Category: Infrastructure

IRB Infra CFO says executable order book is at ₹10,000 crore for next two years

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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With the incorporation of two new toll-operate-transfer (TOT) assets into their portfolio, IRB Infrastructure Developers’ now has an executable order book of around ₹10,000 crore for the next two years.

This includes an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) order book of ₹7,000 crore with the balance in operation and maintenance (O&M), Tushar Kawedia, Group CFO of the company said in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

The total order book was at ₹36,185 crore as of December 2023.

IRB’s toll revenue jumped 30% year-on-year (YoY) to ₹481 crore for March 2024.

“The new assets from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) side, TOT 12 and TOT 13, which commenced operations on April 1, will start contributing to the toll collections in the next year. We expect a good robust growth further for FY25 as well,” he added.

He expects revenue growth of around 10-11% this financial year (FY25).

Also Read | IRB Infrastructure shares surge 18% in two days; more steam left?

IRB Infra also has a good pipeline of orders from NHAI in the build-operate-transfer (BOT) space.

“Around ₹2 lakh crore worth of assets is expected to come for bidding in the next one and a half to two years. We are quite confident to get a couple of them,” Kawedia said.

In March, IRB Infrastructure Developers announced that Cintra, a transport infrastructure developer and subsidiary of the Spanish infrastructure group Ferrovial, has acquired a 24% stake in IRB Infrastructure Trust from GIC Affiliates for ₹6,590 crore.

The acquisition, finalised through a definitive agreement, also encompassed a 24% stake in MMK Toll Road, the investment manager of the Trust.

Kawedia said the deal happened at the private infrastructure investment trusts (InvIT) level where the stake was acquired from GIC Affiliates.

Also Read | IRB Infra shares rally 10% after Kotak Institutional cites strong balance sheet for upgrade

On April 8, brokerage firm CLSA retained its buy rating on the IRB stock while raising the target price to ₹81 apiece from ₹63.

CLSA believes IRB, which is India’s leading toll platform, has steam left in re-leveraging its equity.

The current market capitalisation of the company is ₹41,161.82 crore.

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

L&T wins ‘significant’ orders for its hydrocarbon business

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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[wealthdesk shortname=”Larsen” isinid=”INE018A01030″ bseid=”500510″ nseid=”LT” sector=”Infrastructure – General” exchange=”nse”]

Larsen and Toubro Ltd. (L&T) on Thursday announced that the company’s hydrocarbon business has won two significant orders. The company did not disclose the exact value of the orders but it follows the practice of putting orders worth Rs 1,000-2,500 crore in the ‘significant’ category.

L&T Energy Hydrocarbon has secured two prestigious orders for its Asset Management and AdVENT (Advanced Value Engineering and Technology) business verticals.

L&T Energy Hydrocarbon – Asset Management, a new business vertical for operations and maintenance (O&M) and associated services in the global market, has secured its first integrated O&M contract from Vedanta Ltd., Cairn Oil and Gas division.

This 5-year contract is for integrated O&M of the upstream oil and gas processing facility at Raageshwari Gas Terminal and associated gas well pads and south satellite fields located in Rajasthan.

Further, the L&T Energy Hydrocarbon – AdVENT business vertical has received an order for engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of a hydrogen generation unit from Matheson Tri Gas Inc., a subsidiary of Nippon Sanso Holdings Corp.

The company added that the EPC work of the project will be executed by L&T under a stringent timeline of 30 months.

Shares of L&T ended 0.72 percent lower at Rs 2,179.70 on Thursday.

Also Read: L&T construction wins a “large” order in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Reliance Infra-Delhi Metro case: SC gives high court 3 months to resolve Rs 4,500 crore dues issue 

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Supreme Court has given the Delhi High Court a three-month deadline to decide on the issue of outstanding payment of Rs 4,500 crore to Reliance Infra, after it noted that prima facie directions from the apex court to pay the arbitral award was disobeyed by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).

The top court noted that the law for executing arbitral awards is not different for government or government-controlled entities and maintained that the Delhi HC has been adjourning proceedings from time to time and directed the court to take the issue to its “logical conclusion”.

In March 2022, the Supreme Court had upheld the the 2017 arbitration award by Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited (DAMEPL),  which totaled almost to Rs 4,500 crore. Despite the SC affirming the arbitral judgement, Reliance Infra alleged that the DMRC had not made the required payments.

Reliance Infra claims that DMRC is in contemptuous defiance of SC orders and said this “circus needs to end”. It has pushed for a payment timeline, claiming that in the absence of clarity, “someone has to go to jail.” Additionally, the company also asked for an undertaking from the DMRC’s managing director.

The SC on Monday declined to grant four more weeks to the Centre and gave a deadline till December 14 to provide clarification on the Rs 4,500 crore payment, since the DMRC has “already had enough time”. The Court forewarned that in the event of noncompliance, it will take a “very serious view”.

Earlier, the court had sent a notice to the DMRC seeking a response by December 12.  Similarly, the Delhi High Court had also given the DMRC till December 12 to come up with a strategy to refund the unpaid sum of an arbitral award in DAMEPL’s favour. DAMEPL is an infrastructural division of Reliance.

The SC in last hearing reprimanded the Centre, saying that while on one hand it promotes India as a centre for arbitration with grandiose speeches, on the other side it refuses to uphold arbitral awards upheld by the SC.

Also Read: Reliance Infra-Delhi Metro case: SC gives Centre December 14 deadline for payment clarity of Rs 4,500 crore

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Nagpur Metro sees over 1 lakh commuters on day two

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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More than one lakh commuters took the Nagpur Metro on its two lines on the second day of the inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the project operator said on Tuesday, December 13. Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (Maha Metro) operates passenger services of the mass rapid transport system.

Maha Metro, in a press release, said it has crossed a milestone as ridership on Monday, the second day after inauguration of the two lines, was 1,09,754. “It has been a great achievement for Maha Metro Nagpur, just a day after the entire project got operational. The rush on the recently opened two lines was experienced almost throughout the second day. In fact, Maha Metro ridership has been continuously on the rise and considering these factors and anticipating further rush, Maha Metro had deployed required staff at all levels to handle the increasing number of commuters,” said the release.

Also read: Operations were partiality curtailed on Delhi Metro Blue Line section on Sunday

The passenger services on the two remaining sections of Prajapati Nagar-Sitabuldi Interchange and Automotive Square-Kasturchand Park corridors were inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi in the morning on December 11. Thereafter passenger services on the two lines got operational at 12 noon, said the release.

Commuters’ rush on the two lines was witnessed since morning, especially on the Central Avenue route. The opening day (December 11) ridership of the Nagpur Metro Project, which includes all the four reach (stretch), was 79,701. This was the highest ridership figures ever on a Sunday (December 11), it said.

Also read: PM Modi inaugurates several projects including MOPA international airport and new Vande Bharat Express

Maha Metro operates passenger services from 6 am to 10 pm and they would be increased as per commuters’ demand, said the release. Given the current trend, the Maha Metro ridership is expected to touch 1.5 lakh mark in the coming days, it added. .

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Adani Cement unveils new waste management arm called Geoclean

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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[wealthdesk shortname=”ACC” isinid=”INE012A01025″ bseid=”500410″ nseid=”ACC” sector=”Cement – Major” exchange=”nse”]

Adani Cement on Tuesday unveiled its waste management arm Geoclean with a renewed focus on building a circular economy and conserving natural resources.

Geoclean, which was earlier known as Geocycle, will offer sustainable and innovative waste management solutions to the agricultural, industrial, and public/municipal sectors.

Through co-processing the waste from these sectors, it will ensure the recovery of energy and the recycling of materials from waste, leaving zero residues.

Geoclean also aims for the conservation of natural resources through the replacement of traditional fuels with alternate fuels and raw materials (AFR).

Also Read: Cement demand bounces back in November as raw material prices cool

By co-processing approximately 3.7 million tonnes of alternative fuels, Geoclean is targeting to increase the thermal substitution rate to 30 percent by 2027 for ACC and Ambuja Cements from the previous year’s 6 percent. The thermal substitution rate indicates the share of energy supplied via alternative fuels.

Geoclean has developed 14 co-processing facilities across India around AFR storage areas, feeding arrangements, and laboratories that support Adani Cement.

It is also targeting to remove 2,400 tonnes of plastic waste every year at Mantola canal in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, through its innovative bubble barrier technology.

A similar technology is deployed at the BBMB Lake in the Sundernagar area of Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, to remove plastic waste from the water body. The plastic collected from these water bodies is sent to recycling centers for further processing.

Both Ambuja Cements Ltd. and ACC Ltd. are part of the Adani Group. Ambuja has a capacity of 31.5 million tonnes with six integrated cement manufacturing plants and eight cement grinding units across the country, while ACC has 17 cement manufacturing sites over 83 concrete plants in India.

Shares of Ambuja Cements and ACC are trading higher by 0.068 percent and 0.52 percent at Rs 585.45 and Rs 2,656.20, respectively.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Shares of the world’s largest aluminium and alloy conductor manufacturer are at a 52-week high

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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[wealthdesk shortname=”Apar Ind” isinid=”INE372A01015″ bseid=”532259″ nseid=”APARINDS” sector=”Electric Equipment” exchange=”nse”]

Shares of leading aluminium and alloy conductor manufacturer Apar Industries spurted by over 7 percent to hit a fresh 52-week high in morning deals on Tuesday. The stock has rallied over 34 percent in the past three months on stellar financial performance and has more than doubled in the past year.

Shares of the Mumbai-headquartered company opened lower at Rs 1,598.05 but later picked up the pace to touch Rs 1,726, its 52-week high, on the BSE.

Apar Industries is the world’s leading aluminium and alloy conductor manufacturer. The company, the third-largest manufacturer of transformer oil, supplies conductors, a wide variety of cables, specialty oils, polymers, and lubricants.

Care Ratings last week revised its outlook on the long-term debt instruments of Apar Industries to ‘Positive’ from ‘Stable’ while reaffirming the ratings at CARE A/CARE A1.

The rating agency expects an improvement in the business risk profile over the medium term. The ratings continue to factor in the company’s well-established and dominant position in the conductors, transformer, and specialty oil (TSO) segment.

The consolidated revenue of the company rose by 43 percent year-on-year to Rs 3,235 crore in the September quarter. This was largely driven by volume growth, an increase in commodity prices, especially oil-related products, and substantial growth in the export business.

Export revenue grew by 85 percent year-on-year, contributing to 47 percent of the company’s overall revenues compared to 36 percent a year ago.  EBITDA was also up 82 percent to Rs 237 crore at a margin of 7.3 percent. Profit after tax came in at Rs 103 crore, a rise of 80 percent over the previous year.

According to exchange data, promoters hold a little over 60.64 percent stake in the company. Among the promoters, Chairman and Managing Director Kushal Narendra Desai has a 24.06 percent stake while Chaitanya Narendra Desai has a 23.84 percent holding.

Among public shareholders, mutual funds such as HDFC Trustee Company Limited, L&T Mutual Fund Trustee Ltd., Nippon Life India Trustee Ltd., and banks hold a little over 16 percent stake in the company.

Shares of the company are trading at Rs 1,690.50, up 5 percent.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

GR Infraprojects sells entire stake in subsidiary to Lokesh Builders for Rs 15 crore

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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GR Infraprojects Ltd on Monday, December 12, said it has sold its entire stake in its wholly-owned subsidiary, namely GR Highways Investment Manager Private Ltd (GHIMPL), to Lokesh Builders for Rs 15 crore. Upon completion of the stake sale to Lokesh Builders, GR Highways Investment Manager Private Ltd would cease to be a subsidiary of GR Infraprojects.

GHIMPL was incorporated on March 23, 2022. The expected date of completion of the sale is on or before December 31, 2022.

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GR Infraprojects is one of the leading integrated road EPC companies with experience in design and construction of various road and highway projects across 14 states in the country.

It has experience in constructing state and national highways, bridges, culverts, flyovers, airport runways and rail over-bridges.

Shares of GR Infraprojects Ltd ended at Rs 1,224.45, down by Rs 2.45, or 0.20 percent on the BSE.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Coal Ministry issues allocation order for 6 mines, Rs 130-cr annual revenue expected

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Union Coal Ministry on Monday, December 12, said it has issued allocation orders for six coal mines for which the Coal Mine Development and Production Agreement (CMDPA) was signed on October 17, 2022. The six coal mines are Barra, Maiki North, Alaknanda, Basantpur, Bandha North, and Kasta East, the Coal Ministry said.

Of the six coal mines, one is under the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, of 2015 and five are under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act of 1957. One coal mine is fully explored and the remaining mines are partially explored ones, it said.

Also Read: Government may again lower windfall taxes on December 15

The peak rate capacity (PRC) of a fully explored mine is 1.89 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). The total geological reserve of six coal mines is 2,302 million tonnes. These mines are expected to generate an annual revenue of Rs 130.08 crore calculated on the basis of PRC and will attract capital investment of Rs 283.50 crore. It will provide employment to 2,555 people both directly and indirectly.

With the allocation of these six coal mines, a total of 45 allocation orders have been issued to date with a cumulative PRC of 85 MTPA.

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Reliance Infra-Delhi Metro case: SC gives Centre December 14 deadline for payment clarity of Rs 4,500 crore

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Supreme Court chastised the Centre on Monday for its failure to pay an arbitral award for Rs 4,500 crore following a lawsuit filed by Reliance Infra against Delhi Metro Rail Corporation  (DMRC). The top court forewarns that in the event of noncompliance, it will take a “very serious view.”

Earlier, the court had sent a notice to the DMRC regarding this, asking for a response by December 12.  Similarly, the Delhi High Court had also given the DMRC till December 12 to come up with a strategy to refund the unpaid sum of an arbitral award in Delhi Airport Metro Express Pvt Ltd’s (DAMEPL) favour. DAMEPL is an infrastructural division of Reliance.

Since the DMRC has already had enough time, the SC has declined to grant it four more weeks. Instead, the Centre has till December 14 to provide clarification on the Rs 4,500 crore payment.

Also read: DMRC to deposit Rs 1,000 crore in escrow account in arbitration case versus Reliance Infra

However, Reliance Infra has pushed for a payment timeline, claiming that in the absence of clarity, “someone has to go to jail.” Additionally, the company also asked for an undertaking from the DMRC’s managing director.

In March 2022, the Supreme Court maintained the DAMEPL’s 2017 arbitration award, which totaled almost Rs 4,500 crore and was enforceable against the DMRC.

Despite the SC affirming the arbitral judgement, Reliance Infra alleged that the DMRC had not made the required payments.

The SC reprimanded the Centre, saying that while on one hand it promotes India as a centre for arbitration with grandiose speeches, on the other side it refuses to uphold arbitral awards upheld by the SC.

Also read: Bharat Electronics signs MoU with DMRC to develop indigenous train control system

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Tamil Nadu, national infrastructure fund start work on 7 projects under PPP model

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited (NIIFL) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Development Board (TNIDB) to help attract commercial capital into infrastructure opportunities in the state, under the public private project (PPP) model. Work has been initiated on seven projects across departments that have the potential to attract private investment in the Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 crore range under the MoU.

The NIIFL in a statement said that the collaborative investment platform would support the infrastructure development board in identifying potential private sector investment opportunities, including for asset recycling and developing greenfield and brownfield infrastructure projects in sectors such as renewable energy, roads, waste management, water, tourism and other related sectors with the objective of catalysing capital into the state.

Also read: Ather Energy announces expansion in Tamil Nadu, plans to set up 150 power grids in state 

“Tamil Nadu has witnessed a manufacturing-led growth over the last few years. NIIFL has been collaborating with the Tamil Nadu government over the last year on a set of interesting project ideas. This MoU formalises our relationship with the state government and is in consonance with the broader mandate of NIIFL,” Prasad Gadkari, the executive director and chief strategy officer of NIIFL said.

Aside from healthcare, transportation, renewable energy, urban infrastructure, and new-age manufacturing, NIIFL also works with various central and state government ministries to evaluate and structure investment opportunities that can attract private capital and meet the economic priorities of the nation and states.

Also read: NIIFL to invest Rs 3,036 crore in J&K tunnel road Navayuga Quazigund Expressway

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow