September 22-28, 2014 1

Volume 3 l Issue No 38 l September 22-28, 2014 l Price: Rs 100An MMR, Braj Binani Group Publication

India’s infra market to reach $6.6 t by 2025

Naredco awards meritorious developers

The state-run National Buildings Construction Corp Ltd (NBCC) has caught investors’ fancy. The company, which sold shares at Rs 106 two years ago, rallied 25 per cent to touch Rs 683 recently. It was triggered by the announcement that NBCC has signed an agreement with the National Waqf Development Corp. Ltd for development of Waqf properties all over India.

The company is also in talks to redevelop Andhra Bhavan in New Delhi and there is a further possibility of the company developing parts of Andhra Pradesh’s new capital.

Considering the large number of Waqf properties, analysts expect significant business opportunities for NBCC, if the pact holds.

Veteran broker Ramesh Damani, who had recommended the stock earlier, said he liked the stock because it was trading at cheap valuations and the company has strong earnings visibility. “NBCC enjoys negative working capital, cash rich balance sheet and has a strong order book at about Rs 17,000 crore, 4.2 times its FY14 revenues,” said Damani. “The stock could go up further as visibility of future earnings is high given the huge opportunity size in the business,” he said.

Also driving investors to the stock are expectations the new government at the Centre will speed up project clearances. At the end of the previous fiscal year, the company’s order book stood at Rs 15,427 crore, which has reportedly grown to around Rs 17,000 crore now, according to analysts. The orders provide ample revenue visibility—they are four times the revenues of the last fiscal year. That can grow manifold if the government

awards more projects. In its annual report NBCC said, it is pursuing the government of India to award it the redevelopment of three colonies in New Delhi.

If approved, these projects alone can add Rs 20,000-25,000 crore to the company’s order book, a top official of the company said.

Besides, the company is also looking to develop land and properties of sick public sector enterprises (PSEs). “There are PSEs whose revival, rehabilitation or closure or winding up proposal stand referred to the Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE). We are pursuing with the BRPSE for utilization of these unlocked assets of PSUs as a source of revenue generation to be gainfully employed for rehabilitation/revival of ailing public sector enterprises,” Anoop Kumar Mittal, chairman and managing director, NBCC, said in the annual report.

Optimism about new orders is one reason why the stock has more than doubled in the last five months. Apart from a strong order pipeline, investors also like the company for its cash-rich balance sheet, superior return ratios and strong working capital position.

Based on ICICI Securities Ltd’s current fiscal year earnings per share estimates, NBCC is trading at 25 times the price-to-earnings multiple. Its peers like Simplex Infrastructure Ltd are available at less than 20 times the current fiscal earnings estimates.

Vinod Nair, head of equity research, Geojit BNP Paribas said, “A real estate business with huge land bank, large re-development projects on the anvil, healthy financials backed by growth in business and margins make a case for an excellent investment.”

NBCC makes five-fold gains on huge orders

T h e N a t i o n a l R e a l E s t a t e developers’ Counci l (Naredco) presented awards to achievers at its 12th national convention held at New Delhi recently as a part of it efforts to recognise developers for their outstanding projects.

“It brings together industry on one common platform to discuss, debate and set out an agenda for the coming year,” said Sunil Mantri, President, Naredco.

The Union Urban Development Minister Mr M Venkaiah Naidu presented the awards on the occasion.

In the category of ‘Stalwarts of Real Estate Industry’ the awards were presented to K P Singh, Chairman DLF Ltd; Sushil Ansal , Chairman, Ansal Group; K J Arora, Chairman,

India’s infrastructure market is expected to touch $6.6 trillion by 2025, which will be nearly 12.5 per cent of the Asia-Pacific, says a report by the consultancy firm PwC.

The Asia Pacific infrastructure market is expected to grow by 7-8 per cent a year over the next decade to over $53.6 trillion by 2025 and representing nearly 60 per cent of the world total. The increase in infrastructure spends in the country is likely to be driven by sectors like housing, telecom, healthcare, education, transportation, among others, the report said.

“Overall, India’s share of the Asia-Pacific infrastructure market is expected to continue to grow, reaching around 12.5 per cent or $ 6.6 trillion by 2025.”

A c c o r d i n g t o t h e r e p o r t , transportation and utilities investments are expected to triple over the coming decade as income and travel demand will rise and the country’s population will increasingly congregate in urban centres.

“The ongoing development of technology services sector, as well as demand from households, is l ikely to dr ive investment in telecommunications infrastructure. The population is expected to grow much faster than other countries in the region, which will further boost demand for infrastructure sectors serving households,” the report said.

While annual healthcare investment is forecast to grow around $37 billion

by 2025, education infrastructure spending will likely to reach $18.9 billion.

“The huge growth in infrastructure spending will be driven by key factors such as Asia’s economic growing prominence, trade competitiveness, and the current widely recognised infrastructure deficit across the emerging markets of this region.

“Asia is now the world’s primary growth engine, with China, India and Southeast Asia offering a very large consumer base and low-cost workforce, with high levels of natural resources,” said Manish Agarwal, PwC India Leader Capital Projects & Infrastructure.

L-R - Sunil Mantri, President Naredco & Chairman Mantri Realty; Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister for Mines, Steel, Labour and Employment;Navin Raheja, Chairman Naredco & CMD, Raheja Develop

Venka i ah Na idu , M in i s te r o f U rban Development and Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation with Sunil Mantri, Naredco

Arora Group, and M Murali Mohan, Chairman, Jayabheri Group.

In the ‘Most Favorable Mass Housing Policies c a t e g o r y b y S t a t e Government’ award went to Slum Rehabilitation Authority, Government o f M a h a r a s h t r a , and Government of Rajasthan which was received by Sudhansh Pant, Sec. LSG, Govt. of Rajasthan, Ashok Jain, Addl. Chief sec. UDH, Govt. of Rajasthan & Chairman Raj Redco

The ‘Significant Contribution in Slum Rehabilitation Work – Public category’ award was bagged by Nirmal

Kumar Deshmukh, Slum Rehabilitation Authority, Govt of Maharashtra and Balwinder Kumar, Vice Chairman, Delhi Development Authority.

Omkar Realtors, one of the major player in SRA projects in Mumbai, won the award for under ‘Significant Contribution to Slum Rehabilitation Work – Private category’ and the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Real Estate Sector – Public’ award was bagged by Rajasthan Housing Board and Rajasthan Avas Vikas & Infrastructure Ltd

The ‘Outstanding Contribution to Real Estate Sector – Private category’ went to Hiranandani Developers and award for ‘The Best State Initiative’ went to Town and Country Planning Department, Govt of Haryana and ‘Best City Development Authority’ to Greater Noida.

September 22-28, 2014 3INFRASTRUCTURE

‘Adopt eco-friendly technology for affordable housing’

Venkaiah Naidu, Minister of Urban Development,

Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation and Parliamentary

Affairs, Government of India, speaks on the forthcoming plans of

his ministry at the 12th National Convention on

Housing for All-2022 organized by Naredco

in New Delhi on September 12-13

Over Rs 16 trillion ($260 billion) will be needed as investment every year if the Central government’s goal of ‘housing for all by 2022’ is to be achieved, says a report by the KPMG-National Real Estate Development Council.

According to the report, launched at the conclave, around Rs 9.5 trillion ($150 billion) is now being invested annually in the real estate sector of which around 80 per cent or Rs 7.5 trillion is deployed in the housing sector.

‘The government’s vision of ‘housing for all by 2022’, requires more than $2 trillion to be spent in the next eight years to build nine crore houses.

Naidu said, “The convention of Naredco is happening at a very appropriate time. The theme of the convention ‘Housing for All 2022’ is one of the priorities of our government. I am sure by the end of the convention we will be getting some concrete inputs on achieving this target by 2022.”

Navin Raheja, Chairman, Naredco in his welcome address referred to ‘New Hope’ with ‘New Leadership’ in the country. “We are all witnessing a new sense of enthusiasm and optimism. Private players in the real estate sector should do needful to help people realize this ‘New Hope’. A concrete manifestation of this New Hope will be ‘Housing Ownership’ to all needy people.”

National declarationNaidu continued, ”An offshoot of

rapid urbanization in India is the huge shortage of around 19 million houses. It is projected to reach 30 million by 2022. 33 per cent of our citizens are already residing in urban areas. 18 per cent of the urban population lives in slums. In Mumbai more than 45 per cent of the population lives in slums. The resource requirement to tackle such a shortage is obviously substantial. We must plan to achieve it.

“Within a week after assuming office, I had held a consultation with various real estate associations and we are well aware about the issues being faced by the sector.

The Government of India would soon launch a National Housing Mission to work towards the ambitious initiative ‘housing for all by 2022’, said M Venkaiah Naidu, Union Urban Development minister.

“We have the experience of JNNURM, Indira Awaas Yojana, Rajiv Awaas Yojana, apart from Rajiv Rinn Yojana, which did not take off despite best efforts. I have studied all these schemes. The government has decided to merge all these schemes and bring one National Housing Mission,” added Naidu.

The mission is in advanced stages of finalization, he said, adding that the ministry was also working towards a scheme for interest subvention for the urban poor. He was speaking at the recent annual conclave of the National Real Estate Development Council in New Delhi. The government believes in public-private partnership and will involve the private sector in the mammoth task of constructing houses.

Wish list for sectorAt the conclave, the real estate

body came out with a wish list for the sector which included infrastructure status to housing, single window clearance, online clearance, and simplifying procedures.

In order to get adequate credit for the housing sector, Naidu said that he will pursue with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to ensure priority lending for housing so that the sector gets enough resources to promote affordable housing.

Simplifying clearancesEnvironment Minister Prakash

Javadekar said he had started simplifying the process of clearances. “Permissions for projects up to 40 hectares can now be given at the state and city levels,” he said. Due diligence is on for the request to raise environment exemption limit to 50,000 sq m, Javadekar added. According to estimates, there is a shortage of 19 million houses currently which is expected to rise to 30 million houses by 2022.

“On July 2-3, 2014, my ministries held a national conclave with the concerned ministers and secretaries from all the states and UTs. I am glad to say that we have unanimously passed a national declaration on ‘Urban Governance and Housing for All’ in which the Government of India and state governments resolved to collectively work towards housing for all.

“Affordable housing is the need of the hour which cannot be overlooked. Housing growth is a parameter of health of the economy of the country. ‘Housing for All’ coincides with the Platinum Jubilee of our independence, that is by 2022, and it is one of the top most priorities of our government. It is also a dream project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We have taken this challenge as an opportunity to make our cities planned hubs for economic growth.

“A decent house is a basic parameter of dignified living. Even after 67 years of independence we have a shortfall of approximately 2 crore houses. This is the reason why our Prime Minister has given a clarion call for ‘Housing for All’. Skill, scale and speed are required to meet this challenge. Under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana about 3 crore new bank accounts have been opened in past 15 days, which is a record in itself. This shows that if we work on a mission mode, nothing is impossible.

Gigantic task“The task of achieving our mission

is gigantic and the government alone can’t fulfill it. Our aim is to collaborate with multiple stakeholders including the private sector, urban local bodies,

corporate houses under CSR activities, civil societies, community and financial institutions to achieve the goal.

“Recently, a newspaper article mentioned that anywhere between Rs 1,00,000 to Rs 1,50,000 apartments costing under Rs 10 lakh are in various stages of construction across the country. There is a very good response from buyers for these houses. We have to scale up such examples across the country in a big way.

“The recent budget has made it amply clear that ‘Housing for All’ is top priority of the government. The slews of measures announced are a positive step towards this.

“Rs 4,000 crore has been allocated to the National Housing Bank (NHB) to ensure credit flow to the EWS and LIG segments under the existing Urban Housing Fund Refinance Scheme. Relaxation of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) norms for projects with focus on affordable housing. Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission will improve civic infrastructure in rural areas as well as in peri-urban areas.

Cost-effective technology“The increases in personal income

tax exemption limits would promote home ownership. The bui lding construction costs are increasing and there is a need to adopt appropriate, cost-effective building materials and technologies for affordable and durable houses. Technologies, which are environment-friendly, ecologically appropriate and energy-saving, should be increasingly adopted for the purpose.

“We are actively working on launching our mission for which we are working on many fronts. It has been

observed that poor people, especially those working in informal sector, face a lot of hardships in accessing to housing loans from institutions.

“Whenever they approach any lending institution, be it government or non-government, they are asked for documents pertaining to the assessment of income proof, identity proof and address proof. Many a times the poor people don’t possess these documents as they have migrated from rural areas to urban areas in search of work.

“The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana will help these urban poor in accessing credit from the formal banking system. We also need to custom design home loan products for EWS/LIG category to facilitate easy access for poor people.

10-point agenda “Only a few financial institutions

have availed Credit Risk Guarantee Facility (CRGF) in past two years. Efforts will be made to ensure that this fund gets utilized to its maximum extent by as many institutions as possible.

“We have to think in innovative ways to cater to the requirement of affordable housing. A new upfront subsidy programme for affordable housing is also under preparation as it has been observed that the urban poor face more problems in arranging initial down payment required to book his house rather than in repayment of loan.

“Here I would suggest a 10-point agenda for the real estate sector:

Create affordable and inclusive housing including that of rental housing especially for the EWS/LIG segments and look at this segment as an opportunity at the bottom of a pyramid. I know these are low margins business, but high volumes will make them a viable proposition.

Create housing and other built structures that are not only energy-efficient, but also sustainable and aesthetic.

Harness solar energy and reuse water by installing decentralized STPs.

Rainwater harvesting should be ensured in all built spaces and ensure that the existing natural resources such as water bodies, boulevards, hillocks, marshy grassland are protected.

M o r e t r a n s p a r e n c y a n d accountability in projects.

Ensure consumer protection and symmetry of information.

Bring in standardization and professionalization in the real estate sector.

Engage in skilling construction workforce.

M a k e p r o f i t s , b u t a v o i d profiteering.

Engage with state and Central governments in the endeavour to provide Housing for All by 2022.

Infrastructure status“To achieve all these objectives,

we all need to work together as ‘Team India’. We also have to change our mind set and think out of the box. There is no single fit-all formula. We have to innovate and find localized solutions also. The private sector also has responsibility of contributing towards nation building, besides making profit.

“As regards providing infrastructure status to the affordable housing sector, I had a discussion with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and other senior officials of the Finance Ministry. The subject matter is under discussion and I am quite hopeful that we will be hearing on this subject shortly from the ministry.

“I am also of the opinion that the affordable housing sector should get more support under ‘Priority Sector Lending’. Public-private partnership will be an important component of our action plan to achieve the national goal.”

Venkaiah Naidu, Minister of Urban Development, Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation & Parliamentary Affairs, inaugurating the Naredco convention, along with Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar

BDA housing project Valagerahalli phase-3 has been selected for the jury appreciation award 2014

September 22-28, 2014 4INFRASTRUCTURE

Centre to launch $32.9 b infra projects

After launching highway projects worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore that were stuck on account of various regulatory hurdles, the government is all set to roll out Rs 2 lakh crore worth of infrastructure projects this year, said Road Transport & Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari.

Gadkari said his ministry was also looking to build two lakh km of roads under public-private-partnership (PPP) mode which includes widening of existing one lakh km of highways.

There is no dearth of money to fund the projects and the ministry can garner more funds through securitisation of toll revenue which amounted to about Rs 1.8 lakh crore in 15 years.

A number of steps, he said, have been initiated to bring in wide reforms in the highways sector including launch of 350 electronic toll plazas by December and building amenities for drivers and commuters on every 50 km stretch for which bids have already been floated for consultancy and design of 270 such facilities.

Gadkari said government was also focusing on boosting waterways for transportation of cargo and planned introducing sea-planes, airport-like terminals on Ganga besides shipment of cargo through waterway which was much cost-friendly.

Also, a new policy for shipbuilding was on the anvil, besides promotion of cruise shipping including that of the

Kochi to Andaman & Nicobar islands. Prime Minister Modi decided that various ministries can now approve projects up to Rs 1,000 crore without the Cabinet approval.

The ministries were required to seek the Cabinet approval for projects above Rs 200 crore. The fivefold hike in the discretionary spending power of ministries is meant to allow faster clearances of projects, particularly those related to infrastructure.

The infrastructure sector is a key focus area for the Modi-led government. The Centre is keen to speed up infrastructure development and investment to boost economic growth.

France keen to help make Nagpur smart city

France has evinced interest in partnering with Nagpur to make it a smart city. This was indicated by French Consul General for Western India Jean Raphael Peytregnet, who was on his two-day visit to Nagpur this month.

Prime Minister Modi had announced plans to create 100 smart cities across the country and France has offered its expertise, men, and material in urban development to build new-age cities and send a team of architects to Nagpur.

Accompanied by the French Trade Commissioner of Consulate General Matthieu Lefort, Peytregnet said that the basic objective would be to ‘explore possibilities’ of co-operation in urban development.

Since each city has a different requirement, there is nothing specific in mind, though tailor-made solutions could be offered, he said. Peytregnet said that New Delhi would host a

convention of architects, when a French team would eventually visit Nagpur.

Apart from exploring options in Mumbai and the national capital, they will also be urged to visit other Indian cities, he said. The Consul General met Nagpur Mayor Pravin Datke, his deputy Munna Pokulwar, Municipal Commissioner Shyam Wardhane and past mayor Anil Sole to discuss issues related to the smart city concept.

Current investment by French companies in India stands at 15 billion Euros as against Indian investment in France which is at only 300 million Euros. The French government is keen to increase the figure by promoting Indian business proposals, he said.

Besides developing Nagpur as a smart city, the diplomats also asserted that they are exploring possibilities of investments in the Multi Modal International Passenger and Cargo Hub (Mihan) in the city.

14 Sez developers seek more time to implement projects

Mitsubishi Elevators to invest `200 cr

GoI to pay contractors in infra projects

via online The state finance department has

decided to allow online transaction of payments and disbursements related to infrastructure spending of works, irrigation and forest departments in select districts on a pilot basis.

This facility will be rolled out in the entire state later. According to a memorandum issued by the finance department, the process will minimize the time consumed for payment to contractors. It has been decided to operationalize this system

first for projects of the irrigation and works departments in Bhubaneswar division.

Besides, the forest department has been directed to receive statutory dues such as funds deposited against forest land diversion (NPV) and funds for development of forest area (Campa) through online payment mechanism. However, it is not mandatory for payers to make payments of such dues through internet banking.

Mahipalpur bypass plan sent for approval

A proposed bypass from Mahipalpur to NH-8 has been sent to the Ridge Management Board for approval, with the preliminary survey and alignment work having been completed by the Public Works Department (PWD).

The bypass will reduce congestion along Mahipalpur, besides providing

relief to motorists headed to Indira Gandhi International Airport from South Delhi. Once the board gives its approval, the proposal will be sent to the government for administrative and financial approval.

The bypass, which will provide an alternative route to the airport while

As many as 14 special economic zone developers, including GP Realtors and Navi Mumbai Sez, have sought more time from the government for implementing their projects. GP Realtors has proposed to set up IT/ITeS zone in Gurgaon. It has invested Rs 172.22 crore till date, including cost of land. The developer has sought extension of the validity period of formal approval beyond November 13. Similarly, Navi Mumbai Sez has asked for further extension of the validity

Mitsubishi Elevators, a subsidiary of Japanese industrial giant Mitsubishi Electrical Corporation, is learnt to be setting up a Greenfield plant to manufacture elevators and escalators at Vemagal, 60 km from Bengaluru, at an investment of Rs 150-200 crore.

Mitsubishi has been allocated 22 acres at Vemagal for its new factory. Karnataka government is understood

period of formal approval beyond October 24 for its IT Sez.

The developer has already been granted four extensions, validity of which is up to October 22, 2014. The developer has requested for further extension so as to implement the project. Sezs, which were once major vehicles for investment and export promotion, started losing sheen after global meltdown and imposition of minimum alternate tax (Mat) and dividend distribution tax (DDT).

to be in the process of completing land allocation formalities required by the company.

Mi tsubishi had s ignaled i ts intentions to invest in Karnataka in line with the state government going full throttle with its efforts to woo more Japanese companies into the state ahead of the Global Investors’ Meet (GIM) scheduled to be held in the

early part of next year. The company is now focusing on rapid development of products suited to the needs of Indian customers. The company had recently launched its Nexiez-Lite, a new lineup of its Nexiez series of elevators for low and mid-rise residential and office buildings.

The elevators come with emergency landing devices and safety functions such as multi-beam door sensor to enhance user safety, besides Leds for elevator lighting which the company says will reduce power consumption by 75 per cent compared to traditional incandescent bulbs.

providing a link to Dwarka road, is part of phase-3 of a plan for alignment of the Mehrauli-Mahipalpur road. “We will construct an underpass below NH-8 as part of phase-3,” said an official.

Phase-1 of the project involves widening the stretch from Andheria More to Aruna Asaf Ali Marg in Vasant Kunj. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 58.21 crore. The stretch now has four lanes, which will be widened to accommodate eight. The road is now 16-30 metres wide and will be widened to 75 metres.

$63 m ADB loan for N Karnataka

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has provided $63.3 million loan for improving urban services and strengthening municipal and project management capacity in North Karnataka towns.

The Centre s igned an agreement with the ADB for improving urban services. The agreement is for the fourth project under the overal l facility of $270 million for the North Karnataka urban sector investment programme.

The fourth and last tranche of loan under this programme will help upgrade infrastructure, including expansion of the potable water systems to provide round-the-clock water supply with private sector participation in 12 towns.

T h e t o w n s s e l e c t e d a r e Basavaka lyan , Be l la ry, B idar, Gadag-Betegeri, Gokak, Haveri, Hospet, Nipanni, Raichur, Shahabad, Sindhanur and Yadgir. The programme a l so i nc l udes comp le t i on o f sewerage networks in three towns –

Haveri, Hospet and Raichur – and improvements to the road network in Badami and Ilkal.

Tarun Bajaj, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Union Ministry of Finance, signed the agreement on behalf of the Government of India and M Teresa Kho, Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission, signed the agreement on behalf of the ADB.

September 22-28, 2014 5

Bentley Systems, Incorporated, the leading company dedicated to providing comprehensive software solutions for sustaining infrastructure, has announced immediate availability of its WaterCad, WaterGems, and Hammer V8i (Select ser ies 5) information model ing software for analysis and design of water distribution systems.

The software’s BIM advancements extend information mobility across water system planning, design, and operations – improving collaboration within and between these phases of the infrastructure lifecycle and facilitating better decision making for enhanced project and system performance.

New real-time-based simulation capabilities in the Select series 5 releases of WaterCad, WaterGems, and Hammer V8i improve visibility, forecasting, and decision-making support for both modelers and operators.

System modelers benefit from the fact that supervisory control and

TEChNology

Bentley’s solutions improve water system planning, design, operations

data acquisition (Scada) data can be automatically imported into their hydraulic models for use as initial conditions. System operators benefit from the ability to publish model results to the utility’s existing Scada system control screen, helping forecast operating conditions.

Gregg Herrin, Bentley Systems Director (product management, hydraulics and hydrology), explained, “For over 10 years, engineers have used the ScadaConnect capabilities within WaterCad and WaterGems to leverage valuable field information by integrating a utility’s Scada system with our hydraulic models.

“With the Select series 5 releases of these products, as well as of Hammer, we have further enhanced information mobility across engineering and operations. Thus, model results can now be published to the utility’s existing Scada system control screen using the industry-standard OPC communication protocol. This ‘asset performance modeling’ enables system operators to benefit from

optioneering as they evaluate and visualize model predictions directly in the user interface they regularly employ.”

The Select series 5 releases enable WaterCad, WaterGems, and Hammer users to view both real-time and historical Scada data, and to compare data between Scada and model results – including the display of alarms within the hydraulic model.

Strong visualization tools empower

hydraulic modelers to monitor Scada signals as they change in response to real-time events – similar to a human machine interface (HMI) screen – to help them see events as they happen and improve decision making.

Unlike software that aggregates water usage data from multiple water customers to a single spatial location, the WaterCad and WaterGems V8i (Select series 5) software explicitly models water demands for individual

water customers in their correct physical locations. This provides modelers with better visibility and control over where demands are allocated, helping them manage those demands with finer granularity.

Additionally, the Select series 5 releases include the following capabilities:

*WaterCad and WaterGems users can run multi-species water quality analyses.

*Hammer users can run multiple scenarios as a batch run, similar to the batch run functionality in WaterCad and WaterGems.

*WaterCad, WaterGems, and Hammer users can:

a)publ ish hydraul ic models (including results) as i-models for use in Bentley Map Mobile, an app that works on Android, iPad, and iPad mini tablets.

b)model from within the latest versions of MicroStation, AutoCad (including AutoCad 2015), and (except WaterCad) ArcGIS (including ArcGIS 10.2).

September 22-28, 2014 6

Gadkari seeks grant to upgrade Iran’s port

MSRDC seeks Jica fundsfor Bandra-Versova sea link

The Shipping Ministry will float a cabinet note by September-end seeking grant for upgradation of Iran’s Chabahar Port, which will provide India an alternative route for trade with Afghanistan and other Central Asian nations.

According to officials, the Shipping Ministry will ask the External Affairs Ministry for an annual grant of $85 million and a recurring one of $20 million till a sustainable amount of cargo is achieved through port operations. India has already pledged $100 million for the project.

“We are moving on Chabahar Port on a war footing,” said Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari. The matter will be resolved in 15 days, he added. India and Afghanistan decided to use Chabahar Port for trade because

State-run road development corporation MSRDC is looking at funding from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) for the ambitious Rs 5,975-crore Bandra-Versova sea link project.

“The Jica has been funding major infrastructure projects in the country at lower interest rates. To give pace to our ambitious 9.3-km Bandra-Versova sea link project, we will seek funding from this Japanese institution,” said Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) Joint Managing Director SM Ramchandani.

The Bandra-Versova sea link is proposed to be developed on a public

of problems associated with ports in Pakistan.

While nothing stops India and Afghanistan from using Pakistani ports for exports, India doesn’t see it as a dependable route. The port is proposed to be operated by a special purpose vehicle floated by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and the Kandla Port Trust under a revenue sharing agreement with the Port & Maritime Organization of Iran.

On upgradation, Chabahar Port’s capacity is expected to increase to 12.5 million tons from of 2.5 million tons now. The proposal was initiated by former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2004. The port project is also important to India in view of China’s expanding maritime presence in the region.

private partnership model and will be a tolled project. It will have approaches at Carter Road and Juhu, besides the terminal points at Bandra and Versova.

Ramchandani said if the project gets Jica funding, the concession period for toll collection could also come down to that extent. The corporation has also sought viability gap funding (VGF) from the Centre, which may be up to 20 per cent of the project cost.

The corporat ion is current ly evaluating the pre-qualification bids submitted by two consortia led by IRB Infrastructure and L&T.

PRoJECTS UPDATE

First high speed train on Delhi-Agra route in Nov 2014The first high speed train with a

speed of 160 kilometer per hour will run on Delhi-Agra section in the first week of November this year as Kapurthala Rail Coach Factory (RCF) is all set to roll out first rake of 14 coaches of the train by the end of October this year.

RCF General Manager Parmod Kumar said that shells of the first rake of high speed coaches had been

manufactured and the work was going on at fast pace to roll out the first rake by the end of October this year so that the first high speed train could run on Delhi-Agra section.

RCF engineers in consultations with Research Development & Standard Organizations (RDSO) had made some changes in these coaches in designing of coupler system for

more smoother ride than Shatabdi and Rajdhani coaches, installation of smoke and fire detection system, and automatic sliding of inner doors besides TV infotainment system in the executive chair cars with Led fittings on the back of chair cars.

He said that the approximate cost of one high speed coach would be between Rs 2.25 to 2.50 crore.

A’bad-G’nagar Metro project put on fast track

Considered a laggard among Metro rail projects, the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar Metro rail project has recently been put on the superfast track for completion, thanks to the preferential treatment being accorded to it by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself.

Modi’s recent visit to Japan has resulted in a major windfall gain for the project, a pet project of the PM while he was the chief minister of Gujarat. Among the slew of projects that the

Japanese government has agreed to provide assistance is the Rs10,770-crore first phase of the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar mass transit rail link project. To help matters further, the fresh detailed projects report (DPR) has been cleared by the Centre and is expected to get the Cabinet approval soon.

The project, being handled by a special purpose vehicle (SPV), the Metrol ink Express between Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad C o m p a n y L t d ( M e g a ) a n d

WB keen to fund MMRDA’s two new

Metro projects

States scout for funds to develop smart citiesUnanimously welcoming the Smart

City initiative of the Centre, states have demanded technical help to prepare project reports and higher financial assistance to execute the scheme.

Urban Development Minister Venka iah Na idu rev iewed the suggestions and views from states and Union Territories expressed at

the national conclave held recently and directed officials to examine the suggestions in detail.

He has also asked concerned officials to prepare a proposal for discussion at an inter-ministerial meeting where ministers of finance and defence, highways and surface transport, railways, power, environment and forests are likely to attend.

Reiterating the importance of smart leadership in developing smart cities, Naidu said he would write to all chief ministers on the need for proper decision making to enhance revenues of urban local bodies and improving urban governance.

States have made 10 broad suggestions for developing smart cities, including seeking flexibility in implementation, capacity building, higher Central assistance in view of the resource constraints of urban local bodies and expeditious clearances by the Centre, said a senior Urban Development official.

conceptualized way back in 2003, has faced many speed breakers over the years, foremost among them being the difficulty in raising funds.

In v iew of th is, the Gujarat government had sought Rs 6,000-crore loan from the Japan International Corporation Agency (Jica), to part finance the project. Of the total Rs10,770 crore required for phase-1 of the project, the contribution of the Centre and the state would be Rs 2,000 each.

With the Japanese government taking a lead in funding Mumbai m e g a p o l i s ’ m a n y s i g n a t u r e infrastructure projects, the World Bank has evinced interest in funding the proposed Charkop-Dahisar and Wadala-Teen Hath Naka Metro projects. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) has already committed to fund the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority’s (MMRDA) two ambitious projects -- the just announced Rs 23,136-crore Colaba-Seepz Metro and the 22 km Rs 9,630-crore Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL), which still remains on paper.

“The MMRDA is undertaking large infrastructure projects which require huge investments. Recently, Jica has committed to funding two major projects in the city and it has also shown interest in funding some more projects as well. At the same time,

the World Bank has also expressed interest in funding two other proposed Metro projects which we will be soon taking up,” said MMRDA Additional Metropolitan Commissioner Sanjay Sethi.

The World Bank had earlier funded two phases of Mumbai Urban Transport Projects implemented by the authority. While phase-1 involved Santacruz-Chembur and Jogeshwari-Vikhroli link roads, phase-2 was to strengthen the suburban railway networks and improving its operational efficiency.

The Maharashtra government recently merged the stalled Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd Metro line with the proposed Dahisar-Charkop corridor by converting the entire line underground instead of the originally planned elevated line. The proposed 40.2-km Dahisar-Bandra-Mankhurd Metro line is estimated to cost Rs 28,900 crore with all the 37 stations underground.

September 22-28, 2014 7

Long Term (Eight Quarters) Moving Average Trend of Launches and Absorption

No

of u

nits

18,000

17,000

16,000

15,000

14,000

13,000

12,000

11,000

10,000

9,000

8,000

Launches AbsorptionJu

n-12

Sep

-12

Dec

-12

Mar

-13

Jun-

13

Sep

-13

Dec

-13

Mar

-14

Jun-

14

REAl ESTATE

RESIDENTIAL AND OFF ICE OUTLOOK 2014

The lure of Bengaluru The city remains one of the most favoured office

and residential space destinations in the

country(Part 2 continued from last week’s issue)

South Bengaluru has consistently witnessed a majority of new launches in both the first halves of 2013 and 2014, although its share decreased slightly from 47 per cent in H1 2013 to 45 per cent in H1 2014. The area has generally been a preferred residential destination for employees of the IT sector due to the presence of a large number of IT companies in IT/ITeS employment hubs such as Electronics City, Sarjapur Road and Bannerghatta Road.

Social infrastructure l ike the availability of quality hospitals and popular retail malls are some of the major reasons for residential demand in this part of Bengaluru. Additionally, property prices are relatively cheaper in the peripheral locations in the south, compared to the other micro-markets.

During H1 2014, 71 per cent of the units launched within the price bracket of Rs 2.5–5.0 million belonged to south Bengaluru. CityVille by Valmark on Bannerghatta Road, Shriram Summit at Electronics City and Shriram Chirping Woods on Haralur Road by Shriram Properties, and Bren Edgewater’s at Sarjapur Road by Bren Corporation are some of the new projects launched in south Bengaluru during H1 2014.

Eastern frontUnlike south Bengaluru, the

eastern and western parts of the city have been able to increase their share of new launches in H1 2014. While east Bengaluru’s share increased by 21 per cent in H1 2014 over the share in H1 2013, west Bengaluru’s share increased by an impressive margin of 33 per cent.

On the eastern front, corporates have made large investments in office spaces in locations like Whitefield and Outer Ring Road East as infrastructure initiatives fructified in tandem. This has increased the attractiveness of east Bengaluru as a residential destination.

On the other hand, west Bengaluru has been witnessing a considerable amount of developer interest owing to improving infrastructure. Godrej United by Godrej Properties and Republic of Whitefield by DivyaSree, both located at Whitefield, are a few select projects launched in east Bengaluru, while Presidential Towers by Golden Gate Properties and Aparna Elina by Aparna Constructions and Estates at Yeshwantpur are some of the projects launched in west Bengaluru during H1 2014.

Fall in new launches North Bengaluru observed a fall of

20 per cent in new launches during H1 2014 over the share in H1 2013, as developers were deterred from launching fresh projects on the back of lackluster response received by various projects launched during H2 2013. The micro-market seems to be facing price resistance from home buyers, as a majority of the locations have already breached the psychological price point of Rs 4,500 per sq ft in locations currently lacking social infrastructure.

Mirabilis by Kolte Patil Developers at Horamavu and Purva Palm Beach by Puravankara Projects on Hennur Road are some of the new projects launched during H1 2014. On the absorption front, central Bengaluru has been able to mainta in i ts momentum during H1 2014, although it is insignificant in terms of absolute numbers and share.

Locations like Whitefield and Electronics City are witnessing renewed traction since H2 2013, while residential projects along the Outer Ring Road (ORR) continue to do well. This trend is expected to continue even in 2014.

The share of north and west Bengaluru has observed the steepest fall in absorption during H1 2014, to the tune of 24 per cent and 30 per cent respectively. This can be attributed to the apprehension

The recent infrastructure projects in Bengaluru have been largely responsible in providing access to newer micro markets and easing their mobility restrictions, besides decongesting older micro-markets.

Good momentum in infrastructure projects has been observed with initiation of the expansion of the international airport and the elevated expressway on Bellary Road, thereby aiding home prices, as well as development of the stretch connecting Hebbal and K R Puram as a largely signal free-corridor

This wi l l greatly support the residential developments in these two major markets. The Metro rail is the most ambitious of the projects designed to cover all the corners of Bengaluru. Once all the phases of the Metro are completed, there will be a considerable impact on residential prices along the nodes.

Meanwh i l e , t he res iden t ia l micro-markets along the recently commenced Sampige Road– Peenya Metro rail stretch towards west Bengaluru are projected to receive an immense amount of interest from home buyers in forthcoming months.

This can be attributed to faster connectivity to their workplaces, facilitated by the Metro rail. Vast decongestion of traffic bottlenecks towards the city centre is expected to take place, reducing the travel time by road as well. Moreover, there exists good potential for price appreciation in the residential micro-markets along this stretch, which would attract investors from other regions.

Divided in four zones The residential market of Bengaluru

is divided fairly across the four zones (north, south, east and west) in terms of launches and absorption, with the exception of central Bengaluru. During H1 2014, central Bengaluru accounted for less than 1 per cent of the total new launches, as high prices and unavailability of land parcels deterred developers from launching new projects.

A prominent project recently launched in central Bengaluru is Sanyog by Mythreyi Properties at Wilson Garden. Owing to the lack of depth required for our analysis, the focus of our research has been limited primarily to the other four micro-markets of the city.

among buyers regarding a majority of projects being located beyond the established residential areas, with a dearth of adequate social infrastructure, absence of mass rapid public transportation systems, distance from the city centre and poor access roads.

Areas like Devanahalli in north Bengaluru and Mysore Road in west Bengaluru have witnessed dampened sales volumes because of such challenges. The eastern and southern Bengaluru markets have fared relatively better in terms of absorption, compared to the north and west.

Healthiest micro-market However, comparing these micro-

markets in terms of the number of launches and absorption does not reflect the true picture of the health of the market. Hence, we have developed a model that captures the relative health of micro-markets by taking into account demand, supply and the age of unsold inventory.

Adequate supply, better infrastructure and the high aspirational quotient attached to the eastern micro-market have pushed prices upwards in the range of 8–15 per cent, coupled with a fair amount of demand.

Signs of revivalPrices in the other micro-markets

of Bengaluru have increased in a similar vein, as compared to H2 2013. The significant build-up in unsold inventory and the availability of a large number of ready-to-move-in apartments have resulted in the constricting price rise in the first half of 2014. However, we expect this to change in coming months, as signs of revival in demand are already becoming evident in the city, and this could result in prices continuing to move upward H2 2014 onwards

Bengaluru is one of the key office markets in the southern part of India. Its office market has evolved primarily due to the growth of the IT/ITeS sector in the city. While a number of industries like manufacturing,

The age of unsold inventory is the number of quarters that have passed since the inventory entered the market. A higher age of unsold inventory indicates that a large number of old projects continue to remain unsold.

Currently, east Bengaluru is the healthiest micro-market, as it has one of the lowest QTS and the lowest minimum age of unsold inventory. Hence, despite east Bengaluru witnessing a large unsold inventory, the health of the micro-market is relatively better because the increment in unsold inventory was matched by a similar increase in absorption.

South Bengaluru’s health is the poorest, as it continues to carry the excess unsold inventory of projects that were launched almost two years ago. This problem has been compounded by the increase in new launches during H1 2014

Pr ices in the majority of the locations across Bengaluru have witnessed a steady, control led appreciation in the last 12 months.

automobile and biotechnology have their stake in its economy, it is the IT/ITeS sector that has been the predominant driving force.

Locations l ike MG Road and Residency Road form the Central Business District (CBD) of the city, while the other important office markets include Koramangala and Old Airport Road in the suburbs.

Peripheral locations like Electronics City in the south and Whitefield to the east are the two prime IT/ITeS office markets. Of late, the Outer Ring Road has gained prominence as a preferred IT/ITeS office destination in the city.

Known for its vibrant office space market, Bengaluru has consistently topped the absorption charts in the past few years.

The IT/ ITeS industry continues to thrive and grow, albeit at a slower pace since the global economic slowdown and the emergence of newer sectors. With an inventory of around 109.5 million sq ft of office space currently operational, Bengaluru remains one of the most favoured office space destinations in the country.

It has seen consistent absorption over the past three years, with vacancy rates dropping steadily every year. This healthy demand in the past years has been responsible for restricting vacancy to 11–18 per cent.

The low vacancy levels can also be attributed to the staggered new completions entering the off ice market each year, although they were significantly outpaced by the absorption in H1 2014. With an occupied stock of 97.9 million sq ft out of the total office space stock, the vacancy level observed during H1 2014 was 11 per cent, down from 14 per c ent in H1 2013.

(Continued in next issue)(Courtesy: Knight Frank Research India)

Quarters to sell analysis Office Space Stock and Vacancy

Jun-

12

Sep

-12

Dec

-12

Mar

-13

Jun-

13

Sep

-13

Dec

-13

Mar

-14

Jun-

14

No

of q

uart

ers

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

Micro-market Level Ticket Size Split of Launched Units During H1 2014

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

Central

East

West

North

South

<2.5mn

2.5-5mn

5-7.5mn

7.5-10mn

10-20mn

>20mn

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%

20%

H1

2012

H2

2012

H1

2013

H2

2013

H1

2014

H2

2014

E

Mn

sq ft

STOCK OCCUPIED STOCK VACANCY (RHS)

September 22-28, 2014 8

INTERIORS

Vector Projects’ Nuvem executive chair

Vector Projects (I) Pvt Ltd introduces its latest product in the ergonomic furniture range -– the Nuvem Chair.

The Nuvem executive chair is designed with a sub-skating recline, which allows the user to be relaxed while adjusting its down and backward reclining position.

The most unique feature of this new method of movement is that, while reclining, the backrest angle changes but the positon of the lumbar region remains in the same position. While reclining, the back fits on the backrest, making movement together, while the lumbar region receives full support. This new ergonomic feature provides the best recline in terms of health and body posture.

Another ergonomic feature that this

chair boasts of is the Memory Locking function which allows the one seated to adjust the control button to set and adjust their own best comfort position. With the automatic restore position, the backrest automatically restores to its original position when the user leaves the chair.

The Nuvem chair is available in various specifications, colours and styles.

Optional accessories with the chair include:

Mesh/leather adjustable modern Ottoman

Speaker system for iPhone, iPod and walkman

Nuvem ergonomic cup holderNuvem ergonomic notebook stand

which is also foldable

REAl ESTATE

A guide to investing in prime commercial property

It is a visible demonstration of your

firm’s commercial worth to your clients, partners and other businesses

It is easier for employees to travel to work every day -- a major factor, considering that employee retention ranks very high on employers’ list of priorities today.

A prime office space purchased for self-use is arguably the soundest business decision any firm can make. Apart from the fact that such a property is extremely convenient to commute to, a commercial office in a prime location increases a firm’s visibility and reputation.

It is a visible demonstration of your firm’s commercial worth to your clients, partners and other businesses. Also, the capital appreciation of a prime office property reflects very favourably on a company’s balance sheet.

Prime locationsBoth in terms of business potential

and returns on investment, the highest value lies in prime office spaces. Invariably, the ‘prime’ value in commercial real estate is vested in the location, which leads to the question – how does one define a ‘prime location’?

The factors that make a location prime are a function of its overall accessibility within the city, the quality of infrastructure that supports it, the saturation of high-profile companies represented there and the overall quality of buildings in the sub–market. To determine if a location is prime, investors need to examine the following parameters:

Can the office property be reached easily via all modes of transport?

Is the office property close to major commercial hubs?

What is the demand-supply gap?What is the tenant profile of the

location? Which industries prefer it and what are their growth potential?

Does the location have good social infrastructure such as restaurants, malls, shopping centres etc.?

Is the location well-planned (e.g. Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai or has it grown with increased requirements (Nariman Point, which was reclaimed from the sea?)

Are there a lot of commercial space transactions happening in this location?

Do the buildings have a modern look and feel (glass façades)?

If the answers to most of these questions are positive, then the location is a prime one.

Prime properties The next aspect to determine is

whether the project and property meet ‘prime’ criteria, as well. There are over 30 important technical specifications that a commercial property must meet, and this needs to be verified by an expert. If the project is under construction, the buyer or investor must be fully updated on the construction risks, the developer’s track record, etc.

The project and property must also be assessed for:

a) Repositioning potentialb) Refinancing potentialc) Refurbishment potential.Finally, prime locations and prime

commercial properties in them naturally come with prime prices. Since returns on investment are important, one must determine whether the location will also offer good capital appreciation.

Regardless of whether the purpose of buying a commercial property is self-use or investment, using the services of a reputed real estate consultant is a key factor for success. Expert, research-driven advice can ensure that one is not buying into a property or location which has or will have major drawbacks high vacancies and result in low returns on investment.

Gyms as mixed-use tenant strategy in malls

Gyms, in particular, are a unique category of tenants that brings several advantages

with it

One of the aspects that attract customers to a mall is a wide range of interesting stores and services. Many malls in India are today facing a crunch in terms of footfalls and occupancy rate, and the reason often is that, with most malls offering more or less the same brands and stores, visitors are not finding any difference. The visitors therefore look for convenience and ambience and some of the well-tenanted malls may lose out on these footfalls.

The main focus of a l l mal l developers is to lease (or sell) out the spaces in the mall quickly and at the most profitable rates. What sets the more successful ones apart is a more imaginative tenant mix and a better differentiation strategy accurately tailored to location and catchment. An interesting selection of tenants is crucial in various ways, not least of all in terms of defining the kind of visitors that will be attracted to the mall.

Effective strategyMany owners or vacancy-plagued

malls in India have now discovered that including non-retail tenants such as fitness clubs, spas, travel agencies, vacation brokers and car servicing centres is a very effective strategy.

Gyms, in particular, are a unique category of tenants that brings several advantages with it. For many retail

Shubhranshu Pani Regional Director, Retail Services, JLL India

Ramesh Nair COO, Business & National Director, JLL India

At the best of times, investing in commercial real estate requires forethought, research and planning. When tracking down the ideal commercial property for business operations or for investment, various factors such as soundness of location, health of the local job market, current and future infrastructure initiatives in an area and migration patterns into a city play important roles. While the broad guidelines above hold true for any commercial property investment, prime commercial properties require even greater insight and investigation.

Manifold advantagesObviously, investing in a commercial

property in a prime location can have multiple benefits:

It is easier to find tenants for properties in prime locations than in low-demand locations. Finding tenants quickly is important, since it plays a role in yield calculations. Leaving a commercial property vacant for extended periods will result in loss of income.

Banks are more willing to give loans to commercial projects in prime locations, since there is very low likelihood of capital loss.

landlords they are, in fact, a cavalry riding to the rescue.

In the first place, inviting gyms to occupy space in a mall can quickly and effectively offset the pull-out of traditional retailers. Secondly, since fitness regimens are regular and planned activity, having a gym in a mall increases visibility for other stores.

Thirdly, gyms use up space which is generally not usable by other categories, such as non-prime spaces on higher floors in malls or the by lanes of high streets.

Fourthly, gyms also act as magnets for locals and operate at all hours. Doing workouts in a gym is not an impulse activity but a planned one. Nevertheless, other tenants close to them who are dependent on impulse shopping get eyeballs throughout the day as well as late in the night.

Importantly, gym clients tend to

come during slow hours when parking is available, thereby driving footfalls even at non-optimal times. This can and often does lead to an increase in pre-meditated shopping decisions where the impulse factor has failed.

Gyms do not clash with surrounding stores and often complement them very favourably -- such as in the case of sports clothing of health supplement stores. Further, leasing spaces to a health club or gym makes financial sense as the rents such outfits pay are comparable or only slightly lower than those paid by big-box retailers.

September 22-28, 2014 9

Konecranes launches new overhead crane

for emerging markets

EQUIPMENT

Volvo excavators to assist in China underground mall

“It was the first time I’d seen just one brand of machinery on a jobsite, and it was very impressive – the machines were working together as one solid unit,” he explained.

Volvo excavators – including EC140BLCs, EC210Bs, EC240BLCs, and EC360BLCs – will be deployed to make way for an underground shopping mall.

“Volvo machines meet the strict regulations that are increasingly being implemented, so it’s one less thing for us to worry about,” said the official.

A total of 20 Volvo excavators will be put to work for building a subterranean shopping mall in Eastern China. The project is taking place in the city of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province. Main contractor, Hangzhou Qiangjie Municipal Construction, is using its Volvo machines to excavate several thousand cubic metres of soil.

“In 2008, I visited Ningbo, China, where six Volvo excavators were working together on a construction site,” said a top official from Hangzhou Qiangjie Municipal Construction.

DJSI honours SKF for sustainability initiatives

For the 15th year in a row, SKF has been listed as one of the world’s most sustainable companies by the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI). In particular, the company has once more been recognized as best-in-class within both environment reporting and environment management.

“Fifteen years after first being included in the DJSI, I am incredibly proud to see that the hard work and commitment to sustainability that is exhibited by our people across the world continues to be recognized,” says Tom Johnstone, SKF President & CEO.

SKF defines sustainability as SKF Care, which encompasses Business Care, Environmental Care, Employee Care and Community Care. SKF BeyondZero is SKF’s strategy to

create a positive impact on the environment.

It consists of two simultaneous app roaches : t o r educe the environmental impact result ing from SKF’s operations; and to provide customers with innovative technologies, products and solutions that offer improved environmental performance.

SKF works to improve economic, environmental and social performance over the full value chain. A good example is the Group’s climate strategy, which includes suppliers, SKF operations, transportation, distribution and customer solutions. This strategy and approach has been recognized by WWF through the nomination of SKF as a WWF Climate Saver.

The Dow Jones Sustainability

Indexes were launched in 1999 and are longest-running and most prestigious global sustainability benchmarks worldwide. In addition, SKF is also a member of the FTSE4Good Index.

Tom Johnstone, SKF President & CEO

over the last few years. Following the rollout in India, the plan is to introduce the CXT UNO in other countries in the near future.

Thanks to its simple, standardized design, the CXT UNO will be available with very competitive delivery times.

Konecranes has introduced a new overhead crane in Pune, India on September 18, 2014. The new crane, the CXT UNO, has been developed to give small and medium-sized customers in emerging markets access to Konecranes’ proven technology, and will extend Konecranes’ product offering for these markets. The CXT UNO is primarily intended for companies operating in manufacturing, construction, and logistics.

The CXT UNO is based on Konecranes’ existing CXT hoist, and delivers many of the industry-leading strengths of the CXT. It is Konecranes’ second product to be launched for emerging markets this year and follows the BOXHUNTER, an innovative new type of RTG for ports and terminals.

The CXT UNO combines a strong range of features based on a simpler set of components and technical solutions compared to existing CXT products. This simpler design, together with easy access to spare parts, means that the CXT UNO will be easy to maintain. “The CXT UNO is important for us because it expands our product

offering into a segment where we haven’t been present before,” says Jukka Paasonen, Konecranes’ Vice President, Head of Business Line Industrial Crane Products. “The CXT UNO offers customers in this category access to Konecranes’ quality and reliability in what we believe is a very attractive and competitive overall package.”

Based on proven solutionsCapable of lifting loads up to 10

tons up to 9 meters off the ground, the CXT UNO features a 2-speed hoisting and travelling design with a fixed pendant controller, tagline festooning, and compact single-girder construction, and can operate over spans of up to 20 meters.

The design draws on input collected in the field and prioritizes issues such as quality, reliability in both intensive and less-frequent usage, and ease of maintenance.

The CXT UNO is being initially launched in India, a market with significant potential for industrial cranes and one where Konecranes has been building a growing presence

L-R: Saeesh Nevrekar - Country Manager & MD, WMI; Konecranes India; Pekka Lundmark - President & CEO, Konecranes, and Ryan Flynn, Exe. Vice President & Head of Business Area Equipment, Konecranes

September 22-28, 2014 10

Demand for low-cost housing to spur pre-fab growth

Tata Steel expects rising demand for affordable housing in the country to drive growth for its pre-fabricated construction solutions. The company introduced its low-cost, pre-fabricated housing solution, Nest-In, last year and saw good initial response in the Indian market, said a company official. The company has installed about 300 Nest-In units covering about 100,000 sq ft across the country.

The cost of a Nest-In unit is Rs 900 for 1,000 sq ft, excluding cost of plumbing and electrical fittings, which is lower than conventional construction costs. Using a Nest-In solution, a comfortable and durable house can be built in just nine days.

The pre-fabricated construction material is of a ready-to-make type, enabling mass customization. The Nest-In housing solution has been developed by the combined efforts

Vastushodh launches low-budget homes for seniors

Nearly 19 million sq ft of housing unsold in Gurgaon

After successfully playing the role of a pioneer in affordable housing 14 years ago, Vastushodh Projects has now forayed into affordable housing for senior citizens. The project called SukhGram has been launched in Pune under the company’s UrbanGram brand.

Sachin Kulkarni, Managing Director, Vastushodh Projects, said the project would be an independent gated community within existing UrbanGram projects. “This will enable senior citizens to interact with the residents

The Gurgaon housing market has unsold inventory of nearly 19 million sq ft, 28 per cent of the total area under development, due to slowdown in demand and a surge in supply, according to rating agency Icra.

However, Icra Research said in its latest report on Delhi-NCR residential market that sales would outstrip demand in near term at Gurgaon. “The golf course road extension and new Gurgaon have remained the most active micro markets in Gurgaon witnessing maximum launches.

The total area under development in the Gurgaon market stood at 66.11 million sq ft as on March 2014 end. “It is estimated that the total unsold inventory in Gurgaon is at 18.82 million sq ft, with 63 per cent unsold inventory being in the Golf course road extension

Nitesh Estates to buy Pune mall for `300cr

Southern developer Nitesh Estates, which built India’s first Ritz Carlton hotel, has bought Israeli billionaire Mordechai Zisser’s 1-million-sq-ft Plaza Centre Mall in Pune for Rs 300 crore, according to at least three sources aware of the matter. Zisser’s diversified conglomerate Elbit Imaging Group, through its subsidiary Plaza Centers, operates a global portfolio of 37 retail assets in Central and Eastern Europe and India, under the same brand. The acquisition of the Pune project, spread over 6.5 acres in Koregoan Park, by Nitesh Estates marks Elbit’s

exit from retail in India after having invested in prime land parcels prior to the 2008 meltdown.

Global consultancy f i rm JLL India was the adviser to the deal, which also included a 100,000-sq-ft commercial space and land for future development. Amarchand Mangaldas and J Sagar were the legal advisers to the transaction, which will be formally announced in the coming weeks. Nitesh Shetty, the 37-year-old founder of the Bangalore-based property firm, muscled out other bidders Panchshil Realty and global investor Xander’s retail arm Virtuous Retail.

of UrbanGram for mutual benefit,” he said.

Located at Pirangute, about 10 km from Pune, SukhGram will comprise 200 homes. On offer are studio apartments (400 sq ft), 1-BHKs (650 sq ft) and 2-BHKs (850 sq ft). These are priced between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 35 lakh, depending on the location and size. The complex will also have a guest house with eight rooms for the convenience of guests visiting their ageing parents or friends.

‘These will be specially designed

and New Gurgaon. The high unsold inventory is due to surge in supply in New Gurgaon and Golf Course Road Extension amid slowdown in

homes with special infrastructure that would support assisted living,” said Kulkarni. According to him, many senior citizen groups and organizations had approached Vastushodh for such a project. Interestingly, the Pune-based NRI Parents Organization (NRIPO) has already booked 150 units at Pirangute for their members. So far, assisted living for senior citizens was available only for the upper-class of society, but with SukhGram, now it is possible for middle-class senior citizens to afford such homes.

real estate demand. We believe in the near term improvement and sales velocity will take precedence over new launches,” said the agency report.

Presidency Heights coming up on Yamuna E’way

Presidency Infraheights, a Delhi-NCR-based real estate developer, is coming up with its first flagship FDI-funded residential project called Presidency Heights on Sector 25, Yamuna Expressway, inside Jaypee Sports City.

The project will offer 629 apartments in 2- and 3-BHK variants. It will also have a limited number of penthouses. The 2-BHK units will come in sizes ranging between 1,270 sq ft and 1,405 sq ft and 3-BHKs in the range of 1,615 sq ft and 1,850 sq ft. Presidency Heights will offer seven high-rise residential towers.

“Excavation has already started at the site and we expect to deliver the project within 48 months,” said Jaspal Singh Kalsi, head, sales and marketing, Presidency Infraheights. The project has been designed by Hafeez Contractor and landscaping has been done by Integral Designs, with Mahimtura Consultants being the construction partner.

“We are planning to launch our second residential project within six months. The company plans to invest Rs 2,000 crore in the current financial year 2014-15,” said Kalsi.

REAl ESTATE

of Tata Steel’s global research and development teams in India and Europe, and the marketing team in India.

Pre-fabricated technology for construction is also best suited for an environment that is facing challenges, such as the time taken for construction, location, particularly

of where conventional means of const ruct ion are not poss ib le owing to lack of — or difficulty in transporting — raw material and the non-availability of a workforce. Nest-In is ideal for such applications as houses, shops, clinics, community centres, site offices, guard huts, aanganwadis and schools.

Annapurna floats premium housing

project in Hyderabad

Sahara Group may sell over 100 acres in Bengaluru

Kumar Agarwal, partner, the sizes of the apartments range from 2,450 sq ft to 3,050 sq ft. Built in a G+4 format, the project is also vaastu compliant.

The location of the project is i ts unique sel l ing point — it is surrounded by business, leisure and office clusters. The area is well connected and has reputed schools and colleges.

Devanahalli and 25 acres at Whitefield. The company has an option to swap these properties with the list of land parcels it is allowed to sell to raise the money.

Sahara owns around 1,000 acre of land across Bengaluru, Amritsar, A h m e d a b a d , A j m e r, B h o p a l , Bhavnagar, Jodhpur, Pune and Vasai near Mumbai.

A n n a p u r n a B u i l d e r s a n d Developers has come up with a premium residential project, White House Celestia, which is expected to be ready in about 15 months, at Banajara Hills in Hyderabad.

The project has 30 uni ts in combinations of 3-BHK and 4-BHK, and prices vary between Rs 2 crore and Rs 3 crore. According to Manoj

The Sahara Group is in talks with Ahmedabad-based Pacifica Group and a high net worth individual to sell two land parcels in Bengaluru for about Rs 400 crore, as the conglomerate sells assets to find money to secure the release of its jailed chairman Subrata Roy.

In Bengaluru, the Lucknow-based company owns 76 acres at

September 22-28, 2014 11INTERNATIoNAl

Bristol’s new rapid busnetwork receives £34.5 m aid

The Department for Transport has announced £34.5 million in funding for development of a new rapid bus network for Bristol, UK. The £45 million project will improve public transport

in the city helping reduce traffic bottlenecks in the city and facilitating better bus connections between key employment, housing, retail and leisure areas.

The Metrobus will boost car drivers coming into Bristol to shift onto public transport, whereas current bus services in the western part of the city can also benefit from the new infrastructure, which will reduce travel times.

The rapid transit scheme will lead to the creation of a new bus service from the south west of the city to the centre along a new 2.5-mile segregated busway from the Long Ashton Park and Ride site.

The busway follows former rail routes and will comprise a new bridge over the Bristol to Portishead rail line. The city centre section will run on existing roads with added bus priority measures such as bus lanes and upgraded junctions.

The investment towards the network shows that the city is serious about funding the infrastructure needed in this country to drive economic growth. The project is slated for completion by April 2016.

Plans unveiled for Royal Atlantis resort in Dubai

Argentina to build tallest tower of Latin America

Strabag wins 40 m road contract in Poland

The Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD) and Kerzner have unveiled plans of the Royal Atlantis Resort and Residences in Dubai. The 46-storey resort, on the crescent of the Palm and next to the iconic Atlantis resort, will offer a sophisticated experience with ocean views, lush green spaces, and dramatic architecture.

The property will house about 800 new guest rooms and lavish suites with architecture done by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates and interior designed by GA Design, as well as 250 luxury

Argentina is set to build the tallest building of Latin America estimated to cost $295 million. Located on Demarchi Island in southern Buenos Aires overlooking the River Plate, the building to be constructed on state lands with private funding.

The building will be lit in the sky-blue and white colours of the national flag and incorporate a half-pipe ramp-like design. Measuring

A consortium of Strabag and its subsidiary Heilit+Woerner has won a design-and-build contract worth about

40m for construction of a 7.6 km bypass around the city of Koscierzyna in northern Poland. Under the project, there will be construction of three traffic lanes as well as one additional lane that can be adapted for traffic when required.

Work will also involve nine civil engineering structures which include bridges and a railway overpass,

residences designed by Sybille de Margerie Design.

Other amenities include soaring private gardens, private infinity pools overlooking the ocean and the Palm, a new sky pool almost 90 metres above the Palm which will offer views of Dubai city, and the ultimate Beach Club.

The property will also feature new restaurants, luxury retail boutiques, spa, a fitness centre, event space for both large and small events, and will also offer water play and interactive marine experiences for residents and guests.

335 metres in height, the building will serve as a centre of audiovisual and cinematographic production.

I t w i l l i nc lude an ou tdoo r stadium at the ground level with an accommodation capacity of 15,000 people, a hotel, and a museum of Visual Arts. The project, commissioned to Riva Company, is s lated to commence this November and is due for completion within five years.

environmental protection measures such as noise barriers and wildlife crossings, a rainwater drainage system, along with renovation and construction of access roads.

The planning phase is expected to take about eight months while the construction phase is slated to take 30 months. Strabag Group is active in Poland since 1985. With its 5,300 employees it generated an output volume of around 800 million in 2013.

Work starts on Denmark’s 1.2 b railway project

Lunda Construction bags 3 contracts worth $319 m in US

Green light for 4 b Thames tideway project

Hochtief subsidiary wins PPP contracts

in OzHochtief subsidiary Leighton

has secured two PPP contracts in Australia having a combined worth of over 3 billion. Leighton will have a share of 1.85 billion in the projects. As part of one of the contracts, two Leighton subsidiaries that are part of a consortium will design, finance and construct 36 km rapid transit train service in Sydney as well as operate it for 15 years. The contract is part of the North West Rail Link for which Leighton has been executing another contract worth over 800 million.

Leighton subsidiary John Holland, as part of a joint venture, will build and operate a prison in Melbourne which will house about 1,000 inmates. Leighton will have a share of about

450 million in the contract. Much of this total infrastructure

growth is expected to be funded by PPPs -- around 35 billion in PPP projects are expected to commence by 2020 -- providing opportunities for the group as equity participant, contractor and asset manager.

Denmark’s railway infrastructure manager Banedanmark has started preparatory construction work on the

1.2 billion Ringsted-Fehmarn railway project in Denmark. Work will involve

Lunda Construction Company, a subsidiary of Tutor Perini, has secured three projects in Wisconsin and Minnesota in the US with a combined worth of about $319 million. The first contract, value at about $198 million, has been awarded by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation for construction of the first phase of the Zoo Interchange in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The project will be carried out by a three-member joint-venture

The UK government has approved a new £4 billion Thames tideway project to address the issue of London’s failing sewerage system. Being the largest ever Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP), the decision to grant approval for this project was made under the Planning Act 2008. The old sewerage

upgrades to 115 km of railway over the islands of Zealand and Lolland-Falster to the future fixed tunnel link across the Fehmarn Belt.

At present, the line is partially

team, which includes Lunda with its share being almost $60m in the project.

Work will involve construction of 14 bridges, 21 retaining walls, 11 noise walls, as well as other miscellaneous structures. Construction is scheduled to commence by October 2014 with substantial completion due for June 2016.

The second project has been awarded by the Minnesota Department

system of London is 150 years old and overflows, often raising serious health concerns.

The new Thames tideway tunnel, spanning 25 km, will help transport sewage and waste water from the capital for treatment and will reduce spills due to sewer overflow which can adversely affect those using the

single track and allows trains to run on a speed of 120 kmph on Lolland-Falster and 160 kmph on Zealand. But following opening of the Fehmarn Belt fixed link scheduled by end of 2021, there will be two tracks all the way enabling trains to run up to 200 kmph.

The line will be totally electrified featuring 1,000 mt long overtaking tracks in three places that will enable slower freight trains to pull over to the side to allow faster passenger trains to pass, and there will also be a new national ERTMS signaling system along the line.

The track and the tunnel will reduce journey times between Hamburg and Copenhagen, as well as facilitate freight transport between Scandinavia and the rest of Europe. The project has received over 30m in subsidy from EU’s TEN-T Programme.

of Transportation for Highway 610 Completion to I-94, in Maple Grove, Minnesota. The design-build contract, valued at about $81m, will involve construction of nine bridges, three miles of four-lane freeway, the Maple Grove Parkway interchange, and 3,600 feet of new frontage road. Construction is slated to commence by September 2014 and achieve substantial completion by October 2016.

river. Covering 14 London boroughs, the tunnel will stretch from West London (Acton Storm Tanks) to East London (Abbey Mills pumping station) possessing a storage capacity of 1,250,000 cubic metres.

The project will be paid for by Thames Water sewerage customers, while being financed and delivered by an independent specialist company, separate to Thames Water and with its own license from Ofwat. Construction work is scheduled to start by 2016.

September 22-28, 2014 12

EVENTSOctober 4, 2014

19th One Full Day WorkshopThe Institution of Engineers (India), Mahalaxmi, Mumbai Workshop on Jirnoddhara of RCC buildings which contains Structural Audit, Upgrading (House - Keeping, Regular Maintenance, Repairs, Rehabilitation); Fixing Leakage and Waterproofing of existing RCC buildings and a total new concept to construct RCC durable buildings without leakage with practicals on acrylic polymer-based flexible membrane waterproofing system. Contact: Jayakumar Jivraj Shah, Single Faculty Course Conductor, 203, Wing-B, Lakshmi Apartments, Corporation Bank Building, Behind Anand Nagar, Dahisar (East), Mumbai 400068. Cell: 919819242649 Phone: 28483541/9819242649 jjshah123123@rediffmail.com The Institution of Engineers (India), Mahalaxmi, Mumbai Phones: 022-23543650/23542943 Mobile: 09820392726

November 6-8, 2014ConMac 2014Khanapara Grounds, Guwahati, Assam In order to provide a platform for the construction equipment industry and to showcase the technology available for accelerating infrastructure development of North-East India, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will present ConMac 2014, a construction equipment & construction technology trade fair. The Indian Construction Equipment Manufacturers’ Association (ICEMA) is the sector partner for the event. Contact: J I Mahesh Kumar Tel: +91-9789814046 j.i.maheshkumar@cii.in www.conmac.in

November 13-15, 2014,World of Concrete India 2014HITEX Exhibition Centre, Hyderabad Business opportunities, networking services, one-to-one meeting with potential customers and presentation of some of the important products like aggregate processing, aggregates, anchors & fasteners, batching equipment, cleaning materials & equipment, coatings inspection, measurement, coatings, stains, sealers, computer hardware, software, cranes, cutting & drilling, decorative concrete, demolition equipment & materials by the exhibitors will be some of the highlights of this event. World of Concrete India will be attended by construction engineers, technical and professional experts related to concrete industry. Contact: Vivek Tyagi, Project Manager, Inter Ads Exhibitions Pvt Ltd. Tel: +91-124-4524207, +91-124-4524219 (M) +91 9871367808 Fax: +91-124-4524234 vivek.tyagi@interads.in http://worldofconcreteindia.com

November 25-28, 2014 Bauma China 2014 Shanghai New International Expo Centre 7th international trade fair for construction machinery, building material machines, construction vehicles and equipment. Contact: Ms Kim Kumer Tel: +49 89 949-20256 Fax: +49 89 949-97-20256 kim.kumer@messe-muenchen.de www.bauma-china.com

December 3-6, 2014IMME 2014Salt Lake Stadium Grounds, Salt Lake, KolkataThe event provides an ideal forum for miners, planners and policy makers to discuss various issues affecting the mining industry in the Asian region in particular, and also in the rest of the world. The event provides an excellent business opportunity for manufactures of mining and allied industry to showcase their technologies, new initiatives, products and services to global audience.The event is a unique platform for entrepreneurs, government officials, investors, traders, equipment buyers & suppliers, miners, engineers and son. Contact : J I Mahesh Kumar Mob: +91 9789808994 Email: j.i.maheshkumar@cii.in

December 5-7, 2014Zak Glass Technology Expo 2014Pragati Maidan, New DelhiZak Glass Technology is the most important event for the glass industry in India and South Asia. It is the leading fair for glass and glazing technologies. As the most important communication platform for the glass industry, the show provides with everything that a special fair has to offer. It is an ideal place to find new, innovative and exciting products related to the glass industry. Contact: Samrendra Kumar, Asst Manager, Zak Trade Fairs & Exhibition Pvt Ltd, F-25, Ground Floor, Kalkaji, New Delhi 19 Mob: +91 99530 02884 samrendra.kumar@zakgroup.com www.zakgroup.com

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EVENTS

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Autodesk showcases 3D Smart City model of Mumbai at Autodesk University 2014

engineering, and utility information into an accurate city model that can be used to simulate the future impact of decisions at a citywide scale.

The 3D smart city model of Mumbai that was unvei led at Autodesk University 2014 is an intell igent projection of the possibilities that the city has in terms of becoming a smart city.

The model covers around 40 per cent Mumbai data comprising South Mumbai and Bandra area. It also includes data related to scenario of Metro Line 3, and iconic structures like the Gateway of India, Mumbai Sea Link, the High Court area, Mumbai University, Rajashree Clock Tower, etc.

For developers, architects, urban planners, city officials and the public at large, there is nothing quite like a scale model of your city to gain new insights into your surrounds. 3D printing the model can add in a rapid-prototyping capability. The designers can swap in buildings or entire city blocks to explore design options and keep the model up-to-date in rapidly evolving neighborhoods.

Adding layers of data visualizations gives even more power to understand and visualize the way new buildings and infrastructure will impact urban landscape and people who live and work there.

Construction and infra projects related to urbanization in the PPP mode are a function of time, money and project approval.

A 3D digital model, by helping in the levels of detailing, helps minimize speculation and ensures project planning happens in the right way. This helps a project to remain within timeline; budget-line and original

blueprints, thereby speeding up the approval process, and also help in sustainable infrastructure planning. Design communicat ion can be enhanced by real time modifications and collaborations making the project viable.

Sunil MK, Head- AEC, Autodesk India, said, “Urban design at a citywide scale that can accommodate the burgeoning population without compromising on suitable living conditions, is the next great design challenge. While the world has woken up to the importance of smart cities, India has shown utmost promise w i th the government planning to establish 100 smart cities. Our Digital City technology provides a comprehensive approach

to create a sustainable city that balances economic and engineering demands with environmental and social needs.”

The techno log ies used by Autodesk to build the 3D smart city model of Mumbai comprised Infraworks 360 , DigiTerrain analysis, LiDar data elevation analysis, Sun Path analysis, Cut & Fill analysis for roads and bridges help in gaining crucial insights which are very helpful in creating digital cities.

T h e s e p r o c e s s e s u t i l i z e d information based on GIS data sets, digital elevation models, point data from GIS and LiDar, photo models, BIM data, Revit files, water pipe models, civil 3D corridors, model builder data from Autodesk, etc.

Autodesk Inc, one of the leaders in 3D design, engineering and entertainment creation software, unveiled its prowess in Digital City Technology by showcasing a 3D Smart City model of Mumbai at Autodesk University India & Saarc

2014, that aims to empower urban planners and designers in creating the world of the future.

A Digital City provides a way for the public, city government, construction and bus iness communi t ies to combine mapping, building, civil