PUNJAB TO TAKE UP RS 31,248 CRORE INFRA PROJECTS VIA PPP MODEL

The Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) will take up new projects under the public-private-partnership (PPP) mode valued at Rs 31,248 crore, reports Financial Express.

According to the report, around 62 projects are on anvil. The most ambitious of these projects are five expressways -- the Mohali-Phagwara Expressway at Rs 2,500 crore, the Mohali-Banur-Baddi expressway, the expressway for Amritsar Airport at Rs 300 crore, the Pathankot-Ajmer Expressway up to the Punjab border, among others, the report added.

The other PPP projects include two ring roads -- the Amritsar Ring Road to be laid at a cost of Rs 2,000 crore and the Ludhiana Ring Road at an estimated cost of Rs 2,300 crore. The projects include six roads -- the Batala-Beas road at Rs 50 crore, the Karatpur-Kapurthala-Nakodar road at Rs 70 crore, the Amritsar-Sri Hargobindpur-Tanda road at Rs 80 crore, the Sirhind-Morinda-Ropar road at Rs 60 crore, the Hoshiarpur-Phagwara road at Rs 60 crore and the Jagraon-Raikot-Malerkotla road at Rs 65 crore, it said.

The PIDB plans to spend Rs 468.72 crore to construct railway over bridges (ROB), railway under bridges and high-level bridges, the report continued.

State PWD (B&R) minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa said that out of the 28 ROBs planned, eight bridges had been completed in Mansa, Lehragaga, Sangrur, Dhuri, Phagwara and Dasuya. An amount of Rs 103.34 crore was spent on these bridges. Work on three bridges at Sara Ka Pattan at Ropar, Bhagi Choe at Hoshiarpur and Mukhu at Gidderpindi was in progress. The total expenditure incurred on these projects was Rs 301.50 crore so far.

The PIDB has proposed two metro rail projects at Ludhiana at an estimated cost of Rs 5,000 crore and the other in Amritsar at Rs 4,500 crore. A project for a mass rapid bus transport system in Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Amritsar at Rs 15 crore and nine interstate checkpoints are planned at a cost of Rs 300 crore, the report said.

Other PIDB projects under the PPP mode include the Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences at Jalandhar at Rs 225 crore and a super-speciality hospital at Mohali at Rs 200 crore. The city will also get a sports complex at a cost of Rs 150 crore. Also in the pipeline is the Punjab Habitat Centre at Rs 200 crore, a hotel-*** recreational facility at Bathinda near the proposed Rs 18,500-crore thermal plant coming up with FDI from the LN Mittal Group, touted to be biggest ever FDI flow to Punjab, it added.

The PIDB and the Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA) plan to develop 5-star and 3-star hotels in the proposed new city centre in Amritsar.

PIDB has floated expressions of interests from international bidders and joint venture parties for developing the hotels on a design, build, operate and transfer basis, the report said.

KARNATAKA FOCUSES ON INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

Karnataka is focusing big on infrastructure development, if the plans and projects in the pipeline are anything to go by. According to V Madhu, principal secretary – Infrastructure Development Department, Karnataka Government, there are 224 projects worth Rs 1.38 lakh crore under various stages of planning and progress in the public-private partnership (PPP) model.

Madhu said the Government is trying to double the rail infrastructure in the State at an investment of Rs 18,000 crore and energy infrastructure at Rs 80,000 crore by 2017, improving the existing road infrastructure by 2020, and also increase the number of airports to 12 from the current four and airstrips to 12 at an investment of Rs 1,500 crore by 2010-11.

Talking on the current PPP projects in the State, Madhu said that the significant ones include airports at Hassan -- for which agreement has been already signed, Bellary -- for which tendering process is on, Bijapur -- PPP agreement to be signed soon for this, Shimoga and Gulbarga, and 12 airstrips; high-speed rail link to airport at Rs 6,000 crore; 10,000 km of road projects at Rs 45,000 crore; the Devanahalli Business Park at Rs 9,500 crore; Devanahalli Convention Centre to be developed by the tourism department; logistics park near the airport for which tendering notification would be made soon and two mono rail projects in Bangalore.

JAIPRAKASH ASSOCIATES, IDFC TO BE INCLUDED IN CNX NIFTY INDEX

Infrastructure firm Jaiprakash Associates and core sector financier Infrastructure Development Finance Co (IDFC) are on their way to join the Nifty-50 club, the National Stock Exchange said on Friday.

The two companies will be replacing of aluminium major Nalco and telecom service provider Tata Communications, which are on their way out, it added.

The changes will come into effect from 20 October 2009 NSE said in a statement.

BELL THE CAT (COPS' ADMISSION TEST) FOR A DDA FLAT

DDA's latest allottees will have to wait to get their flats. The investigation into the alleged housing scheme scam, which had so far centered on allotments in the reserved categories, will now also scrutinize General Category allotments. The Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police shot off questionnaires to all the successful allottees in the General Category and directed them to join the investigations. "We have summoned all the successful General Category allottees, and have asked them to provide specific details regarding the application forms. They need to reply within 15 days," said Mr. SBK Singh, Additional Commission of Police (EOW).

REDUCTION IN PROPERTY TAX ON THE CARDS IN MAHARASHTRA

As the property graph continues to go down, the state government plans to reduce the property rates in the Ready Reckoner to reflect reality. The reduction might well be in the range of 10 to 30 percent of the rates for various areas in the existing Ready Reckoner. The decrease in Thane and Pune, where the recession has hit badly, will be more. The rates in it are used as a basis for the calculation of stamp duty charged by the government on registration of property deals.

OMAXE PAYS BACK RS 201 CRORE TO INDIABULLS

Cash-strapped realty company, Omaxe has managed to pay Indiabulls Financial Services Rs 21 crore in December 2008. With this payment, Omaxe has been able to pay Rs 201 crore against the total loan of Rs 300 crore it took from the latter in December 2007. The company had pledged 2.5 crore of its shares, translating into 14.44% equity stake, to Indiabulls in December 2007. The loan was repayable over a three-year period, with Omaxe having the option of repaying within six months also.

SEMI LUXURIOUS APARTMENT, LATEST PLOY OF CITY DEVELOPERS

Real estate developers have come up with a new gimmick to attract buyers. After budget-houses, builders have come out with 'semi-luxury' flats to cater to high-end buyers. The purpose is to provide various amenities offered by premium projects, but keep the houses affordable by making them smaller. Such houses cost 10 to 20 percent more than low-cost houses but 30 to 35 percent cheaper than luxury apartments. Buyers would be provided facilities like clubhouses, landscaped gardens, children's parks, swimming pools and modern security equipment. These apartments are located in prominent or easily accessible areas unlike affordable houses, which are in far-flung suburbs.

CEMENT INDUSTRY HIT BY REALTY SLOWDOWN

The slump in the realty sector, which accounts for about 65 per cent of the total cement consumption in India, has affected the cement sector. Since most realtors are facing a severe cash crisis, it is quite unlikely that too much real estate development will take place in the near future. IT/ITES segments account for about 75% of the office space across India and lower growth in employee recruitment for the sector shall translate into muted demand for cement. Cement exports have also declined from 10 million tonne (mt) in FY05 to 2.1 mt between April-December 2008 on account of additional capacity addition and the real estate slowdown in the Middle East region, which is the main export market for Indian cement producers.

SLUGGISH REALTY MARKET TO JUMPSTART AGAIN

Measures announced by the Central government to stimulate the economy by ensuring cheaper loans for homes and industry has raised hopes for people in the real estate and banking sectors. Banks like IDBI Home Finance, ICICI and SBI are anticipating that demand for home loans would increase by 20% in a couple of weeks as queries for home loans have already started pouring. People are now inquiring about home loans after finding that the Union government has decided to make loans cheaper, said a senior bank official. Bank officials also feel that steps being taken by the government to revive the economy would also end all the rumours that have affected the loan business more than the global slowdown

GOLDMAN SACHS BUYS A RS 30 CRORE STAKE IN INDIABULLS REAL ESTATE

Foreign fund Goldman Sachs Investments Mauritius (India) has bought shares worth Rs 30.84 crore in Indiabulls Real Estate through open market transactions. As per the information on bulk deals available on the National Stock Exchange, Goldman Sachs Investments Mauritius bought 20.89 lakh shares at Rs 147.64 per piece aggregating to Rs 30.84 crore.

MHADA INVITES BUYERS FOR LOW-COST HOUSES

For those looking for affordable homes in Mumbai, Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) has announced a sale of 3, 863 flats built by it. Ranging from 225 sq ft to 870 sq ft, the prices of these flats vary from Rs 3.5 lakh to Rs 45 lakh depending on the size and location. The homes will be allotted depending on the income of the applicants and Mhada has chalked out four sections: economically weaker sections for income up to Rs 8 thousand per month, low income group (Rs 8 thousand - Rs 15 thousand per month), middle income group (Rs 15, 000 - Rs 20, 000 per month), and higher income group (Rs 20, 000 and above per month). In case the number of applications exceeds available flats, Mhada would resort to drawing lots by a computerized lottery system.