Tata Realty targeting an order book of Rs.30,000 crore by 2015 in construction

Tata Realty and Infrastructure Ltd (TRIL) is targeting an order book of Rs.30,000 crore by 2015, building logistics parks, roads, airports, rapid transport systems,TRIL, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, is currently executing around Rs.8,000 crore worth of realty projects all over India.

TRIL would soon set up a logistics park at Guwahati and was in talks with a foreign partner who would bring in the technology.The company has budgeted Rs.1,400 crore for building 14 logistics parks with some cities having multiple parks.TRIL is now executing the Pune-Sholapur road project with an outlay of Rs.1,500 crore.It has floated a subsidiary to execute road projects investing $122.5 million and private equity firm Actis putting in $77.5 million.


Tril target is to do $2 billion worth of road projects in four years time frame.Planning to bid for two greenfield airport projects at Nagpur and Pune, the company will be building a private airport at steel city Jamshedpur.In the area of urban transportation, TRIL is in the process finalising the joint venture partner for mono rail business and would start bidding for projects in Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad,.Seeing the rush from corporates to set up units in SEZs before Dec 2011, TRIL has tweaked its strategy to lease out space to multiple companies at its upcoming Ramanujam IT SEZ here, instead of leasing out to a single player."It is a derisking strategy. As and when a company wants to expand we would provide the needed space. The probability of some tenants expanding operations is higher when their number is higher than hoping on couple of big tenants to expand.

the Rs.3500-crore, 4.5 million square feet project will be completed in three phases. The first phase of 700,000 sq ft will be ready by this December and by next March another facility of similar size will be completed.The project consists of IT SEZ, high end residential apartments and serviced apartments, convention centre and retail complex.

deals between two giants for construction

Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL), may offer a minority equity stake to a third technology partner in its proposed joint venture with Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) to manufacture high-grade steel.

B P Rao, Chairman and Managing Director, BHEL, said that they are in discussions with SAIL for construction of plant. The company estimates this construction will take more five-six months to finalise. Also, the company is looking for a third technology partner. The Company will offer a minority stake to the third party, while BHEL and SAIL might have equal stake in the venture.

The high-grade steel used to make power equipment is currently imported. BHEL's move is aimed at securing domestic supplies of essential raw material like CRGO steel, alloy steels, castings and forgings, among others.

Its order book is Rs 1,44,000 crore and it has the capacity to manufacture power equipment with a cumulative generation capacity of 15,000 Mw per annum, to be increased to 20,000 Mw by the end of 2010-11. It also plans to increase investment on its research and development to Rs 1,200 crore by 2011-12, from Rs 829 crore in 2009-10.

Lavasa and LIC Housing have no links

"Lavasa construction company has nothing to do with LIC Housing Finance -- we have not taken a single penny from them," HCC chairman and managing director Ajit Gulabchand said today.

He denied any wrongdoing or involvement with Lavasa construction in the housing finance scam, in which LIC Housing Finance's chief R R Nair and a few public sector bank officials have been arrested by the CBI on November 24.

Gulabchand said, however, that HCC was fully co-operating with the CBI in its investigations.

CBI has also arrested Rajesh Sharma, chief executive of Money Matters, a firm that the investigating agency said had either bribed or attempted to bribe the officials to get loans sanctioned for many companies, including Lavasa.

Lavasa is considered to be India's first planned hill city located between Mumbai and Pune. Recently, Lavasa Corporation obtained market regulator Sebi's permission to file draft red herring prospectus for its public issue of around Rs 2,000-crore.

Gulabchand said that using a company like Money Matters was a "well-accepted practice" in the industry. He said Money Matters secured around Rs 200-crore out of HCC's Rs 800-cr long-term debt.

Environment Ministry's notice shocks Lavasa Corp.

Pune-based Lavasa Corporation , a subsidiary of HCC , today expressed shock over the Environment Ministry .s showcause notice to it for allegedly carrying out construction activities without approval.

"Lavasa Corporation Ltd is shocked at the receipt of a 'stop work' notice from the Ministry of External Affairs on November 26," a spokesperson from the company said in a statement.

Lavasa, engaged in the building and management of a hill-city near Pune, also said it has already responded to issues raised by the Environment Ministry.

"In an earlier communication to the government of Maharashtra, issues raised by the MoEF had already been responded to," the spokesperson said.

The MoEF had on November 25 slapped a showcause notice on Lavasa, a unit of Hindustan Construction Company (HCC), for carrying out construction activities without its approval in 25,000 hectares.

The ministry has given 15 days to the company, asking as to why the unauthorised structures erected by it, without any environmental clearance, between March 2003 and September 2006 in Mulshi and Velhe Talukas in Pune should not be demolished in their entirety.

The constructions, it said, were in violation of the Environment Impact Assessment Notification, 2006.

Raheja, Vedanta requests for SEZ rule relaxation put on hold

The commerce ministry has put on hold a decision on requests from Vedanta Group and Raheja Developers for relaxation of SEZ rules relating to land contiguity.

Vedanta Group had requested that a railway track be allowed through non-processing areas of its SEZ so that coal could be transported to its group firm Sterlite Energy's power plant. Sterlite Energy has set up a 2400 MW power plant adjacent to Vedanta Aluminium's SEZ.

Sources said a decision has been put on hold after representatives of the Revenue Department , who were present in the last Board of Approval (BoA) meeting on November 18, raised concerns of possibility of tax evasion.

While the Vedanata Aluminium SEZ needs to meet its energy requirements from the Sterlite power plant, the latter requires 17 lakh tonne coal annually. The movement of coal from mines to the power plant can be routed through a rail link connecting non-processing areas of the aluminium SEZ.

However, the contiguity rules do not allow for the construction of a rail passage.

Likewise, the Board of Approval (BoA) in the Commerce Ministry has also put on hold a decision on a request from Raheja Haryana SEZ Developers Pvt Ltd for relaxation of contiguity norms to enable it build an underpass.

Delhi Metro Debars Gammon For Zamrudpur Mishap...

Delhi Metro has debarred Gammon India , the construction company which is responsible for the Zamrudpur mishap that killed seven people, from participating in its projects for the next two years after finding its reply to the show-cause notice unsatisfactory.

The contractor has also been imposed a fine of Rs 5 crore by the Delhi Metro in an order issued on October 20.Gammon was issued a show-cause notice by Delhi Metro last year after it found that "design deficiency" was responsible for collapse of an under-construction bridge in the wee hours of July 12, 2009 at Zamrudpur in south Delhi.

The construction was part of the Central Secretariat-Badarpur corridor, which was partly opened to the public last month.In the notice issued to Gammon last July, Delhi Metro had asked the contracting company to explain why it should not be blacklisted for two years in the wake of the incident.

"The reply to the notice was found unsatisfactory, so the decision to debar the company was taken," a DMRC spokesman said.A four-member panel that went into the mishap fixed responsibility on Gammon for the accident and recommended the reconstruction or modification of four pier caps near the site.

In a 11-page report, the panel headed by IIT Professor A K Nagpal said there was a departure at site from the requirements of the design in the application of grout to the interface between the end plates of the steel strut and the face of the pier/pier cap to which the plates are attached.

"The drawings followed on site for construction of Pier 67 were advance copies and not authenticated by DMRC's design section. On enquiry, it was found that on occasions work commences without 'Good for Construction' signed drawings to avoid delayed construction," the report had said.

Wireless HVAC Control to Maximize Savings and Comfort Heating and Cooling Systems

First it was going from those old mercury thermostats to programmable thermostats. The next step? Wireless HVAC control.

If we're to maximize our heating and cooling savings in the home (and take a load off the power grid), wireless HVAC control could just be the way to go. Programmable thermostats are great--they let you set the time of the day to heat or cool and help you avoid unnecessary running of the system. But wireless HVAC control systems like Advector System's "SELECT-AIR SYSTEM" take it to another level. It's essentially the HVAC portion of a home automation or home control system, with thermostats that communicate wirelessly. In addition to the "master" thermostat--which controls up to 20 zones--and the individual room wireless thermostats which can replace a light switch, the SELECT-AIR SYSTEM also comes with wireless dampers and airflow registers called the inVENT, which is one of the cooler features to the modern system. The inVENT basically combines an HVAC damper, ceiling register and diffuser into one sleek-looking product that puts those old metal ceiling registers to shame.

Since the system is wireless, it's perfectly suited for a retrofit, which makes it an even more attractive upgrade. Cost for the SELECT-AIR SYSTEM would depend on the size of the house and the energy goals of the users, but according to one company spokesperson an "average" sized system could be installed for around $3,500.

China State Construction 1st-Half New Construction Contracts Up 52.5%

China State Construction Engineering Corp. (601668.SH) said Wednesday the value of its new construction engineering contracts rose 52.5% in the first half from a year earlier to CNY283.2 billion (US$41.8 billion).

The homebuilder said in a statement its property sales in the January-June period rose 7.5% to CNY26.9 billion.

However, in terms of floor space, the company's first-half property sales totaled 2.63 million square meters, down 15.1% from a year earlier. The company didn't provide year-earlier figures in its statement.

In mid-April, the central government moved to restrict speculation in the housing market by requiring higher down payments and mortgage rates for home buyers.

Real-estate agencies and private research firms generally reported significant drops in sales in May and June, with many consumers waiting to see how the government's measures play out before making a purchase.

PM to inaugurate Terminal 3 of IGIA

Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), New Delhi which will be inaugurated by Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India on 03 July 2010 will have the unique distinction of being one of the few airports in the world to go the ‘Green’ way.

Earlier in 2008, the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Hyderabad which was awarded with the (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) LEED- NC Silver Rating in 2008 has ushered in a Green movement in the Indian aviation sector. RGIA was the first airport in Asia to be awarded the LEED certification. In a recent survey RGIA was awarded the 5th position amongst the best airports in the world for all categories.

Adding impetus to the movement is the Terminal 3 of IGIA which has incorporated world-class energy efficient, eco-friendly and sustainable features and demonstrated that going Green is indeed the need of the hour. Terminal 3 has been designed and constructed as per the Indian Green Building Council’s (IGBC) Rating System for Commercial Buildings.

Some of the environment-friendly measures incorporated in the Terminal include: energy efficient building envelope, high performance air-conditioning, use of municipal waste to generate electricity, improved and healthier indoor air quality, rain water harvesting, use of efficient and low flow water fixtures, insitu waste water treatment, on-site reuse of treated water, electric car charging facilities, car pooling for staff, increased green cover, effective construction waste management, use of eco-friendly building materials such as certified wood, recycled materials, house-keeping chemicals, low VOC interior paints & coatings.

It is hoped the Indian Aviation sector will soon be in the international map of Green construction and demonstrate leadership in following the principles of Green buildings.

For a Premier Lab, a Zero-Energy Showcase

The federal government has just finished construction on a zero-energy office building, the nation’s largest, and is hoping that commercial developers will follow its lead. The 222,000-square-foot Research Support Facility is on the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory campus in Golden, Colo. Just over 800 employees will occupy the building once it officially opens in late August.

A zero-energy building creates as much energy as it uses over the course of a year, said John Andary, a principal at Stantec, the sustainable design consultants for the project. Thanks to various “passive” construction design techniques and technologies, the facility will consume 50 percent less energy than buildings constructed to current commercial codes, he predicts. The remaining power needs will be generated onsite from solar panels, allowing the building to operate at an annual net-zero energy basis.

Remarkably, many of the efficiency “innovations” are existing building techniques, some of them centuries old, that were developed to make the best use of natural light and the earth’s ability to heat and cool. By contrast, modern building design, based on the ubiquity of cheap energy, moved away from many of those principles.

The building’s east-to-west orientation and narrow 60-foot width will bring daylight into all interior work spaces. Typical office buildings may devote 30 percent of their total energy expenditures to lighting alone. To take advantage of the operable windows, one of the building’s many “smart” features will notify occupants in a message sent to their computer screens when they should open or close their windows, based on a comparison of inside and outside temperatures.

A layer of concrete on the outside, a layer of insulation and then a smooth concrete layer facing the interior office space. This gives the same effect as an old stone cathedral where the mass of the building absorbs heat during the day to keep the interior cool, and then releases this heat when the temperature drops at night.

A low-energy radiant heating and cooling system will further control the interior temperatures. Rather than using a traditional (and energy demanding) forced air system to heat and cool the building, the radiant system essentially heats or chills the building mass itself using water pipes in the concrete floor slabs that circulate hot or cold water depending on the season.

Corrugated metal panels cover much of the building’s south exterior, capturing solar heat and funneling it to a concrete thermal labyrinth beneath the building that also serves as the foundation. The labyrinth stores the heat or can release it into the building when additional heating is required during the coldest months.

Much of the building is composed of recycled materials, including some from the runway of Denver’s defunct Stapleton Airport. Reclaimed steel natural gas pipes are used as structural columns. The lobby is lined with wood recovered from Colorado pine trees destroyed by a bark beetle infestation that has been unfolding in this part of the country since 1996.

The Department of Energy expects the project to get a platinum rating from the United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, program. Platinum is its highest rating under LEED, the mostly widely accepted green building certification. Although more expensive than conventional commercial buildings, the new building’s cost, $259 per square foot, is in line with that of other LEED buildings. The Department of Energy plans to share the building’s design with any interested party through the publication of a how-to manual at the laboratory’s Web site this fall.

Green buildings rapidly evolving as best design standard

A green building, by definition, is one which conserves natural resources, is energy efficient, and a healthier space for its occupants as compared to a conventional building. In India, the green building movement has been pioneered by CII which set up the Indian Green Building Council in 2001 at the behest of then US President Bill Clinton. India has since rapidly moved up the ladder with the ITC and Patni structures ranking as two of the largest Platinum certified structures globally. At last count, India had a total of 52 certified green buildings and 428 green projects.

While some tend to argue that the cost of setting up a green building tends to be higher than a conventional one, the converts point out the energy savings that kick in along with reduced operating costs mean that the difference in costs can be recovered within the first three years of the building lifecycle. At the ITC Green Centre for instance, energy usage is pegged at 1,30,000 units instead of 6,30,000 units if this building was made with business as usual approach. ITC is now in the process of extending its green initiatives to all upcoming, and existing hotel properties, with the latest one, ITC Royal Gardenia in Bangalore aiming to be carbon positive by next year.

While most large real estate developers too have climbed onto the green bandwagon proclaiming that their future projects will be green, there has been some amount of reluctance since the cost benefits that kick in would be beneficial to the end consumer and not the developer. While green may cost marginally more than conventional spaces, it’s almost certain that as it grows in popularity, going green will provide a very compelling cost equation that few smart businesses will be able to resist.

Indian Vastu Sashtra

India is considered the mother of Vastu as the ancient saints have formulated various principles of it. It was written nearly thousand years ago where the sages kept in their minds the results of sunlight and energyand stabilizing all the nature's five elements in such a way to get the maximum advantage out of it. In India, it evolved around 5000 years ago and is considered a super science where as the origin of Chinese Feng Shui was 3500-4500 years ago.

Basically, Vastu Shastra deals with the exercise of architecture and construction or building science and in fact it gives a fair touch in every aspects of life on the earth as well as the universe. The basic theme remains a link that is ever-present between the man and cosmos. The word 'Vastu' was originated from the term 'VASTOSHPATI' which had its usage in the Rig Veda and is said to render happiness, prosperity and protection in life and after death too. However, Vastu Shastra truly conceives in the presence of Vastu Purush, who is considered the main deity of a building.

Vastu Shastra is a science of directions and is a study that acquires an entire command over the cognition of directions. In fact, there are actually eight directions namely, northeast, north, southeast, east, southwest, south, northwest and west. It is entirely an Indian science of architecture and space and how environments and spaces are created supporting the spiritual and physical prosperity and health. This had evolved in India during the Vedic times and the concepts of Vastu Shastra were transmitted to South East Asia, Tibet and ultimately to Japan and China where the developmental base of Feng-shui originated.

According to the Vastu Shastras, when one worships, fears and respects the lords of all the above said directions, it considered that benefits and blessings would be showered on us. Moreover, saints have searched the Vastu Shastra and we make only researches. The ancient science helped a lot in getting the benefits freely that are offered by five basic elements of the world in which everyone lead their lives. The five elements of the universe are sky (Akash), water (Paani), wind (Vayu), fire (Agni) and earth (Prithvi). It is believed that Vastu Shastra is a perfect understanding of geography, direction, environment, physics and topography and is essentially the art of placing the correct settings in a manner that yields the maximum benefits.

Stable Construction Industry in 2010

There has been a significant increase in asset ownership through build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) projects last year. Even then, Fitch Rating Agency has commented on the Indian construction sector to be stable for the year 2010 (as the rating agency expects.According to a study by ASSOCHAM, the burgeoning Indian construction industry, currently worth $70 billion, will rise to US$120 billion by 2010.

Ashok Leyland, India’s second-biggest commercial vehicle maker by sales, is all set to make a foray this year into the booming construction equipment segment dominated by players such as Telcon of Tata Motors, JB, Escorts, L&T, Caterpillar and Komatsu.Ashok Leyland CFO K Sridharan told that the joint venture with John Deere to manufacture construction equipment will take off in December this year. The company is setting up a facility near Gummidipoondi and has started testing products in the market. Diversified Hinduja Group on is close to acquire an Indian construction firm in a bid to secure a foothold in India's fast growing infrastructure sector, especially roads, and also announced an investment of USD 10 billion (around Rs 46,200 crore) in the power sector.

Foreign investors have remained bullish on India's housing, real estate and construction sectors in the last two years, undaunted by scarce global financial resources.Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in terms of inflows into equity in the Indian construction and realty sectors have seen a sharp rise from USD 1.19 billion in April-December 2007 to USD 5.6 billion in the first three quarters of the current fiscal, as per the official data. More over the government allows 100 per cent FDI through automatic route in construction development projects, including housing, resorts, commercial premises, educational institutions, recreational facilities, city and regional level infrastructure and townships. So it is showing a good sign for the Indian construction sector in the year 2010.There is a promising opporunity in building more in the country by which it has immense potential in generating huge amount of employment. It has been found out that construction industry offers employment to around 7% of the total employed work force around the globe.