwood’s fourth largest market and will soon be the third. We have a strong and fast growing footprint and a robust pipeline. Today we operate 38 hotels in India under six of our nine brands and have 35 under development. This amounts to over 8,500 rooms under operation and more than 6, 000 in the pipeline,” said Puri.

5936 Era Infra Engineering (EIEL), an integrated infrastructure company with Pan India presence has been awarded a contract worth approximately Rs 48.98 crore for Construction of Phase II hostel complex consisting of 376 bachelors and 144 married accommodation for trainees of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) / Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI) at Anushaktinagar, Mumbai by Department of Atomic Energy.

5935 Jindal Power Ltd, a company promoted by Jindal Steel & Power Ltd, has started the second 600 MW unit of the Tamnar project at Raigarh in Chhattisgarh. “With the commissioning of this plant, the total capacity of Jindal Power Ltd has now reached 2,200 MW,” Jindal Steel & Power Ltd said. The third unit of 600 MW is ready for synchronisation, while the fourth unit of similar capacity should be commissioned by October, the company said in a statement.

5934 Pune-based Kumar Urban Development Ltd (KUL) has chalked out plans to build a rope bridge at the IT industry hub Hinjewadi on the lines of Mumbai’s Bandra-Worli sea link. "The company will initially invest Rs 7 crore on the bridge which will connect its Ecoloch township project with IT hub Hinjewadi Phase-I,” Kruti Jain, Director, KUL, said. Work on the project is set to begin on Gudi Padwa. Conceived and designed by well-known British engineer and designer Sir Donald Bailey, the 120 m long Bailey suspension bridge across the Mula river will be built by Garden Research Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd. KUL is also developing a river side marina and promenade on the lines of Singapore’s Clark Quay. KUL’s project Ecoloch is coming up on 200 acres, with over 6 million sq ft built-up area in the first phase.

5933 The Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with railway ministry to lay down the targets for various important activities of DFC projects for the current fiscal. The MoU will also ensure timely release of adequate funds for execution of the project, land acquisition and continuance of full assistance by the Ministry in deputing Railway officials on tenure basis to work in DFCCIL. The MoU was signed last week, a senior DFCC official said. The DFCCIL, a special purpose vehicle, is constructing a 3300km-long eastern and western freight corridors exclusively for movement of goods trains. The 1839 km-long Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor will run through Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, while the 1499 km-long Western Dedicated Freight Corridor will run from Dadri (Uttar Pradesh) to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (Mumbai), passing through Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The two corridors will contribute in a great manner in the economic development of the states through which they pass as well as ease traffic load on existing Indian Railways network. Core sectors like power houses, fertiliser, foodgrains will be benefited by this infrastructure.

5932 Vikas Cotex (VC) is setting up cotton ginning and pressing facility at Wankaner, Dist. Rajkot in Gujarat. The proposed plant would be equipped with 48 ginning machines and 1 pressing machine with processing capacity of 31000 MT of raw cotton annually.

5931 The company is in the process of setting up a composite plant for processing two lakh litres per day of raw milk into pasteurized milk and milk products such as cottage cheese, curd and clarified butter to be sold under the brand name Reliance Dairy Life. Procurement risk rests entirely with customer. Being located in Turbhe (Navi Mumbai), the company will have location advantages like nearness to its key market of Mumbai, organized transportation, easy availability of labour and other utilities. The unit for the proposed plant measures about 1,268 square meters and is taken on 99 years sub lease from MIDC by the promoters. The dairy products processed by GDPPL will cater to the Mumbai and Navi Mumbai area, under exclusive buy back agreement with RDFL. The raw material is milk, which will be supplied to GDPPL by RFDL on daily basis; the title to the goods for raw material will remain with RDFL during all stages of processing and transport. RDFL has assured lifting and direct buying of milk from the farmers throughout the year. RDFL is expected to consistently supply the milk to the GDPPL throughout the year with minimum off-take guarantee per day. Technical manpower will be provided by RDFL. The plant design and sourcing of plant and machinery has been done as per RDFL specifications. As of March 2014, almost 80% of the civil work is completed and machinery order has been placed with Zuezer Engineers India Private Ltd, as per RDFL specifications. The total cost for the project is estimated at Rs. 39.21 crore, which is planned to be funded by Rs. 26.56 crore term loan borrowings and Rs. 12.65 crore of equity, indicating leveraged project funding. GDPPL has received Rs. 11.50 crore term loan from State Bank of India as on March 2014 and Rs. 5.77 crore as Share Application Money as January 2014. The company has so far incurred a capital expenditure of Rs. 17.27 crore, with balance capital expenditure to be incurred by August 2014. The company expects commercialization of operations to begin from September 2014 onwards.

5930 IL&FS Engineering and Construction Company Limited has received a Letter of Intent (LoI) from Ireo Private Limited for construction of its luxury residential project ‘Gurgaon Hills’ located at Sec-02, Gurgaon, Haryana. The Rs 175.80-crore contract is to be completed in 39 months. The ‘Gurgoan Hills’ luxury residential project has Six Towers (20 to 26 Storey) with total built-up area of around 1.77 million sq.ft, according to a statement. IL&FS Engineering is currently executing building projects worth more than Rs 850 crore in National Capital Region (NCR) for clients that include Emaar MGF Land Limited, Unitech, Ansal Properties & Infrastructure Limited, Parsvnath Developers Limited, and Puri Constructions Private Limited.

5929 Alstom T & D India Ltd. and Alstom Grid UK Ltd. recently secured a 22.75 million euros or Rs.182 crore contract from Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. (PGCIL) to supply and refurbish high voltage direct current (HVDC) converter transformers. These transformers will strengthen the 1000 MW HVDC station at Bhadrawati in Maharashtra, India, which interconnects and moves surplus power from West India to South India. The turnkey contract includes designing, engineering, manufacturing, refurbishing, erection and commissioning of HVDC converter transformers (234 MVA, 400kV). The company said that these transformers would be manufactured in Alstom's facilities in Vadodara, India and in Stafford in UK.

5928 L&T has bagged a major residential order in Bangalore from one of south India's leading property developers which is also the company's biggest residential order in this financial year. The scope of work involves civil, structural, MEP and finishing for 24 towers and 271 villas. The towers will comprise two basements plus ground floor with levels varying from 18 floors to 29 floors. The project is scheduled to be completed in 42 months.

5927 The assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will be used for improvement of drinking water supply in the city of the Taj Mahal. The agreement was signed here by Shinya Ejima, chief representative of JICA in India, and Rajesh Khullar, joint secretary in the union finance ministry. This will be the second assistance by the JICA following a loan of 24,822 million yen (Rs.1,464 crore) for the project in 2007. The loan will be at a rate of 1.4 percent and has a repayment period of 30 years with a grace period of 10 years. The project will be executed by the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam and is expected to be completed by 2017. "In Agra, drinking water supply has not kept up with the growing population. The quality of water is also very poor since the Yamuna river, the main source of water supply to Agra, is heavily polluted. This project aims to increase the supply of water with improved quality," said Ejima.

5926 Japan on Monday announced a Rs 15,000-crore official development assistance ( ODA) loan for five projects in India, including expansion of Delhi Metro and works related to wind and solar energy. Japan and India signed the ODA loan agreement for five projects totalling more than Rs 15,000 crore. "This is the largest amount ever signed on a single occasion in the history of Japanese ODA," a Japanese Embassy statement said. Elaborating on the projects, the statement said that the ODA loan has provided approximately Rs 8,933 crore to Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System Project ( phase 3) in order to enhance its transportation capacity. This project intends to link the existing 190 km radially developed network with additional 116 km belt line, including six routes and six intervals which connect Indira Gandhi International Airport and Noida district and construction of heritage line connecting Central Secretariat, Delhi Gate, Lal Qila and Kashmir Gate. The completion of the project will extend the length of network to 329.4 km and transform Delhi Metro into a global standard urban transportation system comparable to the Tokyo metro, the statement added. The loan agreement will include three energy sector projects- New and Renewable energy, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Energy Saving, and Haryana Distribution System Upgradation. The development comes after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met at a summit in January. The loan agreement was signed by Takeshi Yagi, ambassador of Japan to India, and Rajesh Khullar, joint secretary, department of economic affairs in finance ministry. The statement said that for New and Renewable Energy Development Project- phase 2, Rs 1,800- crore loan has been granted to power producers through Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited for the development solar and wind power succeeding Phase I of the project. The ongoing project includes a loan of Rs1,160 crore for wind power projects in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka and Rs 220 crore for solar power project in Andhra Pradesh

5925 Varun Beverages Limited (VBL), which holds bottling and distribution franchise rights from Pepsico, is planning to invest around $300 million towards expanding its organic and inorganic growth opportunities, over the next 12 months. To support the investment the company is planning to raise $85 million equity from International Finance Corporation (IFC) and from other investors. Besides the company is planning to list in the coming months. The company has lined up around $300 million investment plan in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Morocco, Zambia and Mozambique and towards funding organic and inorganic growth opportunities, over next one year, according to project disclosure with IFC.

5924 L&T Construction has secured orders worth Rs.1,009 crore across business segments in March. Its buildings and factories segment has got orders worth Rs.573 crore for construction of a mixed use development in Lucknow and a community centre in Bangalore. Further, additional orders have been received from ongoing projects in Hyderabad. The transportation infrastructure segment has obtained an order worth Rs.316 crore for design, engineering and construction of an elevated road between Jinzira Bazaar and Batanagar, over the Budge Budge Trunk Road, in Kolkata. In the power transmission and distribution business, L&T has bagged an order valued at Rs.120 crore from the Odisha Power Transmission Corporation for engineering, supply and commissioning of 33/11 kV sub-stations and associated lines for the Odisha distribution system strengthening project

5923 Kalpataru Power Transmission (KPTL) said it has bagged orders from Power Grid Corporation worth nearly Rs 350 crores. The contract id for supply and erect 765KV double circuit Solapur-Aurangabad transmission line of 140km in Maharashtra.

5922 Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has been contracted by Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (UJVNL) to deliver electro-mechanical equipment for the 120MW Vyasi hydroelectric project in Dehradun district, Uttarakhand. BHEL's scope of work includes design, manufacture, supply, installation and commissioning of hydro generating sets and associated electro mechanical works. The hydro generating sets will be supplied by BHEL's Bhopal unit, while the transformers and control and monitoring system will come from the company's Jhansi unit and Electronics Division, Bangalore, respectively. BHEL's Power Sector - Northern Region (PS-NR) will erect and commission the equipment. The Vyasi project is a run-of-river scheme on the river Yamuna. The project involves construction of an 86m high dam, a 2.7km long headrace tunnel and surface power house at Hathiari village. The project comprises two hydro generating sets of 60MW each with vertical Francis turbines. BHEL has a long-standing association with UJVNL, having supplied equipment to its largest hydroelectric project - the 304MW Maneri Bhali Stage II project.

5921 Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) is giving finishing touches to an approximately Rs. 350-crore project to upgrade the city’s road infrastructure and to boost waterway transport. The feasibility report will be finalised within a fortnight and handed over to the State Government for approval. “A list of road, bridge and waterway projects will be finalised in a week. Prominent among the roads being considered for widening and development include Chilavannur Bund Road of GCDA, Thammanam-Pullepady Road and Goshree-Mamangalam Road of Kochi Corporation. MG Road can be decongested if junctions and link roads to Foreshore Road are widened,” KMRL sources said. Funding The funds will be sourced from Rs. 1,225 crore that was set apart in the State budget for ‘major infrastructure development projects’. “The aim is to upgrade transportation infrastructure in Kochi by 2016, when metro rail is expected to be commissioned,” they said. KMRL’s MD Elias George had stated that the agency would spearhead plans to give an image makeover for Kochi. “We will coordinate the projects, while agencies like RBDCK can implement them,” Mr. George said. Under the latest proposal, select roads and junctions along busy roads will be developed or widened, footpaths built wherever necessary and bridges constructed on a priority basis. At many junctions, unscientifically located traffic police cabins and encroachers hamper free movement of vehicles. The cabins will be relocated and encroachments removed. Bridges that are overdue at Vaduthala and Atlantis might find place in the list of projects. Junction development “Steps will be taken to widen junctions since Kochi has ill-planned and notoriously narrow junctions where free-left turns are non-existent, unlike in Thiruvananthapuram. Many junctions in Thiruvananthapuram also have big roundabouts, something which is absent in Kochi,” sources said.

5920 Three major roads in Bangalore are getting a facelift. Road development under Tender SURE (Specifications for Urban Road Execution) has been taken up on Cunningham Road, VittalMallya Hospital Road and St. Mark’s Road. These roads will be developed as per international standards, with levelled footpaths and underground utility ducts. The detailed project report was prepared by Bangalore City Connect Foundation. The work will be executed by the Bruhat Bangalore MahanagaraPalike (BBMP). Eighteen roads will be improved under phase one of the Tender SURE project. They were classified into three packages. Seven roads – Residency Road, Richmond Road, Cunningham Road, VittalMallya Hospital Road, St. Mark’s Road, Commissariat Road and Museum Road – with a total length of 10.2 km are part of the first package. They are being developed at a cost of Rs. 78 crore. Of these, work on Cunningham Road, VittalMallya Hospital Road and St. Mark’s Road has been taken up on priority basis, a BBMP official said.

5919 Giving a major boost to the energy sectors in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, a 350-km pipeline between Kochi and Salem to transport liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) will be laid by the end of next year. The gas pipeline linking the two cities will be built at a cost of `1, 000 crore. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) had on March 13 published the grant of authorisation for laying the pipeline to a joint consortium of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and Indian Oil Corporation. The land acquisition procedure will start soon and the construction is likely to start by the end of 2014. The capacity of the pipeline will be 1.28 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) and can be expanded up to 1.52MMTPA. The project has been planned to connect the bottling plants of BPCL, IOC and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd en route and is primarily aimed at reducing the number of LPG tankers on Kerala roads. “A vast area between Kochi and Salem will be covered by the project and the shortage of LPG cylinders in the region could be addressed effectively by this. We are hopeful that we could start laying the pipeline by the end of this year, and it will take 10 months to complete the project,” said BPCL sources familiar with the development. The project is more important now as IOC is planning an integrated LPG import facility and terminal with a capacity of 0.6MMTPA at Puthuvype in Kochi and BPCL-Kochi Refinery is involved in the integrated refinery expansion project, which is envisaged to increase the refining capacity from the present 9.5 to 15.5 MMTPA.

5918 Mac Charles India has received an approval to explore the possibility of restructuring its hotel building viz., Le Meridien-Bangalore and making financial arrangements for the same. The board of directors at its meeting held on March 26, 2014 has approved for the same. At the same time the board has also advised the chairman to find out the legal and Government clearances for the same. Mac Charles (India), is engaged in the hospitality business with business integrated into the five-star hotel Le Meridien Bangalore. It is part of the global Le Meridien hotel group.

5917 Lulu Group has awarded civil work contracts for its upcoming international convention centre and Grand Hyatt Hotel in Kochi, to the Australia-based Leighton. The $26-million contracts for projects on the Bolgatty Island in Kochi was secured by Leighton India Contractors, a part of Leighton Asia, which is the largest construction, contracting and project development company in Australia, a company statement said here today. The Lulu Group, which runs the eponymous supermarkets chains in the Gulf and being the largest employer in the UAE in the non-manufacturing sector, also runs the country’s largest mall in Kochi and has stakes in all the Kerala-based private sector lenders. The project occupies a construction area of around 69,000 square metres including the construction of the convention centre with convention halls, service areas and basement parking facility for 450 vehicles and surface parking for 2,000 cars. The Grand Hyatt Hotel will have 250 guest rooms and other amenities, including spa, fitness centre, and a Grand Club lounge. The hotel will also offer over 5,600 sqmetres of meeting and event function space including a 2,400 sqmetre ballroom. Construction is scheduled to start next month and will be completed by July 2015, Leighton said. This is Leighton India’s second project in Kochi after the impressive Tritvam residential project currently being delivered for Tata and it represents Leighton’s first significant involvement with the Lulu Group. Leighton India managing director, Jim Salmon said, “Our international experience and wealth of local knowledge, coupled with a commitment to safety and quality will ensure the successful delivery of this major project.”

5916 After setting up a 50 kilowatt solar power plant on the institute campus, IIT-Kanpur is now in the process of commissioning a 1,750 kilowatt roof-top solar power plant. This work would be done in two phases. In the initial phase, a solar plant of 350 kw capacity will be set up. This will take nearly six months. The second phase will be taken up later. The power generated by the solar power plant will be supplied to the IIT-K grid and the same will be supplied back to the institute for meeting the power needs of the institute. This would also reduce the dependence on the power supplying agency in the city -- Kesco. At present, the 50 KW solar power plant which had been inaugurated July 3, 2013, is generating 250 units of power which is supplied to the grid. The same power is supplied to a student hostel in the institute to illuminate it. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on his visit to the institute on July 3, 2010 had viewed the model of the 50 KW solar power plant which came up on the institute in three years time. Importantly, IIT-Kanpur has major plans for the expansion of the solar power projects. The success of the 50 KW power plant paved the way for setting up of more such plants and 1750 KW power plant forms the part of the same plan While, the 50 KW power plant was meant for research work and had been set up on experimentation basis, the 1,750 KW power plant will be fully used for meeting the power needs of the premier IIT-Kanpur. Prof RS Anand, Principal Research Engineer, Department of Electrical Engineering of IIT-K, informed that roof-top solar power plant of capacity 1750 KW (1.75 megawatt) will be installed here in the institute. "Initially, we are in the process of setting up 350 KW solar power plant. This will take six months from now after which the 1,400 KW capacity plant will be installed. The 50 KW plant is already functional. It is giving 250 units of power each day which is supplied to the grid but this much of power is too less for an institute like IIT-K, therefore, larger capacity power plant will serve the purpose to a broader extent," said Prof Anand of IIT-Kanpur.

5915 Polo Towers group, which owns hotels in Shillong, Cherrapunji and Tura in Meghalaya, would invest Rs 100 crore by 2016 by setting up eateries and hotels. "We are investing Rs 100 crore for setting up eateries and hotels by 2016," CEO of the group DevalTibrewalla. The group, he said, would launch the 'Quiznos' quick service restaurants in the eastern part of the country after getting franchisee from the US company. The group would also launch two other US brands, Great American Cookies and Forever Yoghurt across the country, he said. The group was also setting up a budget hotel in Allahabad, he added.

5914 Rays Power Infra has announced its plans to set up a solar park in Andhra Pradesh about 100 km from Hyderabad. This will be its second such solar park. It has earlier developed a solar park in Rajasthan. The solar park will have total installed capacity of 25 mw and spread over 125 acres. It will offer clients ready-to-use infrastructure for setting up solar power projects wherein units of 1 MW onwards could be set up. The company says the park and infrastructure will enable company to reduce the time and effort required to setup a solar project. About 50 per cent of the park’s capacity had already been booked, the company stated. It has thus far commissioned 45 MW of solar power plants and expects to execute another 40 MW in 2014-15. It has also announced that it bagged the EPC Contract for solar project of 5.5 MW from Essel Infra (Zee TV group) in Karnataka.

5913 Larsen & Toubro announced on Thursday the buildings and factories business of L&T Construction has won new housing orders worth Rs 19.81 billion. A major residential order has been bagged in Bangalore from one of south India's leading property developers which is also the company's biggest residential order in this financial year, the company said. The project is scheduled to complete in 42 months. Another order has been received from an esteemed customer for construction of residential township in Gujarat. The project involves turnkey construction of 134 housing units. The construction of 134 housing units. The construction includes civil, structural, MEP, finishes and other associated works. ''One of our key focus areas has been the growing potential in the residential sector and by winning these prestigious orders we have made significant inroads into this space,'' said S. N. Subrahmanyan, member of the board and senior executive vice president.

5912 Sadbhav Engineering has been declared the successful bidder in respect of the bid invited by National Highways Authority of India (Ministry of Road Transport and Highways) for the widening & strengthening of Jodhpur-Barmer Section of NH-112 (Jodhpur to PachpadraPkg-I) with two lane with paved shoulder/four lane from km 140.00 to km 225.615 (Length 85.615 ) under NHDP-IV in state of Rajasthan on EPC Mode. The quoted contract price for the said project is Rs 212.40 crores The construction period of the project is 910 days (2.5 years) from appointed date.

5911 Fortis Healthcare plans to open high end medical facilities in Bangalore in the next two years. These two facilities will have a capacity of 280 beds, according to company officials. Fortis La Femme, the first one at Richmond Road will be dedicated to mother and child care. The 210 bed facility will come up on Bannerghatta Road and will be for cancer-related care. Apart from oncology, the new expansion will have additional operation theatres with a high end Brain Suite and state-of-the-art ICU’s, company officials said. Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh, Executive Chairman and Executive Vice Chairman, Fortis Healthcare said: "Both facilities will fill a vital need gap and complement Fortis’ medical specialty offerings in the city."

5910 ACC plans to replicate the success at its cement plants in Wadi (Karnataka), Jamul (Chhattisgarh), Kymore (Madhya Pradesh) and Chanda (Maharashtra) with an investment of about Rs.360 crore. The Gagal heat recovery plant, which produces 7.5 MW, achieved stabilisation last week. It is expected to reduce over 44,000 tonnes of carbon-dioxide emission a year. Gagal, faces shortage of power during winter, as hydro-power plants taper off generation due to snowing. ACC invested Rs. 100 crore to set up the plant which is fitted with a turbine that can enhance power production to 9 MW as and when steam availability in the cement plant improves. ACC expects to recover the investment made in Gagal in four-and-a-half years with an annual saving of Rs.22 crore. KN Rao, Director (Energy and Environment), told Business Line the four cement plants where the heat recovery system would be installed over 3-4 years are capable of producing 30-32 MW in all, resulting in a savings of `90-100 crore a year.

5909 Anil Group is planning to increase its focus on the value-added segment by venturing into nutraceuticals segment. The company plans to commission its greenfield facility at Halol near Vadodara in the next financial year. “Value added segment in the entire food processing industry offers maximum growth and so we will enter the nutraceuticals segment to harness the potential as this industry is still in its nascent stage in India,” said Darshan Mehta, Executive Director, Anil Bioplus, an arm of the Anil Group. The company has increased its focus on production of calcium gluconate and sodium gluconate. According to Mehta, manufacturing of gluconates is in line with the company’s policy of introducing new value added product regularly. “The new greenfield capacity, which is expandable and has infrastructure that is USFDA approved, will also manufacture enzymes and citrates”, he added. For increasing production of these gluconates, the company has invested around Rs.150 crore in a greenfield plant that is coming up at Halol. The new facility would primarily be focusing on domestic as well as global market demand. Calcium gluconate is used as a source of calcium in veterinary and nutraceutical applications, while sodium gluconate is used in construction and chemical industries.

5908 GE Healthcare, an arm of General Electric Co., has forged a strategic alliance with US-based oncology chain Cancer Treatment Services International (CTSI) to build 25 cancer treatment centres across India, jointly investing about $120 million (around Rs.725 crore) in the project. The initiative primarily aims to detect cancer at an early stage in patients and thus make treatment more affordable by potentially reducing more expensive later-stage treatment costs. It also aims to reach out to patients in remote parts of the country who have limited access to treatment. The first centre—American Oncology Institute, which is CTSI’s international brand—is already operational in Hyderabad with 250 beds and about 30 doctors. The two firms said more centres will soon be opened in other parts of Andhra Pradesh and that CTSI is also evaluating locations in other states. “Scaling up of affordable access to cancer care requires disruptive solutions and willing partners. We believe a partnership like this one presents a great opportunity to confront India’s cancer challenge head on,” John Dineen, global chief executive officer (CEO) of GE Healthcare, said in a statement. GE Healthcare said it is a minority investor in the initiative. GE Healthcare is not the only organization trying to make cancer treatment more affordable in India. Bangalore-based Healthcare Global Enterprises, which is structured like a law or an audit firm, offers the kind of payment options consumer product retailers or car dealers do. Though cancer treatment costs in India are estimated to be at least 25% cheaper than in other countries such as the US, the average cost of cancer treatment for low-to-middle income classes in India is still quite steep.

5907 National Library is tying up with British Library for a unique digitization project. The two heritage institutions will digitize, archive and exchange surrogate copies of early Bengali printed material dating from 1778 till 1914. Roly Keating, chief executive of British Library, is currently in the city "shaping the ambitious project and defining its first phase". 18 months after taking charge of the world's second largest library and helping it reinvent itself, Keating said, "A digitization programme between the two libraries has been on the cards since 2011. Now, we are here to take the joint digitization project forward. The British Library has a lot of Bengali collections from the British Museum and the India Office Library. With contributions from the National Library, we could add value to our existing stock." He is accompanied by Leena Mitford, head curator, South Asian Studies, British Library. While elaborating on the British Library's vast collection that is about to get bigger, both Keating and Mitford sounded excited about the Indian collaboration, which would also involve Jadavpur University, BangiyaSahityaParishad and Uttarpara Library, for digitization of the mammoth collection between 1778 and 1914. Based on preliminary talks with the Union ministry of culture and the British government in 2011, JU's School of Cultural Text and Records readied a bibliography of Bengali books spanning 1778-1914. The bibliography already has more than 2,500 entries till 1867; another 10,000 are likely to be added. "We have decided to use this bibliography. We shall also get surrogate copies of Bengali books from the British Library," P Y Rajendra Kumar, director general of National Library.

5906 In an attempt to improve the telecommunication connectivity with the distant Andaman and Nicobar, the government of India has proposed an undersea cable link. The project is likely to cover nine main islands of the Union Territory. According to the official memo proposal, the project will be implemented by Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corp. Ltd along with the ministry of home affairs. Department of telecommunications will be rendering technical expertise for the project. The project cost of this island, located about 1,000km from Chennai, is estimated at more than Rs. 800 crore. The cable will connect all nine major islands of the Andaman and Nicobar administration, said the official memo. When asked, if the island is key to India’s strategic initiatives in the area, the former secretary in the ministry of External Affairs, Mr. N. Ravi, said: “Absolutely, it’s of great importance whether you look at it in terms of disaster management or you look at it in terms of strategic issues”.

5905 Godrej Properties today said it has entered into a joint venture with two local firms to develop a premium housing project in Pune. Godrej Properties, the real estate arm of Godrej Group, would get 35% profit from the 43-acre JV project. "Godrej Properties Ltd (GPL) has entered into a partnership to develop a residential project in Mundhwa, Keshavnagar, Pune," the company said in a statement. The project would have about 2.8 million sqft of saleable area, it added. "Like most Godrej Properties projects, this is a joint venture project, with GPL getting 35% of the profits from the project," the company said. According to sources, the JV has been formed with realty firms Oxford group and Ekta World, which own the land. Oxford Group is based in Pune while Ekta World is Mumbai-based.