Government framing policy to set up 12 petrochemical complexes.

Government is working on a policy to establish 12 more petrochemical complexes in order to have one complex in each 16 refineries, a move which could entail few lakh crore of investment, Fertiliser Minister Ananth Kumar said recently. At present, there are four PCPIRs or petrochemical complexes in the country. A Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR) is usually a delineated area for manufacturing various types of petrochemical compounds. "..instead of four there will be 16 investment regions and we would be able to milk the entire crude to the last drop," the Minister said at the National summit on Indian Chemical Industry organised by Assocham. "We will try to ensure that these petrochemical complexes will be accompanied by the processing industries," he added. PCPIRs are currently present in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Tamil Nadu. Speaking at the same event, Chemicals Secretary Surjit Chaudhary said that the government is working on a policy to have at least one petrochemical complex in each refinery which could result in an investment of few lakh crore. As per the PCPIR policy, the Centre has to ensure the availability of external physical infrastructure linkages to these regions including rail, road connectivity to national highways, ports, airports and telecom connectivity. The internal infrastructure of the PCPIR is built and managed by a developer. The external linkages will be provided by the central and the state governments. The users of external as well as internal infrastructure will pay for its use.

Suzlon, Axis Energy Group to set up 4.000-MW projects in AP.

Suzlon Energy and Axis Energy Group have signed up with Andhra Pradesh for setting up of 4,000 MW of wind, solar and hybrid renewable energy projects. Ajay Jain, State Secretary Energy, Tulsi Tanti, Chairman Suzlon Group, and K Ravi Kumar Reddy, Managing Director, Axis Energy Group, had signed memorandums of understanding in the presence of the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, N Chandrababu Naidu recently. Under this MoU, Suzlon and Axis will set up solar, wind and hybrid plants with an estimated production capacity of 4,000 MW in Anantapur and Nellore districts over the next five years. They will also set up a 1,000 MW wind turbine generator unit. As part of efforts to boost renewable energy in the State, it is proposed to set up a skill development centre in Anantapur. It is estimated that these projects will provide 8,000 direct and 25,000 indirect employment opportunities in the State, according to a statement from the Chief Minister's Office.

Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project to cost Rs. 98,000 crore.

An Indian Railways-Japan International Cooperation Agency feasibility study has concluded that the Mumbai-Ahmedabad 505-km high-speed rail corridor will cost an estimated Rs. 98,000 crore. Minister of State for Railways, Manoj Sinha, stated this in a written reply during question hour in Parliament on Wednesday. Though there is no visibility on when the project will start, it is estimated that trains on this corridor run at a top speed of 320 kmph, reducing commute time between the two cities to less than two hours from the current seven. The Japanese government has offered a package proposal for the corridor, which involves technical, operation & maintenance (O&M), and financial assistance to the tune of 81 per cent of the project cost, which will be disbursed as a loan. The interest and other terms have not been finalised, a government statement said. The ambitious project requires 11 new tunnels, including one under the sea near Mumbai. It is expected to start at Bandra Kurla Complex, while the Ahmedabad point has not been decided. In September, China had won the contract to assess the feasibility of a 1200-km high-speed rail corridor between Delhi and Mumbai, a project that is expected to cost at least twice as much. No loan has been offered so far on the Delhi-Mumbai corridor. These two projects are part of the �Diamond Quadrilateral� of high speed trains, with over 10,000 km of tracks connecting Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. Recently, Japan agreed to fund Rs. 1,069 crore for the Chennai Metro Rail and Rs. 4,410 crore for Ahmedabad Metro Rail, adding momentum to the bilateral ties between India and Japan. "With overall consensus and popular support for greater cooperation between India and Japan, the partnership is poised for a great future," said a government statement. THE HINDU

Cabinet approves six new IITs.

The Union Cabinet recently approved the setting up of six new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Jammu, Kerala and Karnataka. The total cost for running these IITs would be 1,411.80 crore and will be incurred between 2015-16 and 2018-19. Of the six, IITs at Palakkad (Kerala) and Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh) have already started classes this year. The remaining are proposed to come up in Goa, J&K, Chattisgarh and Karnataka. The 16 exisiting IITs admit a total of 10,000 students at the undergraduate level. With the six new institutions, the intake will go up by another 1080 seats. The Cabinet further gave its approval for operationalisation of these IITs initially by forming of Societies under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 in order to give a legal status to them till the amendment for their incorporation in The Institutes of Technology Act, 1961 is enacted, the government said today. Each new IIT will have an initial intake of 180 students in its first year which would increase to 450 in the second year and to 928 (840 Undergraduates, 80 Postgraduates and 8 Ph.D.) in the third year of their operation. The new IITs will be operated from their temporary campuses for the initial period of three years before shifting into their permanent campuses in the fourth year. Each IIT will have a sanctioned strength of faculty members, with a faculty-student ratio of 1:10. Recent approval for the establishment of these six new IITs by registering them as Societies under the Societies under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 is aimed at creating new legal IIT entities since the passing the Bill for amendment of the IT Act, 1961 for incorporation of the six new IITs in the Parliament will take some time, the government stated. The Institutes of Technology Act, 1961, contains no provision to enable establishment of new IITs. Every new IIT commenced since its enactment has required an amendment to the Act itself. In light of this, the government has decided to establish the new IITs through the formation of Societies as it has not been possible to amend the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961 to make provision for establishment of new IITs, before the admissions to academic session 2015-16 in these new IITs.

CM clears MSRDC projects worth over Rs. 50,000 cr.

In a move to appease disgruntled alliance partner Shiv Sena before the cabinet expansion slated for December 5, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently cleared a slew of infrastructure projects handled by Sena-controlled Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC). The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure meeting chaired by Fadnavis gave in-principle approval to eight projects across the state amounting to Rs. 53,701 crore. MSRDC, which has often lost out on crucial projects due to coalition politics over the years, got a fresh lease of life with projects worth over Rs 50,000 crore. Eknath Shinde, minister of Public Works Department (Public Undertaking), said: �MSRDC has constructed several crucial projects in the past including the flyovers in Mumbai, the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and recently the Bandra Worli Sea Link. Over the past few years, it has lagged behind but now we have the support of the chief minister and hence all these projects were approved.� The committee approved the 11-km Borivali-Thane (Tikujini Wadi) tunnel, 4-kmThane-Ghodbunder elevated road, 1.83 km-bridge on Sion-Panvel Road (Vashi Creek), the 800-km Mumbai-Nagpur Super Communications Expressway, the capacity augmentation of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, four-laning of the 21.1-km Bhiwandi-Kalyan-Shilphata Road, etc. �The CM has given approval to the tunnel under the Sanjay Gandhi National Park � this project will cut down the travel time of motorists by one hour. With this, Thane to Borivali will be connected in 10 minutes. We will prepare DPRs now,� he said. The MSRDC is confident the project will be approved by the environment ministry. MSRDC will also go ahead with the preparation of the detailed project report to finalise the exact alignment of the Mumbai-Nagpur Super Communications Expressway. �This is going to be a Greenfield project. Out of the 800 km, around 500 km of Expressway would go through backward areas of Maharashtra thus benefiting them in a holistic manner. Real growth will happen as it opens lot of avenues to set up industries along the expressway that will create jobs. We also plan to have IT parks wherever possible, smart cities will be planned along with educational hubs, all these would benefit these areas immensely,� he said. MSRDC officials added that the projects include six-lane elevated road on Thane-Ghodbunder section. The total length of the project is 4 km and the cost is Rs. 784 crore. The Committee also approved to proposal to augment the capacity of Mumbai-Pune Expressway with two tunnels, two viaduct, elevated roads and measures to increase security, added Radheshyam Mopalwar, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, MSRDC.

Trial Run of Kochi Metro Train Likely by February.

The Kochi Metro Rail Ltd. (KMRL) authorities said recently that they would receive three train coaches by the end of this month, fuelling their hopes of commencing the trail run of the train by February next year. The coaches will be brought to Kochi from the Alstom facility in Sri City by the end of December. The coaches will be connected to the train through a mechanism viz coupling at the Muttom Yard. �We will receive the coaches this month and are hopeful of commencing the trail run by February next year,� KMRL managing director Elias George told Express. The trail run will be conducted initially at the nearly 4 km stretch of the Metro between the Muttom Yard and Pathadippalam. The work and the test run of the first set of coaches have already been completed at Sri City and Alstom. The route checking for transporting the coaches via road has also been completed. According to the DMRC officials, the work at the Muttom Yard is progressing in full swing. The inspection shed, the test tracks and the ramp will be ready before the commencement of trail run. THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS

IL&FS Engineering bags Rs. 675 crore road contract in Bihar.

Hyderabad-based IL&FS Engineering and Construction Company Limited has bagged a road contract worth of Rs. 675 crore from Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The company said it has received a letter of acceptance (LOA) from the Ministry for rehabilitation and upgradation to 2 lanes with paved shoulders configuration and strengthening of Birpur-Bihpur section of National Highway-106 in the state of Bihar under Phase-1 of National Highways Development Project (NHDP). The project involves engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) with a completion period of 36 months, according to a company press release.

Gadkari lays foundation stone for floating cargo handling facility.

The Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari, on Tuesday laid the foundation stone for a proposed 2.55 million tonnes a year floating cargo handling facility at Haldia Dock Complex of Kolkata Port Trust. The port authority is setting up the dedicated reverine facility which will handle mini bulk carriers (with a capacity between 10,000 and 12,000 dead weight tonnes) and barges (for carrying coal). The proposed facility will be able to accept cargo from the deep draft unloading point (from large ships) at Sagar island. The Rs. 74-crore project will include setting up a pontoon, a crane capable of unloading about 10,000 tonnes a day and conveyor, transit 10,000 sqm storage area on shore, connecting road and other cargo handling equipment. A private player, Bothra Shipping, will construct the floating jetty and other infrastructure and operate it for 15 years. At an event, organised by the MCC Chamber of Commerce & Industry here, the Minister through remote control also inaugurated three other projects of HDC -- a 1 million tonne fly ash handling jetty, refurbished gateway to the dock system and a stacker-cum-reclaimer at one of dock's 14 berths.

Port at Thane Creek in 3 months.

The country�s financial capital is all set to get its second port, with the Yogayatan group on Monday announcing plans of investing ₹250 crore for a mid-size terminal within the municipal limits. �We will be investing ₹200-250 crore to construct a mid-sized all-weather port in the Thane creek near Mankhurd. The port will be operational in the next three months,� Group Chairman Rajendra Singh told PTI. Construction work The foundation stone-laying ceremony for the project will be held on Friday and is likely to be attended by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Singh said the group had applied for a concession to the Maharashtra Maritime Board in 2001 and has now received all the necessary permissions to start the construction work. The decision of the Mumbai Port Trust to focus only on �clean cargo� is the initial business opportunity for the new port, Singh said, adding that biggest focus will be on landing coal for Tata Power which now comes from MbPT. The port�s draft will vary between 5.5 metres during low tide and 8.5 metres during high tide, and it will have an initial capacity to handle 8 million tonne of bulk cargo including coal, steel and cement, he said. �With this draft, we can accommodate the barges which will carry the cargo to land from mother ships anchored in the sea,� Singh said. The group has bought 10 acres of land for the port, he said, adding that it is well-connected to the Mumbai-Pune highway and also has rail connectivity as it is very close to the Mankhurd station on Harbour line. Internal funding The group, whose assets run into �thousands of crores,� will be funding the construction fully through internal accruals and will not be taking any bank loan for the same, Singh said, adding that it doesn�t have any debt though its interests are spread across a variety of capital-intensive sectors like infrastructure, petrochemicals, realty etc. The Yogayatan group has drawn up a five-phased plan of expansion.

Airtel to invest Rs. 60k cr in 3 yrs on network expansion.

Bharti Airtel recently said it will invest Rs 60,000 crore over three years on expanding networks that will help improve the quality of services. It said that as part of �Project leap�, it will deploy over 70,000 base stations in the current fiscal, while over three years, more than 1,60,000 base stations will be put up across the country. This proposed investment of Rs 60,000 crore is over and above Rs 1,60,000 crore the company has already invested in its active and passive network, spectrum, fiber, submarine cables and systems till date. Bharti Airtel (India & South Asia) MD & CEO Gopal Vittal said: �Today we are excited to launch �Project Leap� which will catapult the Airtel network to be a world class network in the coming three years. �We are confident that this new initiative will deliver a truly differentiated customer experience and reinforce our commitment to build a future ready network.� Airtel said the comprehensive 10-point programme under �Project Leap� will enable it to take a decisive lead in delivering a differentiated customer experience. Hindustan Times

MMTC to pump in Rs. 6,000 crore to double NINL capacity.

State-owned trading firm MMTC said it will invest about Rs. 6,000 crore to double the capacity of Neelachal Ispat Nigam (NINL) in the next four years. "We have decided to double the hot-metal capacity of 1.1 million tonnes in the next four years in Neelachal Ispat in the first phase," MMTC Chairman and Managing Director Ved Prakash said. Speaking on the sidelines of FIMI organised summit, he said the steel plant will commence production from December. MMTC holds 50 per cent stake in Neelachal Ispat while, NMDC Ltd and Odisha Mineral Corp, have 12 per cent and 28 per cent, respectively. Prakash said Neelachal Ispat's board have already given in-principal approval for the expansion to 2.2 million tonnes hot-metal capacity. "We are waiting for the techno feasibility study, which is expected to be ready in the next 45 days. All the three major promoters have agreed in-principle for the expansion plan. The total investment for doubling the capacity would be in the region of Rs 6,000 crore," Prakash added. MMTC said it may convert its Rs 1,000 crore working capital loan into equity toward its share of fresh equity of Rs 2,000 crore requirement towards the expansion. In the second phase, the capacity of Neelachal Ispat would further be increased to five million tonnes, Prakash said. Meanwhile, buoyant from gold business and higher coal imports, MMTC is eyeing a revenue of Rs 20,000 crore in the current financial year, Prakash added. "Our coal imports for the year (Apr-Mar) is expected to be in the region of 8-10 million tonnes. We have recently entered into an agreement for exporting iron ore to Japan and Korea. We are also expecting a higher business from gold medallions. All these should drive our revenue to Rs 20,000 crore," he said. MMTC had posted a Rs 18,241 crore top-line in 2014-15 from around Rs 25,000 crore in 2013-14. Speaking about gold medallion, Prakash said the agency will finalise a national distribution network in a fortnight after dialogues with banks like SBI, ICICI and Department of Post. Once we have a distribution network, then we will begin selling the gold medallions, he added.

Maharashtra approves infrastructure projects worth Rs. 52,000 crore.

The first meeting of the state cabinet sub-committee on infrastructure, which was chaired by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, saw projects worth over Rs 52,000 crore being approved in-principle. Fadnavis directed officials to prepare the detailed project reports, seek environment and other clearances in the next six months and complete works by 2019. Public works (public undertakings) minister Eknath Shinde said that the Mumbai-Pune Expressway capacity augmentation would reduce accidents and traffic congestion. The Rs 3,400-crore project will see two new tunnels of 8 kms and two viaducts with a total length of 3 kms being constructed.

Japan to extend Rs. 5,479-cr loan for Chennai, Ahmedabad metro rail projects.

Japan will extend an official development loan assistance worth Rs. 5,479 crore to India for Chennai metro and Ahmedabad metro rail projects. For the Ahmedabad metro project, the loan assistance has been pegged at Rs. 4, 410 crore. In the case of Chennai metro rail project, the loan assistance stood at about Rs. 1,069 crore. The agreements for these loans were signed here by S Selvakumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs in the Finance Ministry, and Yutaka Kikuta, Deputy Chief of Mission of Japan to India. Meanwhile, an official statement said that the Government of India attaches highest importance to infrastructure projects. A very important component of infrastructure is urban infrastructure. Within urban infrastructure, provision for metro rail gains more importance because of its environment friendly nature. It reduces the traffic congestion in the cities where the traffic is overflowing and also reduces greenhouse gas emission, the release added. In this regard, the Government is continuously making efforts to obtain bilateral and multilateral funding to meet this financial requirement. India and Japan have had mutually beneficial economic development cooperation since 1958. In the last few years, the economic cooperation between India and Japan has strengthened and grown into a strategic partnership.

State to Sign MoU With Suzlon for Producing 4,000 MW Green Energy.

Andhra Pradesh government has decided to enter into an MoU with Suzlon Energy Ltd for manufacture and development of 4,000 MW Renewable Energy Power Projects in the State. According to a GO issued here on Friday, the chairman Suzlon Energy Limited had earlier submitted a representation to the State government for development of 4,000 MW Renewable Energy Power Projects (Wind Energy) and Wind Solar Hybrid Systems and to establish Wind Turbine Generator manufacturing facilities. Hence, he had proposed to sign an MoU with AP along with their partners Axis Energy Ventures India Private Limited. Suzlon Energy Ltd has global presence with an installed capacity of about 15,000 MW in 19 countries including 8,700 MW in India. The company proposed to develop 4,000 MW RE capacity over a period of five years mostly in Anantapuram district. Suzlon Energy Ltd had also agreed to set up integrated wind turbine manufacturing units in the State and had already signed an MOU with the Industries Department on April 29 this year. Renewable Energy Project Benefits l Manufacturing at multiple locations (i.e. blade, tower, nacelle/generator) to integrate all components of wind turbine generator in Anantapur & Nellore districts. l Employment generation l Direct: 8,000 (manufacturing & projects) l Indirect: 25,000 l Establishment of wind and wind-solar hybrid projects (mostly in Anantapur district) l Establishment of skill development centre in Anantapur district l Establishment of SUZLON Chair at the proposed Energy University The New Indian Express

CB&I-CTCI JV receives $ 2.8 bn EPC contract from Orpic for cracker project

A joint venture between CB&I and CTCI Corporation of Taiwan has received a contract worth approximately $ 2.8 billion from Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic) to provide engineering, procurement and construction for cracker Package 1, which includes the steam cracker and associated utilities for the Liwa Plastics Industrial Complex Project in Sohar, Oman. The scope of work includes EPC for a grassroots 880-ktpa ethylene plant, pygas unit and MTBE unit, as well as all the related off-sites and utilities. CB&I�s scope of work also includes the construction of cryogenic and atmospheric storage tanks and pipe spool fabrication. As previously announced, the cracker will employ CB&I�s latest, proven ethylene technology, including highly selective SRT cracking heaters, and its innovative recovery section design, featuring low-pressure separation and mixed refrigeration. �CB&I is pleased to have been selected for this significant project following the successful completion of the front end engineering and design of the Liwa Plastics Project for Orpic. This new award builds upon the successful relationship between Orpic and CB&I and is a testament of our customer's confidence in our experience and world-class project execution capabilities,� said Philip Asherman, president and chief executive officer, CB&I.