Mercedes to invest Rs. 1,000 cr in Maharashtra.

Mercedes Benz will invest Rs. 1,000 crore on production of luxury cars in Maharashtra. The announcement was made in a meeting between state Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, MD & CEO of Mercedes Benz India Eberhard Kern, and future MD and CEO of the company, Roland Folger, recent evening, an official said today. Fadnavis also assured complete support of the government to the project. Mercedes Benz has also appreciated government's Jalyukt Shivar Scheme and has expressed desire to contribute towards it, he said. Earlier this month, Mercedes-Benz India had announced it has decided to produce the Mercedes-Maybach S500 from its Chakan plant in Maharashtra. The Mercedes-Maybach S500 will be the most luxurious Mercedes Benz ever to be locally produced for the Indian market. India will be the second country after Germany where the Mercedes-Maybach S500 will be manufactured.

Carnival Group to buy L&T�s real estate projects in Chandigarh for Rs. 1,785 cr.

Carnival Group has agreed to buy the commercial real estate projects of Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T) in Chandigarh for Rs. 1,785 crore. The acquisition includes commercial real estate project Elante Mall, Hyatt luxury hotel, and an office premises with central courtyard. �This acquisition is a part of asset creation for the group as an investment portfolio. This acquisition will help us further expand our capabilities and allow us to make inroads into newer markets. This project will be operated as a separate unit and will be led by our India-based management team,� said Srikanth Bhasi, Chairman, Carnival Group. The acquisition of the said property is significant as it will enable Carnival Group to widen its portfolio and help the company achieve leadership position in the retail sector. This project will be operated as a separate unit. �This project has got good rental yield,� said A C Dinesh, Director of Finance, Carnival Group.

Odisha clears Rs. 41,900-cr worth investments.

The High Level Clearance Authority (HLCA), the highest body to approve investment proposals, recently approved seven projects with investments totaling to Rs. 41,900 crore . The projects that got the HLCA's nod include a mix of new as well as existing projects that proposed to ramp up their capacities. Among the projects cleared was an FDI (foreign direct investment) proposal by Japan based J Green Power Ltd. The proponent has proposed to set up 423 Mw gas based power plant at Dhamra at a cost of Rs 3,106 crore. The project is tipped to generate direct employment for 90 people. "The gas based power plant by J Green would make use of combined cycle gas turbine technology. It would need only 36 acres of land. The gas would be drawn from the upcoming LNG terminal at Dhamra", industries minister Debi Prasad Mishra said after the HLCA meeting. Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL), a subsidiary of Coal India Ltd (CIL), has decided to foray into power generation through 1,600 Mw (2x800) pit-head power plant. The plant would be put up by Mahanadi Basin Power Ltd, a fully owned MCL subsidiary at an investment of Rs 8,000 crore. The power project that got HLCA's nod, is coming up at a site close to MCL's Basundhara coal mines in Sundargarh district. The HLCA approved the change in site for Tata Power's 1,320 Mw coal based plant from Naraj-Marthapur to Begunia in Khurda district. The establishment of the plant would cost Rs 7,500 crore and create direct employment for 400 people. "The change in location for Tata Power's project was approved since the previous site selected was an eco-sensitive zone situated close to the Chandaka-Dampada wildlife sanctuary", Mishra said. Similarly, Kolkata-based CESC Ltd's plan for 1320 Mw coal-fired plant based on super critical technology, also got the go-ahead of HLCA. CESC is investing Rs 6861 crore on this project to come up at Neulapoi in Dhenkanal district. The power plant is set to generate direct employment opportunity for over 400 people. Among the expansion projects, the HLCA cleared proposals by Aditya Birla Group owned Utkal Alumina Ltd and Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd (BPSL). Utkal Alumina has proposed to ramp up its alumina refinery capacity at Rayagada in south Odisha from one million tonne per annum (mtpa) to 1.5 mtpa and that of its captive power plant (CPP) from 50 Mw to 90 Mw. The total cost of the refinery is estimated at Rs 7,563 crore. BPSL has proposed to expand steel making capacity from 2.8 mtpa to 5.6 mtpa at its plant near Rengali in Sambalpur district. The expansion would cost Rs 4,837 crore. Ardent Steel has also proposed to raise pellet making capacity at its Phuljhar unit in Keonjhar district, to 1.8 mtpa from 0.6 mtpa. It would also set up an iron ore beneficiation plant with three mtpa capacity, DRI plant of 0.6 mtpa and CPP of 125 Mw at a cost of Rs 4031 crore. Together, these projects would create employment for 1,560 people.

L&T bags orders worth Rs. 1,509 cr this month.

Engineering major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) said its arm L&T Construction has bagged orders worth Rs. 1,509 crore so far this month. �The water and effluent treatment strategic business group of L&T Construction has won new water and waste water infrastructure orders worth Rs. 1,509 crore in September 2015,� L&T said in a BSE filing. �The water supply and distribution business has secured a water supply order from Telangana Drinking Water Supply, Government of Telangana,� it said. �The project scope includes construction of water treatment plant, 2,835 km of pipeline network, 25 major water storage reservoirs and other associated works to meet the water needs of various habitations of Adilabad district in the state,� it added. L&T has also bagged a turnkey order from Rajasthan Urban Infrastructure Development Project for waste water infrastructure works at Pali, Rajasthan. �Funded by Asian Development Bank, the project scope includes construction of waste water treatment plant, waste water network and allied works in addition to works for the reduction of non-revenue water,� it added.

Reliance signs pact with UAE firm to manufacture defence equipments.

Anil Ambani-led Reliance Defence Ltd. has signed a strategic pact with UAE�s Emirates Defence Industries Company (EDIC) to collaborate in the sector, especially in maintenance, repair and overhaul category. The two companies have agreed to jointly explore the opportunity for manufacturing and building capabilities in defence vehicles, aviation and associated areas, defence equipment and armament manufacturing, defence electronics, commercial and naval ships besides Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) of military equipment and platforms. �The partnership will explore the opportunity in the UAE defence industry which has many capital expenditures but the costs for setting up facilities, recruiting and developing scientists and engineers are high,� Reliance Group said in a statement. �The partnership will aim at creating synergy to bring down operational costs and leverage each others� capabilities,� it added. Reliance Defence Limited (RDL), established as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure Limited (RIL), has 11 subsidiaries in niche segments of the sector. In Defence and Aerospace segment, RDL is pursuing partnerships with leading international original equipment manufacturers and equity stake in existing companies within the country as also globally to meet homegrown solutions for the defence sector. EDIC is the premier integrated national defence services and manufacturing platform from the UAE. It is in process of finalising the acquisition of Tawazun-owned pistol and rifle maker Caracal, light munitions maker Caracal Light Ammunition, and ammunition systems company Burkan, Mubadala�s unmanned systems developer Abu Dhabi Autonomous Systems Investment (ADASI) and AMMROC, the advanced military maintenance, repair and overhaul centre. This centre is a joint venture between Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky and Mubadala with EDIC taking over Mubadala�s share, the statement said. These five firms are in addition to the 11 companies that EDIC is integrating under the first phase, it added. Industry sources said commonality in terms of platforms used by Armed forces in India and the UAE � Mirage 2000, Hawk trainers, Pilatus PC7, Lockheed Martin C130J and C-17 � present an opportunity for co-operation between the two countries. They further informed that India spends close to Rs 8,000 crore every year on maintenance of aircraft alone. �The Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) expenditures for aircraft and weapon platform systems by parametric estimations exceed 50 per cent of the initial acquisition cost across the spectrum,� the sources said. AMMROC provides MRO services for a wide range of fixed and rotary wing aircraft, which through this partnership with Reliance Defence, can establish domestic services to tap the defence market in India, they said. For RDL, this partnership is in line with the proposed facilities at the Dhirubhai Ambani Aerospace Park at Mihan in Maharashtra, spread over 400 acres and adjacent to the International Airport at Nagpur.

SAIL invests Rs. 2,600 crore in Rourkela plant for HR coils.

Domestic steel giant SAIL is investing over Rs. 2,600 crore for installing a three million tonnes per annum facility for hot rolled (HR) coils at its Rourkela plant to make auto-grade and special steel products. The Maharatna firm has awarded the contract for setting up this hot strip mill to a consortium led by Mitsubishi and Larsen & Toubro, a source said. The facility will produce high quality HR coils, including high strength API grades, auto body grades and other special steels, the source added Last week, Steel Secretary Rakesh Singh said that under SAIL's modernisation and expansion programme (MEP), various projects have been initiated, including this unit. Singh holds additional charge as SAIL's chairman. In a bid to fast-track its MEP, the public sector undertaking commissioned projects worth Rs. 10,200 crore in the financial year ended March 2015. SAIL is also finalising its Vision 2025 document, through which it aims to increase its hot metal production capacity to 50 million tonnes, along with related business activities. In a bid to keep pace with growing competition and optimise production as well as costs, the steel maker is investing in research and development (R&D) initiatives. In 2014-15, SAIL spent Rs. 284 crore on R&D, the highest by any steel maker in India. Its R&D centre developed 24 new products during the last fiscal and the expenditure was 0.56 per cent of sales. It had clocked a sales turnover of Rs. 50,627 crore during 2014-15 and its net profit stood at Rs. 2,093 crore. During last fiscal, its capital expenditure stood at Rs. 6,840 crore, which is expected to rise to Rs. 7,500 in 2015-16.

Nalco set to invest over Rs. 65K cr in new projects.

Buoyed by 106 per cent jump in profit, aluminium giant Nalco is all set to invest over Rs. 65,000 crore to launch ambitious projects in the country and abroad, besides undertaking expansion and diversification into power and mining sectors in a big way. "Investment to the tune of Rs. 65,000 crore is proposed to be made for a number of projects, including a greenfield aluminium smelter abroad," Chairman-cum-MD of the Navaratna PSU, T K Chand, said. The company is exploring countries like Oman, Iran and Indonesia to set up the proposed smelter plant with an estimated investment of Rs. 20,000 crore, he told reporters adding that the location would be finalised after examining factors like availability of low-cost power and infrastructure. The smelter unit is sought to be of 5 mtpa capacity together with 150-MW captive power plant, Chand said, adding that though Nalco is ready to go for the project alone, it is open to a joint venture if a suitable partner comes forward. While power is cheap in Oman and Iran, abundant coal is available at low cost in Indonesia. Port facilities would also be a major factor, the CMD said, adding that the project is likely to take off this year itself as Nalco aims to emerge as a major global player in mining, metal and energy sectors. Turning to domestic turf, Chand said after getting the much-awaited and much-needed allocation of Utkal D and E coal Blocks, Nalco is now hopeful of Odisha Government�s consent for allocation of Pottangi bauxite Mines in Koraput district. If the company gets Pottangi mines, alumina refinery project of Rs 5,500 crore can immediately be started, the CMD said, adding: �We have held detailed discussion with the State Government in this regard and the response is very positive.� Nalco proposes to set up the 5th Stream of one mtpa capacity at the existing alumina refinery in Damanjodi. The project is envisaged with medium pressure digestion technology, Chand said. As part of its action plan to increase the volume of production, the company has proposed to set up a smelter and power complex at a cost of Rs 22,000 crore in Sundargarh district of Odisha, he said. Maintaining that Odisha would remain the company�s first choice of investment and expansion, Chand said some preliminary clearances have been obtained for the proposed Sundargarh project and Nalco has applied for single window clearance from Odisha Government. A number of ventures have been taken up in Gujarat where the aluminium major is pursuing to set up an alumina refinery with 0.5 mtpa capacity for which a detailed project report (DPR) has been prepared and talks are on with GMDC for availability of bauxite.

Mumbai coastal road project stalled.

The Rs. 12,000 crore coastal road project of connecting South Mumbai with the Western Suburbs could get stalled due to litigations. Environmentalists are planning to approach courts and National Green Tribunal over perceived threats of flooding due to mangroves destruction. In an effort to resolve the traffic congestion, the Maharashtra Government is planning to connect Nariman Point to Kandivali with a 35.6 km coastal highway comprising of roads built on reclaimed land, bridges and tunnels, on western coast of Mumbai. A similar project of the State Government, the Bandra-Worli Sea Link (BWSL), which connects Bandra in the Western Suburbs of Mumbai with Worli in the Island city ran into major court cases due to environmental concerns. The project was delayed by five years. The environmentalist fear that large-scale culling of mangroves and reclamation for the coastal road project will adversely affect the stormwater outflow. The chances of flooding of roads and rail lines during the monsoon season could increase significantly. Environmentalist Girish Raut, who is also trained as a lawyer, said that a public interest litigation asking the courts to cancel the project could be soon filed. Another environmental action group is in the process of filing court papers. Secretary of the group requesting anonymity said that sector experts assisting the group have carried out a detail hydrological study of Mumbai. It is their studied opinion that any kind of further land reclamation around the coast will prevent proper discharge of rainwater into the sea. Raut said that the coastal road is meant for the motorist, who are a not a significant percentage of Mumbai�s commuters. The city needs a mass transport system and not a road based solution. When the BWSL was constructed it leads to massive destruction of coastal habitat. One of the factors, which lead to July 26, 2005, Mumbai Flood was the reclamation at the mouth of Mahim bay for BWSL project. The floodwaters, which were carried by the Mithi river towards the bay, simply could not empty itself into the sea, he said. "I fear a similar problem will repeat all over the Western coast of Mumbai, whose impact would be catastrophic," Raut said.

Karnataka sitting on permits to reopen 93 iron ore mines.

Two and a half years after the Supreme Court allowed 117 iron ore mines in Karnataka to reopen, only two dozen have become operational. The state government has been sitting on lease renewals and clearances for the remainder, leaving mining companies in a tizzy and forcing steel makers to import an unprecedented 15 million tonnes (mt) of iron ore from countries as far as South Africa in 2014-15. The BJP-led central government, which imposed a 20 per cent safeguard duty to protect domestic steel industry last week, has urged Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah to expedite the mining permits to shore up domestic iron ore output, which shrank in five of the first seven months of 2015. Iron ore is a key ingredient in making steel. Officials and industry players blame the lack of clearances on a combination of bureaucratic paralysis, political factors (the BJP is considered close to sections of the state's mining lobby) and onerous conditions that made the mines unviable. "Last year, India imported 15 mt iron ore, out of which we imported 10 mt," said Seshagiri Rao, joint managing director and group CFO of JSW SteelBSE 0.67 %. He said many steel plants had come up in Karnataka due to its rich iron ore reserves and are finding it difficult to procure the raw material from outside the state or abroad.

UltraTech commissions 1.6 MTPA grinding unit in Haryana.

Aditya Birla Group flagship firm UltraTech Cement recently said it has commissioned its grinding unit with a capacity of 1.6 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) in Jhajjar, Haryana. The move is aimed at increasing the firm's slice in the north region -- that accounts for a lion's share of India's cement market -particularly the National Capital Region (NCR) and Haryana. With commissioning of the firm's 13th unit, UltraTech's total cement capacity has reached 63.1 MTPA, it said in a regulatory filing. The third line at Aditya Cement, Rajasthan, commissioned in March 2015, will cater to the clinker requirement of this plant, it added. North region accounts for 35 per cent of the cement demand in the country and is expected to grow at around 8 per cent, it said. "With this commissioning, the company will further increase its capacity in north region. The plant's location at a distance of less than 100 kms from the markets of NCR and Haryana will assist in capturing the growing demand for cement in this region with timely and effective supplies to the customer," it added.

Ramagundam Urea plant gets green nod from MoEF Committee.

A committee under the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has given environmental clearance for the proposed Rs. 5,465-crore fertiliser plant in Ramagundam, Telangana. National Fertilizers Limited ( NFL), Engineers India Limited (EIL) and Fertilizer Corporation of India (FCIL) had earlier signed an agreement to form a joint venture company ( JVC) for setting up two new -- Ammonia and Urea -- plants at the existing site of Ramagundam Fertilizer plant. The JV formed a new company called Ramagundam Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited. "After detailed deliberations, the committee recommended the project for environmental clearance and recommended the following specific conditions along with other environmental conditions while considering for accord of environmental clearance," the Expert Appraisal Committee said in the minutes of meeting held last month. The gas-based plant which will have the capacity to produce 1.1 million tonnes of urea per annum is expected to commission in 2018-19, a senior official of Telangana Government said. "The Centre has asked to the state Government to pick up some sate in the unit. Currently the proposal is with Finance Department and a decision in this regard will be taken after a series of meetings," the official told PTI.

NTPC to soon take call on Rs. 23,000 crore contract for Jharkhand mine.

State-run power producer NTPCB in its board meeting next week will take a call on appointment of a mine developer-cum-operator (MDO) for its Jharkhand mine. "During the board meeting of NTPC on September 29 the decision on appointment of the MDO for Pakri-Barwadih coal block in Jharkhand will be taken," a source privy to the development said. A venture of Thriveni Earthmovers and Sainik Mining has emerged as the lowest bidder for Rs. 23,000 crore contract of the Pakri-Barwadih coal block, a source had earlier said. According to NTPC's Director (Finance) Kulamani Biswal the tendering process for the appointment of the MDO for the mine has already been completed and "we are going to allot the work to the new MDO." The source had earlier said that as many as 15 entities had submitted bids for NTPC's Pakri-Barwadih coal block but three including Adani Enterprises and AMR India have qualified for the final round. However, NTPC is yet to award the contract based on the final round of bidding for the coal block, the source had added. NTPC Chairman and Managing Director AK Jha had recently said that the company was targeting to begin production from Pakri-Barwadih coal block in Jharkhand this year and three more blocks in next two years. The PSU had previously cancelled Rs 23,000-crore contract with Thiess Minecs India to develop the block due to delays.

Delhi Metro Rail floats tenders for Vijayawada metro.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) Ltd. has invited e-tenders for design and construction of elevated viaduct and stations for the Vijayawada metro rail project. Appointed as a consultant for the Vijayawada metro rail project, the DMRC has swung into action floating the first set of possibly many more tenders, indicating at the keenness to complete the project by 2018 set by the State. The current tenders floated online are for two segments. One of the segments covers rail network, and five elevated stations on the Pandit Nehru Bus Stand�Nidamanuru corridor of Vijayawada Metro Project and similar network on the same corridor. The State Government has taken up the Rs. 6,800-crore 26-km elevated metro rail project along two corridors initially with a proposal to extend this with another line. The N Chandrababu Naidu Government has recently received a shot in the arm with the Centre agreeing to support the project even though the current population does not fit the overall requirement of a population of 20 lakh for a metro rail project. The metro project was considered keeping in view the potential of the city and likely projected increase in population.

Odisha steel project: Posco needs to file fresh proposal

South Korean steel major Posco would have to file a new proposal for setting up its proposed $12-billion steel venture in Odisha if it wants to pursue the project. The company was sounded about it at a recent meeting among officials of the Central government, state government and Posco, convened at Delhi by the cabinet secretary, to break the impasse over the project, hanging fire for 10 years. "Due to changed circumstances for raw material linkage, Posco has to file a fresh proposal," a senior government official said. "Posco is yet to respond to us on this." The need for filing anew, according to sources, arises out of denial of allotment of captive mines to the company on a preferential basis following amendment to the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act. With Posco unwilling to take part in the auction process to get hold of a captive mine in line with the provisions of the new Act, there are two ways now to meet its raw material needs. One is a possibility of a joint venture between Posco and state-owned Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) for operation of an iron ore mine to be reserved for the state public sector undertaking. The second is a pact between Posco and OMC for supply of raw material to the company from one of the mines owned by the latter. At the Delhi meeting, the Centre asked the Odisha government and Posco to carry forward bilateral talks on the options, while making clear there would be no exception for Posco on allotment of a captive mine. The earlier proposal hinged on establishment of the project based on allotment of a captive mine. With that possibility vanishing, the company has to decide on what arrangement it wants to enter with OMC to ensure raw material security if it wants to pursue the Odisha project, sources said. Posco had first signed a deal with the Odisha government in June 2005, for setting up a 12 million tonne steel plant, in four modules of three million tonnes each. On expiry of the validity of the deal in 2010, the company had given a new proposal for a tripartite agreement between the Odisha government, Posco India and its Seoul-based parent company. The draft proposal for the agreement contained a few changes from the one signed earlier, mainly relating to revision of the capacity of each module from three million to four million tonnes, with the first two forming Phase-I and the third module pushed to a later stage, dropping of an iron ore swapping clause, changes in the water sourcing plan, focus on local employment, etc. Though that proposal was given by Posco in 2011, it could not pass the government's scrutiny till January, 2015, when promulgation of the new MMDR ordinance made it infructuous. Posco's Odisha project, billed as the single largest foreign direct investment in the country, has been embroiled in protests and delays over land acquisition, review of forest and environment clearances and rows over allotment of captive mines for the past decade. Though the state government has acquired 2,700 acres land to enable the company set up Phase-I of eight million tonne steel capacity and forest and environment clearances are in place, it is the denial of captive mines on a preferential basis coupled with the present slump in the steel market, which have made the project unattractive for the promoter and pushed it into uncertainty.

Shell bets big on India with its second LNG terminal.

Royal Dutch Shell, which set up a 5 million tonne LNG terminal at Hazira in Gujarat nearly a decade back, is targeting to grab a bigger share of the growing demand for imported gas in India. The Hague-based global energy giant is planning to set up a floating LNG facility on the east coast - at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. Recently, Andhra Pradesh Gas Distribution Corporation (APGDC), GDF Suez, Shell and GAIL have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to set up a floating LNG terminal with an initial capacity of 5 mt, which could be doubled at a later stage. "We have been very constructively working on the project (LNG terminal) on the east coast. We really believe in the India gas market," said Maaten Wetselaar, executive vice present for Shell Integrated Gas in Singapore. Although the company did not reveal the cost of the project, a 5 MT LNG terminal is expected to cost around $1 billion. India is the world�s fourth-largest LNG importer in, following Japan, South Korea and China, and consumed almost 6% of the global market. �I see a big future for gas in India. We are keen to open the east coast. We are working with the partners,� Wetselaar told FE. Currently, India gas consumption hovers around 100-110 million metric standard cubic metre per day (mmscmd). Of this, about 30-35% is sourced through R-LNG.

JSW Group to set up ₹700 cr cement unit in Bengal.

Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Group will lay the foundation stone for a 2.4-million-tonne cement plant at Shalboni in West Bengal in January after the State pollution control board�s clearance, which is expected in December. The ₹700-crore cement project would be ready for commissioning by the end of 2016. "The construction time for the project would a year," Sajjan Jindal, Chairman and MD, JSW Steel, said recently after an event organised the by Bengal Chamber and Commerce and Industry. The project would be set up on 150-acres, out of more than 4,000 acres acquired for its stalled integrated steel project. However, the land has to be reassigned to the cement entity replacing the earlier assignment to the steel outfit. "We hope the reassignment would be complete by next week."

China railway to conduct high-speed Delhi-Mumbai rail study.

A consortium of Chinese and Indian companies will conduct a feasibility study for the 1,200 km high-speed rail link between New Delhi and Mumbai, China Railway Corporation said today. The Third Railway Survey and Design Institute Group Corporation, a subsidiary of the China Railway Corporation (CRC), will work with Indian firms, dispatching rail experts to initiate the study for the route. India has invited global tenders for three high-speed rails, including the New Delhi-Mumbai railway, in December and attracted 12 consortiums from seven countries bidding for the contracts. China is already conducting feasibility study of the New Delhi-Chennai corridor. CRC said China's railway technology is reliable and adaptive and has lower price/performance ratio, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. China now has around 17,000 km of fast tracks, accounting for more than 60 per cent of the world's total.

Sutlej Jal Vidyut Jal Nigam aims to increase installed capacity to 10,564 MW.

Sutlej Jal Vidyut Jal Nigam (SJVN), a mini navratna PSU, aims to achieve an installed capacity of 10,564.6 MW. The Corporation had already commissioned three projects with capacity of 1,960 MW - nine projects with 8,489 MW are at different stages of execution while three projects with 2,070 MW capacity are in preliminary stage. After the success of 1,500 MW Nathpa-Jhakri Hydropower Project, the Corporation has forayed into thermal, solar and wind power generation and the Nathpa-Jhakri project has produced 7,058 million units of electricity against the MoU target of 8,520 million units by Union Power Ministry during the current year, said SJVN chairman and Managing Director R N Mishra. An Ultra Mega Renewable energy project envisaging generation of 3,500 MW power through solar and 600 MW through wind energy was in the pipeline while pre-construction activities of 1,320 MW Thermal Power plant at Buxar in Bihar is in progress. He said that 601 MW Luhri project in Himachal would be completed in three stages to reduce the length of tunnels.

KRIBHCO to set up fertiliser plant in Andhra Pradesh; to invest Rs. 1000 crore.

Fertiliser cooperative KRIBHCO recently said it will set up a phosphoric and potassic fertiliser plant at Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh with an investment of Rs. 1,000 crore. This will be the first P&K fertiliser plant of Krishak Bharati Cooperative Ltd. (KRIBHCO), which produces urea only. "The plant is being set up in Andhra Pradesh as the state government has offered power at Rs. 1 per unit for next 10 years, VAT exemption for next seven years and a host of other incentives, giving benefit to KRIBCO of about Rs. 500 crore," KRIBHCO Chairman Chandra Pal Singh said. The land has already been allotted by state government for the fertiliser plant. The annual capacity of the plant will be about 6 lakh tonnes tonnes and it will take 4-5 years for the project to become operational. There are also plans to increase the capacity of this plant in the second phase and take the total annual capacity to 1.2 million tonnes per annum, Singh added. At present, Kribhco has one urea plant in Hazira in Gujarat having an annual capacity of 2.2 million tonnes. Besides, the cooperative has one plant in Shajhanpur in Uttar Pradesh in partnership with the Shyam group having a capacity of 1 million tonnes.

Pawan Hans to invest Rs. 1,500 cr in NE.

State-run chopper operator Pawan Hans is likely to invest Rs. 1,500 crore for improving the air connectivity and give a boost to tourism in North-East region. Pawan Hans, pioneer in off-shore helicopter operations in India, will make Guwahati in Assam as its hub for development of the region under a proposed 'hub-and-spoke' model and will also set up engineering training and helicopter pilots training institutes in the region, company sources told PTI.

HCC bags Rs. 1,783-cr NHAI contract.

Hindusthan Construction Company (HCC) has been awarded a contract valued at Rs. 1,783.42 crore by the NHAI. The contract is for constructing 36 km highway between Ramban and Banihal in Jammu and Kashmir, and includes 3 km of tunnels, HCC said in a communication to the BSE. The project is a part of NHDP Phase II programme of NHAI on NH 44 (formerly NH 1A) and is known for its difficult terrain and low temperatures in winter.

Coal India raises land acquisition budget to Rs. 60,000 crore.

Coal India has enhanced its land acquisition budget by nearly two-and-a-half times to Rs. 60,000 crore to ensure production growth over the next four years. Talking to reporters at the 41{+s}{+t} Annual General Meeting, CIL Chairman Sutirtha Bhattacharya said the company needed an additional 20,000 acres (approximately 8,100 hectares), over and above the current holding, to reach the production goal of one billion tonnes. CIL has acquired a total of 169,368 hectares till March 2015. Of this, about 106,827 hectares is in its possession and for which it has issued acquisition notice under the Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition and Development) Act. Bhattacharya attributed the rise in budgetary estimates to sharp rise in land prices and higher payout towards rehabilitation and resettlement of the current owners of the land. The company also offers jobs to those from whom it acquires the land. "We have increased out investment estimates from an earlier figure of "Rs. 25,000 crore to Rs. 60,000 crore because land acquisition costs have increased," he said. The miner recently tied up with the Administrative Staff College of India to train its executives in understanding the nuances of rehabilitation and resettlement norms across States.

Adlabs looks to set up theme parks in Delhi, Hyderabad.

Adlabs Entertain ment, the company that oper ators the Adlabs Imagica theme park, is looking to ex pand to Delhi and Hyderabad promoter and film industry veteran Manmohan Shetty said. But building new parks is contingent on finding partners who are interested in in vesting in them. Adlabs Imagica, just off the Mumbai-Pune highway, is expected to get 2 million visitors this year. Footfall is seen as a measure of success for theme parks and so investors closely track it to fund projects, Shetty said in an interview. The company is targetting 2.5 million visitors each year to run Adlabs Imagica optimally. Initiation of the two new properties, which Shetty believes will saturate the Indian theme park market, is held up in a "chicken and egg" dilemma. He said investors want the company to show them the land reserved for the projects in Mumbai and Hyderabad while the land owners want to be paid first. As a starting point, the company has decided to make arrangements for land over the next quarter so that it could come up with more concrete proposal to lenders. The company is unwilling to take on board any strategic , partners from overseas, be cause it prefers to keep control over content. "We can look into only an international investing partner.We are better positioned than companies that manage and operate theme parks," Shetty said. For Imagica, which Shetty initially planned as a Rs. 2,200 crore project, the funds that finally came through were less and the park was finally . 1,600 built with a little over crore. The public listing earlier this year, Shetty said, was the only way for the company to raise funds it could take risk with. The company now , plans to launch a snow park adjacent to Imagica in January, Shetty said.

Two metro projects in Noida.

The Noida Authority Board today approved two metro projects worth Rs. 6,710 crore along with allotting 210 acre land to Taiwan Industrial Association (TIMA) for electronic manufacturing cluster. According to Noida and Greater Noida chairman Rama Raman the first metro project is from sector 71 Noida which will pass through sector 122 and 123 and reach Greater Noida west at sector 4 and further extends to Ecotech 12, sector 2,3,10,12 and end at knowledge park 5. The other proposed metro project is from Okhla bird sanctuary in Noida till Sector 142 connecting sectors along Greater Noida Expressway. The total project cost of these two projects is Rs. 6,710 crore, he said. The Board has also approved hike in land compensation for direct purchase of flood zone land along Yamuna and Hindon river in Noida.

Five firms bag eastern expressway project.

Sadbhav Engineering Ltd., Jaiprakash Associates Ltd, Ashoka Buildcon, Gayatri Projects Ltd and Oriental Structural Engineers have bagged six contracts for the Centre's most ambitious project to decongest Delhi. The Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE) is expected to be commissioned by July 2018. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is executing the project under six packages through the EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) mode. According to officials, the foundation stone of the 135-km long expressway passing through Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, is likely to be laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the model code of conduct for the Haryana panchayat polls is lifted. The total cost of the project is around Rs. 7,558 crore including Rs. 1,795.20 crore for land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities. The government has already acquired 1,568 hectares, out of the total 1,631.50 hectares required for the project. "The construction period is 30 months and the project is likely to be completed within the July 2018 deadline fixed by the Supreme Court. We have set a deadline to complete the project by May 2018," said a senior NHAI official. He added the expressway would be of concrete and will have wayside amenities like parking space, hotels, motels, eateries and toilet blocks among others.

Maruti in talks with waterways body for Varanasi-Haldia route.

The Centre's focus on developing an all-weather inland waterway transport option along the 1,600-km stretch of Ganga from Varanasi to Haldia has attracted the attention of corporates. Maruti Suzuki India recently approached the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), the nodal agency for Jal Marg Vikas project, to explore the opportunity to access eastern markets through this route. "Maruti has approached us to discuss the possibilities," Pravir Pandey, Member Finance of IWAI, and Head of the World Bank-assisted project for development of the waterway, told newspersons. Pandey was in the city in connection with a coordination meeting for the Jalmarg project. IWAI helped NTPC to award a pioneering contract for trans-shipment of imported coal to Farakka thermal power plant and is currently working on another NTPC tender to take fuel further up to Barh near Patna. The tender has already been floated twice without much success. Efforts are on to convince more power plants to use the waterway for carrying coal. Discussions are on with the Sagardighi power plant of West Bengal government in this regard.

BPCL to set up Rs. 1,200-cr LPG terminal at Haldia.

State-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) plans to build an import terminal at West Bengal's Haldia, with an estimated cost of Rs. 1,200 crore. The terminal will help the company meet the rise in demand for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The company has acquired 35 acres for the purpose and plans to complete the project in three years. BPCL, in its annual report, said as LPG consumption in the country in the domestic segment continues to grow at seven per cent per annum, imports of LPG are increasing. Oil companies are required to make adequate infrastructure arrangements to handle the inc "We infrastructure in the western and southern regions but there is a problem in the eastern region. The next market for us is Bihar, North-East, Jharkhand, Eastern Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. So our import terminal will come up at Haldia," said a BPCL official.

BPCL all set to start work on Rs. 5,000-cr complex in Kochi

State-run oil refiner Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) is all set to start work on the petrochemicals complex in Kochi with all green clearances in place and securing a Rs. 4,000-crore loan commitment from State Bank of India. "We have all the permissions in place from the Union environmental ministry and other regulatory authorities for the Rs 5,000-crore petrochemicals complex in Kochi. We hope to resume work and complete it as per schedule in 2018," BPCL chairman and managing director S Varadarajan has said. The chairman also said the Kochi petchem project is part of the Rs. 1 lakh crore planned capex for the next five years, out of which Rs. 40,000 crore will be spent on refining capacity addition alone. Finance Director P Balasubramanian told PTI that the company has secured a Rs. 4,000-crore loan commitment from State Bank of India for the project. "We will draw the money as when we begin the work," he said, adding though the loan is not strictly tied to this project alone. The Rs. 5,000-crore Kochi petrochemiclas project, announced in December 2011 as part of a Rs. 20,000-crore expansion of the Kochi Refinery, will help the country end its dependence on imports of speciality propylene derivatives- based products such as acrylic acids and acrylates used in plastics, paints, coatings, adhesives, inks and textiles, the company claimed. But the project suffered a big set back after the Korean chemicals major LG Chem walked out of the JV in August 2013 citing adverse international environment for large investments. BPCL and LG Chem had signed an agreement in July 2012 to set up a SAP specialty chemicals plant in Kochi.

Asian Paints to invest Rs. 2300-crore on new plant in Karnataka.

Asian Paints plans to invest up to Rs. 2,300 crore to set up a manufacturing plant at Mysuru in Karnataka. The proposal for setting up the manufacturing facility in Karnataka is towards fulfilling the long term capacity requirements of the company and is subject to the future demand conditions, Asian Paints said in a BSE filing. "The ultimate capacity of 6 lakh KL per annum would be achieved in a phased manner at an approximate cost of Rs 2,300 crore at the current prices. This is subject to due diligence and necessary regulatory and other approvals," it added. Earlier this year, the company had announced that it was exploring possibility of setting up a paint manufacturing plant in southern states and was in discussions with Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. In July, the company announced plans to invest Rs 1,750 crore over a period of 12 years to set up a manufacturing facility for paints and intermediates in Andhra Pradesh. A leading paints company in India, Asian Paints, along with its subsidiaries have operations in 19 countries across the world with 26 paint manufacturing facilities, servicing consumers in over 65 countries. It has a consolidated turnover of Rs 14,183.5 crore.

NALCO allocated two coal blocks.

National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), country�s leading aluminium manufacturer, has breathed a sigh of relief as its energy security has been strengthened following allocation of Utkal D and E Coal Blocks, in Odisha�s Angul district. The two coal blocks are located close to Angul where the company is operating 4.6 lakh tonne aluminium smelter and a 1200 mw captive power plant. �The company�s smooth operation and expansion plans hinged on the allocation of these blocks,� said T. K. Chand, NALCO chairman and managing director, in a statement here on Tuesday. �With this, NALCO�s captive resources add 200 million tonnes of coal, which will see the company through the next three decades and more,� Mr. Chand added. According to NALCO, Utkal E Coal Block was allotted to the company by the Union government in 2004. The company had spent Rs.126.34 crore for this block, including Rs.98 crore towards compensation against land acquisition. Besides, the company had also spent considerably on infrastructural facilities and various corporate social responsibility activities in the area. However, the cancellation of allocation of Utkal E Coal Block, following the Supreme Court�s order to de-allocate 204 coal blocks across the country, came as a setback to the company.

L&T gets Rs. 1,700-cr job order to build Bangladesh power plant.

Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) today said it has bagged a Rs 1,700 crore order from Japan's Marubeni Corporation to set up a 400-MW gas-based power plant in Bangladesh. "Bangladesh Power Development Board awarded the EPC contract for setting up the 400-mega watt (MW) gas-based power plant project to Marubeni Corporation of Japan, which in turn awarded the EPC sub contract to L&T on a turnkey basis," L&T said in a BSE filing. The company said its scope of work includes design, detailed engineering, supply, installation and commissioning of the complete power plant. The project, located at Nabiganj Upzilla in Habibganj district, will be executed by L&T Power's gas-based power projects business unit based in Baroda.

ONGC to complete 12 projects worth Rs. 13,000 cr by May 2016.

State-owned petroleum explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) announced it would be implementing 12 projects worth a combined Rs 13,000 crore by the end of May 2016, seeking to gain from low oilfield services and equipment costs in the current depressed crude oil price scenario. �Nine projects with an investment of around Rs 22,000 crore have already been completed till now in 2015-16,� Chairman and Managing Director D K Sarraf told shareholders at the 22nd annual general meeting here. He added the board of directors had since April 2014 approved implementation of five development projects of around Rs 20,000 crore. These included the Integrated Daman Development, Enhanced Recovery from Bassein and Additional Development of Vasai East projects. �With a capital outlay of over Rs 14,500 crore, ONGC has also moved into the next phase of its re-development programmes for some of the prolific western offshore fields � Mumbai High North and Mumbai High South and Neelam,� Sarraf said. Globally, he added, the oil and gas sector faced challenging times due to the collapse of crude prices, now below $50 a barrel. Among the causes were lower demand growth from China, slow recovery in developed economies and steady build-up of new supplies, backed by strong North American output. �While many of the global E&P (exploration and production) companies have responded by cutting investment, ONGC takes this as an opportunity to build its assets in this environment of lower costs as well,� he said. �Important projects have been given the go-ahead for development and more proposals to monetise our reserves are under various stages of finally being approved. Having reversed the decline in crude oil production in 2014-15, ONGC is now fully focused on implementing programmes to raise output from ageing and old fields.� The latter programmes had resulted in about a third of ONGC's crude oil production during 2014-15. Sarraf said they'd invested Rs 36,187 crore in these projects and realised an incremental oil gain of close to 95 million tonne till FY15. Sarraf refused further comment on ONGC's claim that Reliance Industries had stolen natural gas worth Rs 30,000 crore from the former's KG-DWN-98/2 and Godavari PML blocks. He said the high court here had given time to the government to act on the report of the international consultant appointed to look into the matter. The company said its foreign arm, ONGC Videsh (OVL), had given a $10 billion proposal to Iran for developing the Farzad-B gas field in the Persian Gulf and shipping the gas to India. ONGC had discovered the 12.8 trillion cubic ft of gas reserves in the Farsi block in 2008. "In April, we met in Iran and as per discussions, we have worked out a fully integrated proposal and submitted to Iranian authorities. Iran had asked for a plan for developing the field as well as options for taking the gas. A fully integrated proposal with lots of options has been submitted," OVL Managing Director Narendra K Verma said. ONGC has notified three new discoveries in the current financial year taking the total number of discoveries in the fiscal year to seven. Last fiscal, the explorer had made 22 new oil and gas discoveries.

Vijayawada metro rail project to cost Rs. 6,770 crore.

Announcing these policy decisions taken in a meeting he had with Union Minister for Urban Development M. Venkaiah Naidu and DMRC former MD and the government�s advisor on metro rail projects E. Sreedharan at his camp office on Saturday, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said the Vijayawada project, comprising the Pandit Nehru Bus Station-Penamalur and PNBS-Nidamanur corridors, has been estimated to cost nearly Rs. 6,770 crore. The Financial and Economic Internal Rates of Return (FIRR and EIRR) were 3.4 per cent and 14.42 per cent, respectively, which are way below the standard norms. However, since Vijayawada and Guntur constituted the capital region of AP, the norms related to the Vijayawada metro have been relaxed. As for the Visakhapatnam, the cost has been pegged at about Rs. 10,865 crore. It comprises three corridors: NAD Junction to Kommadi, Gurudwara Junction to Old Post Office and Thatichetlapalem to East Point Colony, spanning a distance of 34.91 km in the first phase. Together with the NAD Junction-Gajuwaka corridor, which was originally proposed in the second phase but will now be taken up in the first, the total distance worked out to 42.5 km, and the cost to Rs. 12,725 crore. On Vijayawada-Guntur connectivity, Mr. Chandrababu Naidu said that since the per-kilometre cost of metro rail was hefty (approximately Rs. 228 crore) and the desired volume of traffic was not there, it was resolved to introduce a high-speed train between the two cities. The new capital city of Amaravati was included in it and DMRC was asked to prepare the detailed project report for it. Mr. Venkaiah Naidu said the Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam metro rail projects were being taken up along with those sanctioned for Jaipur, Cochin, Bangalore, Mumbai, Lucknow, Nagpur Kolkata and Pune which fulfilled most of the criteria, in fulfilment of promises that were made at the time of the bifurcation of AP.

Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train to run via Nashik.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has agreed to fund the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project in which Nashik will be a part of the route. The journey would get a little longer but would bring vast benefits to Nashik, which today is three hours away from the city by road. The city, Nashik and Pune form an important industrial triangle. The bullet train corridor will also pass through Surat and Dang district of Gujarat, helping strengthen business activity. Another important infrastructure project got a boost when an agreement was signed between chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and JICA recently on the Mumbai Trans-Harbour link to connect Sewri in the city to Nhava Sheva on the mainland. As JICA assured Fadnavis it will fast-track the funding for the Rs. 11000 crore MTHL, work on the 22 km oversea bridge should begin early next year after the launch of a bidding process in December. JICA agreed to offer a long-range loan for the mega project at an interest rate of 1.75%. For Metro III, or the Colaba-Bandra-Airport-SEEPZ line, the Japanese agency had already agreed to extend funding. JICA has already proposed to start public consultations on the Metro next week. "Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has proposed that the bullet train from Ahmedabad to Mumbai should go via Nashik, to which JICA, the funding agency for capital-intensive projects, has agreed," a CMO official said.

Ashoka Buildcon bags two orders worth Rs. 440 crore from KRDCL.

Infrastructure firm Ashoka Buildcon Ltd. recently said it has bagged two orders worth Rs. 440 crore from Karnataka Road Development Corporation Ltd. (KRDCL). The company said it has received Letters of Award from KRDCL for two projects. In a filing to the BSE, Ashoka Buildcon Ltd. said that under one project it has to Design, Build, Finance, Operate, Maintain and Transfer the existing State Highway Bagewadi (NH-4)-Bailhongal-Saundatti in Karnataka on DBFOMT annuity basis. The second project is on same lines for the existing State Highway Hungund-Muddebihal-Talikot. Estimated cost of the projects as per KRDCL is Rs. 235 crore and Rs. 205 crore respectively.

Kuwait's KIPCO plans $5 billion real estate project.

Kuwait Projects Co (KIPCO), the country's largest private sector investment firm, is planning a $5 billion real estate scheme on the outskirts of Kuwait City, the company's vice chairman told a local newspaper recently. The 380,000-square-metre project is planned for the al-Daiya area where several foreign embassies are located, Faisal al-Ayyar said in an interview with al-Qabas newspaper. It is set to include both residential and commercial spaces, as well as infrastructure such as roads, parks, walkways and electricity. United Real Estate, a unit of KIPCO, will be responsible for implementation, along with other unnamed entities, he said. KIPCO aims to present its plans to regulators in the coming days and to begin implementation this year. "The project is considered the largest and most important in Kuwait, especially in the real estate sector," he told al-Qabas. Ayyar acknowledged concerns about bureaucracy, noting that KIPCO's successful bid to develop Abdullah al-Ahmed Street a decade ago was later cancelled by parliament.

National highways to grow by 50,000km in 6 months.

The road transport and highways ministry will add nearly 50,000 km of roads to the National Highways (NH) network in the country in the next six months. This addition within two years of the Narendra Modi government will be more than twice the length NDA-I had added in its six years and over three times of what UPA added in its 10-year rule. Sources said in the past 15 months, the new government has added about 7,000 km of roads to the NH length and at present it's little more than one lakh km. Road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari has announced to take it to 1.5 lakh km by this year end. Between 1998 and 2004 when the NDA was in power, about 23,814 km was added to the NH network and during the 10-year rule of the UPA government, a total of around 18,000 km were designated as NH. On how the ministry is now going about including more stretches as NH, an official said, "While process of notification to include about 15,000 km under Bharat Mala and joining backward areas in the NH network is under way, we are carrying out feasibility study for large chunk of stretches that states have forwarded for upgrading them as NHs. This would be about 20,000 km." Sources said adding length is crucial to maintain the pace of award, which has been increased to about 30 km a day. Putting its focus to accelerate highway construction as growth multiplier, the Modi government plans to continue this high target of award of works for 3-4 years. "Moreover, ideally most of the major roads connecting districts, upcoming business hubs and even religious and tourist places should be connected with at least two-and-half lane roads," a ministry official said.

Government to auction 27 oil fields off Mumbai, 15 in KG basin.

More than a third of the 69 small and marginal oil and gas fields that the government plans to auction to private firms are in Mumbai Offshore and the biggest of them holds about 15 million tons of oil reserves. Of the 69 idle oil and gas fields of state-owned ONGC and Oil India Ltd. which are to be auctioned, 27 are in Mumbai Offshore while another 15 are in the prolific Krishna Godavari (KG) basin, official sources said. As many as 10 discoveries in the Assam Shelf are also on offer. The discoveries, which the government says were given up by the two oil companies as they were unable to develop them for varied reasons, include ones made as late as 2012-13. In all, seven marginal discoveries of ONGC date back to less than five years, with 2012-13 Koravaka gas field in KG basin being the youngest. An equal number of finds were made between 2005-06 and 2008-09. While cumulatively the surrendered small and marginal fields hold about 50.8 million tons of oil and 53.45 billion cubic meters of gas, the biggest discovery is the D-18 in Mumbai Offshore that along holds 14.78 million tons of inplace oil reserves. Among the gas discoveries, the largest is ONGC's B-9 find in the offshore Kutch basin that has an inplace reserve of 14.67 bcm. Sources said while Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has surrendered 63 discoveries, OIL has given up six all of whom are in Assam Shelf.

McDonald's India to double outlets with Rs. 750 crore investment.

McDonald's India is stepping up its operations in western and southern markets of the country by doubling its outlets with an investment of Rs. 750 crore in the next five years. "We currently have 213 restaurants, and are looking to add up to another 250 restaurants by 2020, which would entail an investment of Rs. 750 crore," said Amit Jatia, Vice Chairman, Westlife Enterprise, a master franchisee for McDonald's. McDonald's, which was the first quick service restaurant (QSR) format to start operations in the country two decades ago, is now betting on alternative, healthy offerings in the face of competition. Other international chain restaurants, most recently Burger King, besides Dominos, Pizza Hut and Dunkin Donuts among others, and food-on-demand delivery services are competing for consumer attention in the segment.

Embee to grow pulses in Egypt; will invest Rs. 5,000 cr.

In a major foray into agri-business sector in Africa, Indian corporate Embee International is in the process of acquiring 33,000 acres of land for farming in Egypt where it will invest over Rs. 5,000 crore to grow pulses and vegetables. The company, which is into textile business in Egypt for the last 28 years, said the land is being given to it by the Egyptian government on lease for 50 years which can be renewed thereafter. Director of Embee International Sanjay E Khushalani said agriculture sector in Egypt has huge potential and the company hopes to get all the required permission for the "mega project" by next month. "We are participating in the One Million Feddan land reclamation project of President Abdel-Fattah El�Sisi. We have booked around 33,000 acres. The land is being given on lease for 50 years," Khushalani told PTI. He said the company has decided to invest around Rs. 5,000-6,000 crore in the project which he claimed will be largest investment by any Indian company in Egypt and the first foray by an Indian firm in the country�s agriculture sector.

BPCL to spend Rs. 1 lakh crore in next 5 years: S Varadarajan.

With crude oil down 50 per cent and petrol and diesel price deregulated, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), the country�s third-largest oil marketing company, is in a comfortable financial position. Chairman and Managing Director S Varadarajan tells Kalpana Pathak the company has ambitious plans for growth and going global, not only in the upstream but downstream segment, too. Excerpts: How do you view BPCL�s performance this year? We have done pretty well. For the first time, net profit has exceeded Rs. 5,000-crore. Profit after tax stood at Rs. 5,048.5 crore against Rs. 4,060 crore in 2013-14. The gross refining margins generated by our refineries at Kochi and Mumbai continue to be the highest among public sector refineries. Internal cash generation during the year was higher at Rs. 5,989 crore, 30 per cent more than Rs 4,585 crore in 2013-14. What are the growth plans and segments? Our teams of 100-plus people have taken nearly eight to nine months in devising an integrated corporate strategy document designated �Project Sankalp� � our resolve to take the next giant leap. The project has taken into account our growth strategy for 2016-2021. As part of this, BPCL will invest Rs. 1,00,000 crore in the next five years. In the upstream segment, we will invest up to Rs. 20,000-25,000 crore. The refining segment will see investments of Rs. 35,000-40,000 crore, wherein we aspire to reach a capacity of one million barrels per day in the next four to five years. The balance investment goes into marketing and city gas distribution. We also have plans to go to countries, including Nepal and Bangladesh, and some African nations, where, in addition to marketing lubricants, we would look at options to get into the downstream segment. How do you plan to reach refining capacity of one million barrels per day? Bina and Numaligarh refineries can help us achieve this. We are planning to take Numaligarh capacity from three million tonnes to nine million tonnes per annum and a proposal in this regard has been approved by the board. We have submitted a proposal to the government seeking capital subsidy for the same. Since crude availability is a problem in the northeast, we need to move it from the east coast to Numaligarh. There is an integrated plan for Numaligarh of Rs. 20,000 crore. As for Bina, the first quarter of this financial year turned profitable. Bina is currently stabilised at six million tonnes. It is operating at full capacity. We have approved a low-cost expansion and de-bottlenecking for it. This will take up the capacity from six million tonne to 7.8 million tonnes, operating close to around eight million tonnes. The cost is going to be about Rs. 3,000 crore. We have sought approvals for making fresh investments into Bina. Our partner�Oman Oil Company�is not going to participate as in this round of expansion. Sometime next year, we might look at a public issue or bring in a strategic partner as part of the larger equity correction. We do have plans to take up Bina ultimately to 15 million tonnes. Demand in that belt and in the central and northern part is very attractive. We need to meet these products from moving from the coast. Considering the decline in crude oil prices, have you reviewed the returns on the assets held by your upstream arm, Bharat Petro Resources? Yes, returns have to be reviewed in the light of the current drop in crude oil and product prices. Fortunately for us, most investments are in the initial stage. However, a good aspect of the drop is that service cost has come down and, thus, contracting for the field will also happen at a lesser price.

Govt projects Rs. 24,000-cr cost to develop 14 greenfield airports.

The government has estimated a total project cost of Rs 24,000 crore for the development of 14 greenfield airports in the country. All these projects will be undertaken by the Airport Authority of India (AAI), which is responsible for the building, operating and maintaining aviation infrastructure in the country. Officials said that the setting up of the airports have been �in principle� approved by the Centre. According to the estimates, the highest investment is in the Navi Mumbai airport of Rs 15,149 crore, followed by Mopa in Goa expected to cost Rs 3,000 crore. Some of the other airports that will be coming up are in smaller towns like Kannur in Kerala, Bijapur and Shimoga in Karnataka, Pakyong in Sikkim, and Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh. Civil aviation officials said that some of the new greenfield airports will help in building regional connectivity which is the government�s priority. Estimates for building some of the smaller airports were made only for the first phase. �Once the traffic goes up in these smaller airports, expansion of the next phases will be done,� officials said. Some of these airports will be developed through public-private partnerships. But there have been some initial hiccups. The government couldn�t succeed through PPP in Kushinagar. Experts said in many smaller airports, stitching PPPs will be a challenge.

Vedanta to invest Rs. 6,000cr, double smelter capacity.

Vedanta Group is getting aggressive with capacity expansion in Tamil Nadu. The company, which has its copper smelter in Tuticorin and an aluminium factory in Mettur, has drawn up a Rs. 6,000-crore investment programme to be spent over the next 12 to 24 months. It is also planning a foray into solar in the state. Speaking to TOI, P Ramnath, CEO of Sesa Sterlite -the company that runs the smelter -said the process to double smelter from the present capacity of four lakh tonnes a year has begun. Upon completion of expansion, the Tuticorin complex will be the world's largest single location copper smelter. "We have environmental clearance. We must renew it and then go ahead for other statutory approvals before we start work on capacity expansion," he said. He expects the process to be completed in eight to 10 months. Copper production targets have been revised from 3.8 lakh tonnes last year to four lakh tonnes this year, he said. "While the overall market for copper has grown only 5%, domestic demand growth has risen 10 to 15% due to increased consumption on the back of economic activity," he said. The group, he said, was planning to restart Malco, the aluminum plant in Mettur, by bringing in aluminium ingots, and make wires and end products. "Basically, we want to restart the plant for downstream products in the short term and see how we can make the entire plant work in the long term," he said. On plans to set up 50MW solar power plants near Mettur, he said, "We have lands for solar project. To begin with we will have 5MW plant and feasibility study for the project is underway ." The cumulative investments for all the three could be in the range of Rs. 6,000 crore, he said.

After long wait, Pune Metro project gets Centre's green light.

After a long wait, the Pune Metro project recently received the Centre's nod, paving the way for over Rs. 11,000-crore work for overhead rails to ease the worsening traffic congestion in the city. "The Centre has accepted my report on the (Metro) project and cleared it for early resumption of work," Girish Bapat, a Maharashtra Minister, told here after his meeting with Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Venkaiah Naidu and Prakash Javadekar in Delhi. Bapat, who holds portfolio of Food & Drug Administration, is also the Guardian Minister of Pune district. Mired in controversies that led to its delay, the Pune Metro project's feasibility had raised doubts because of the cost entailed by previous proposals advocating underground rails. Now a major portion of the Metro will be overhead to cut cost of the project conceived six years back. "The cost factor should make the fare of the Metro journey affordable for commuters," Bapat said. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis as well as Union Surface Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari -- both hailing from Nagpur -- had attracted criticism from the Opposition and other quarters for their alleged "favouritism" in piloting and getting sanctioned the Nagpur Metro project before that of Pune's. According to an NCP release issued recently, the party delegation led by its President Sharad Pawar, too, met Naidu, the Union Urban Development minister, and urged him to expedite the Pune Met ..

India looking to set up urea plant in Iran: Nitin Gadkari.

To cut down on a huge Rs. 80,000-crore subsidy on urea, India plans to set up a urea plant at the strategic Chabahar port complex in Iran, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari recently said. "I had been to Iran and we are trying to procure gas at a very economical rate. In 2013, they had offered it at the rate of 82 cents, less than a dollar. We make urea from naphtha. We are trying to set up a urea plant in Iran," Gadkari said. India has pledged to invest about USD 85 million in developing the strategic port located off Iran's south-eastern coast, which would provide India a sea-land access route to Afghanistan bypassing Pakistan. "Ministries of Chemical & Fertiliser and Petroleum are working on it. Once it is set up, there will not be the need for a huge Rs. 80,000-crore subsidy on urea and prices will come down by 50 per cent," he said. The Minister had visited Tehran in May, and both the nations had inked a pact to develop Chabahar port. Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had called on Gadkari last month. "Iran's Foreign Minister had called on me. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also met their President. We are working on the plan," Gadkari said. Last month, the minister had said Iran has given "very good offers" to India to develop integrated Chabahar port, which has a special economic zone (SEZ). Soon, ministries concerned will deliberate on the issue as well as how to take forward the port development in phases. Once the port is developed, it will provide a big boost to Indian industries as "the distance between Chabahar to Mundra, Kandla is less than Delhi and Mumbai", the minister said. "This will give a major boost to our imports and exports as Chabahar port has an SEZ." Discussions are on for concluding the MoU agreements between India and Iran, which include possibility of India taking over the development and operation of phase II of Chabahar port.

SunEdison inks MoU with Tamil Nadu to develop 2-GW projects.

Renewable energy firm SunEdison recently said it has entered into an agreement with Tamil Nadu government to develop 2 GW of wind and solar power projects in the state in the next five years. "SunEdison has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Tamil Nadu state government to develop 2 gigawatts of wind and solar power in the state in the next 5 years," the company said in a release. According to the statement, the 2 gigawatts are part of SunEdison's larger plan to develop 15.2 gigawatts of renewable energy in the country by 2022. "SunEdison is dedicated to furthering India's renewable energy programme and has committed to develop and construct 15.2 gigawatts of clean and cost-effective wind and solar power projects in the country by 2022," said Pashupathy Gopalan, SunEdison's President of Asia-Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa in the statement. "With this MoU, we are expressing our support for Tamil Nadu's clean energy future, and are making progress towards our larger commitment," Gopalan said. Gopalan signed the document with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa at the Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet. SunEdison is a global renewable energy development company and is transforming the way energy is generated, distributed, and owned around the world. The company develops, finances, installs, owns and operates renewable power plants, delivering predictably priced electricity to its residential, commercial, government and utility customers.

Toshiba JSW bags Rs. 3,436 crore order from UPRVUNL for 660 MW thermal power plant.

Toshiba JSW has bagged an order worth Rs. 3,436 crore for setting up a 660 MW thermal power plant in Aligarh district from Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd. "Toshiba JSW Power Systems Private Ltd. (Toshiba JSW), a Toshiba Group company based in Chennai, has been awarded a full EPC Contract by UPRVUNL, wholly owned state thermal power utility with present generating capacity of 4933 MW," a press release said. The value of the contract is over Rs. 3,436 crore (USD 520 million), it said. Toshiba JSW will carry out Engineering, Procurement, Construction (EPC) of the entire thermal power plant, including civil and boiler island package to be completed within 48 month from the Contract award. The Harduaganj Ultra-supercritical Thermal Power Plant of UPRVUNL, located in Aligarh district, is expected to be commissioned in September, 2019.

Uttar Pradesh eyes 40 investment pacts worth over Rs. 33,000 crore.

Uttar Pradesh expects to sign as many as 40 agreements entailing investments worth of over Rs. 33,000 crore across diverse sectors, a senior official said. The pacts, to be signed later recently during a day-long investors' conclave here, would include those with Gautam Adani-led Adani Group for a solar power project, a senior state government official said. "We will be signing over 40 MoUs which involve an investment of Rs. 33,000 crore," the official said before the start of the conclave here in the financial capital. The agreements will be signed in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who is leading a delegation of ministers and officials from the state for attracting investment into the country's most populous state. Yadav is also likely to announce a film subsidy scheme, under which support of up to Rs. 3 crore will be given to film producers for shooting in the state,. The chief minister is also scheduled to have a luncheon meet with top bankers, including SBI's Arundhati Bhattacharya. This is one of the biggest investment road shows for the state and comes amid a growing stress on 'competitive federalism', wherein states are being encouraged to compete with each other to attract investments.

Projects will be cleared within 30 days: Jayalalithaa.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa recently assured investors that project clearances will be expedited in a time bound manner. Addressing leading industrialists, foreign delegates and diplomats at the inaugural of the Global Investors Meet 2015, Jayalalithaa said she has ordered that for investment commitments 'final clearances shall be accorded within 30 days." Tamil Nadu has worked hard on improving the investment climate and has designed the Tamil Nadu Investment Promotion Programme with the assistance of the Japan International Co-operation Agency. It aligns the State Government�s policy priorities and the expectations of investors. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spearheaded many initiatives to create an investor friendly climate and encourage Foreign Direct Investment. This will also enthuse investors planning to invest in the States, the Chief Minister said. She also urged the Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Nirmala Sitharaman, and Minister of State for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, Pon Radhakrishnan, to expedite clearances to projects announced at the GIM 2015 and support infrastructure development. She assured investors that "It is an investment in the hard working, enterprising and reliable people of the State of Tamil Nadu." Sitharaman said the Centre was taking steps to enhance ease of doing business by cutting down on multiple prior permissions for projects. Large industrial corridor projects such as the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor and the East Coast Economic Corridor linking Kolkata-Chennai-Tuticorin are being expedited. In principle approval has been given for the Hosur Engineering Cluster. The Government is committed to clearing all road blocks to investment, she said. Radhakrishnan said port infrastructure will be further strengthened with the development of the Colachel Port in south Tamil Nadu as a transhipment hub. GIM 2015 is a two-day meet organised by the State Government to showcase the State to the international investment community. Over 5,000 delegates, including 1,000 from abroad, are participating in the event which includes 24 seminars on a range of industries. Delegations from eight partner countries � Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Korea, Singapore and the UK � are also making presentations. Over 300 stalls have also been put up by domestic and multinational companies.

Investment proposals worth over Rs. 50,000 cr announced on Day 1.

Investment proposals totalling more than Rs. 50,000 crore were announced on the first day of the Global Investors Meet 2015 recently. These are spread across renewable energy, financial services, automobile and IT. The proposals announced are just a sample of the total investment proposals to be announced formally at the conclusion of the event tomorrow. The State Government had set a target of tying up investments amounting to about Rs. 1 lakh crore and this has been exceeded significantly, say officials. Gautam Adani, Chairman, Adani Group, told media persons on the sidelines of the event that his company plans to invest Rs. 15,000-20,000 crore in Tamil Nadu over the next few years. It will cover a range of sectors including thermal power, ports and renewable energy. HCL plans to invest more than $1 billion (Rs. 6,000 crore) over the next five years in southern Tamil Nadu. Shiv Nadar, Chairman, HCL, announced the company has identified Madurai and Tirunelveli as major centres for growth. HCL has so far invested over Rs. 6,000 crore in Chennai and Coimbatore development centres. It employs 75,000 persons in India and 1.10 lakh globally. HCL�s brain centre will be based in Tamil Nadu, where one-third of the company�s work force is present, he said.

Rajasthan State Gas lines up Rs. 2,700 crore to build infrastructure.

Rajasthan State Gas Ltd., a joint venture of state utility GAIL Gas Ltd. and Rajasthan State Petroleum Corp, today signed an agreement to invest Rs. 2,700 crore in developing natural gas infrastructure in Rajasthan. The MoU, signed by RSGL and the Rajasthan government, envisages setting up CNG stations on highways and distribution of natural gas to various industrial clusters in the state, a company press statement said. RSGL has taken up construction activities for setting up mega compression facilities at Neemrana, which will pave the way for opening CNG corridor along the NH-8 between Delhi and Jaipur. "The government of Rajasthan has chalked out ambitious plan for development of various industrial clusters around Neemrana, Ghilot, Bikaner and Bhilwara," the statement said. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has granted 'no objection' to GAIL Gas Ltd for transfer of its city gas distribution licence for Kota in favour of RSGL, which will now set up CNG stations on highways from Kota to Jaipur, Kota to Baran, Kota to Bhilwara and Kota to Indore.

Yamaha inaugurates new plant, to invest Rs. 1,500 cr.

India Yamaha Pvt Ltd. will invest Rs. 1,500 crore in phases till 2018 in the new plant in Tamil Nadu. The two-wheeler plant at Vallam Vadagal in Kancheepuram district will have an initial production capacity of 4.50 lakh units, which will be increased to 18 lakh units by 2018, Hiroaki Fujita, Chairman, India Yamaha, told newspersons on the sidelines of the investors meet. In addition, Yamaha's vendors will invest nearly Rs. 1,000 crore in the plant's vicinity, he said. Of the total capacity in the new plant, nearly 30 per cent will be for exports. The new factory will employ nearly 3,900 people by 2018 and is the company's third manufacturing unit in the country. It was inaugurated during the opening ceremony of the meet by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. The company signed an MoU with the State government in May 2012 to construct and operate a two-wheeler factory. India Yamaha has factories at Surajpur in Uttar Pradesh and Faridabad in Haryana. With the new factory, the combined two-wheeler production capacity of Yamaha in India will be 25 lakh units by 2018, he said. Fujita said the company sold 7.4 lakh units in 2014 and is eyeing double-digit sales growth in 2015.

SAIL takes up Rs. 1,800-cr upgradation programme at Bokaro plant.

Steel Authority of India Ltd. has taken up a Rs. 1,800-crore upgradation and repair programme at Bokaro Steel Plant in Jharkhand. Anutosh Maitra, Chief Executive Officer of BSP, told BusinessLine that under this programme, the SAIL plant would upgrade its steel melting shop (SMS) and also would get a new sinter plant. A major part of the cold rolling mill would also be revamped. "All these exercises were being taken up to save cost on energy and improve productivity as well as quality of finished products," Maitra said. He explained that the present slowdown in demand has allowed BSP to look for �consolidation in terms of cost, quality and productivity� rather than capacity expansion. BSP�s current capacity utilisation stands at around 80 per cent. Under the plan, the two old units, out of five, in the steel melting shop will see upgradation of processes with provisions for continuous casting and elimination of intermediate process of slab making. The upgradation of SMS units would be taken up one by one, each taking 30 months. BSP has taken up the new plan even as the Rs. 6,325-crore first phase modernisation and expansion programme nears completion. Among the remaining part of the first phase is Rs. 450-crore revamp of a portion of its hot strip mill. It would come into operation this month-end. The first phase will be complete in 2017 when its fifth blast furnace would be ready after modernisation. The first phase banner programme would take the hot metal capacity production to 5.77 million tonnes from 4.58 million tonnes a year. Depending on the evolving market scenario, BSP � a dedicated steel items producer for automotive industry � might look into the possibility of construction steel products. "Slump in domestic demand for flat products (automotive grade steel) may prompt us to go in for long products (construction steel items)," Maitra said. Maitra said BSP might think of putting up a hot strip or continuous strip mill.