IDEB to set up 55.7 km road stretch in Punjab by Aug'08

New Delhi, Aug 20 (UNI) Bangalore-based engineering construction company IDEB Projects Pvt Ltd has achieved financial closure of the 55.70 km, Rs 77 crore Patiala-Malerkotla road project awarded to the company on a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis, by the Punjab Government.

''The 11 meter wide two-lane toll road will be completed in the next 12 months. We will be collecting toll from the road for 15.5 years. This project marks the beginning of IDEB Group in the BOT arena, and we are eyeing large tenders for BOT road projects in joint ventures with international companies,'' IDEB MD HS Bedi told reporters here.

The property development company has received the concession from Department of Public Works (B&R) and Government of Punjab (GoP) to construct, upgrade and operate the Patiala- Malerkotla stretch for a period of 16.5 years, including construction period of 12 months.

The project cost of about Rs 77 crore has been financed by term loans from a consortium of Punjab National Bank and Canara Bank, led by the former. The 55.7 km stretch will have a total of 72 bridges, of which 4 will be major bridges.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) were the sole financial advisors to IDEB on the financial close process.

The company, alongwith the Shanghai Urban Construction Group (SUCG) has also bagged the Rs 165 crore project to design and build a 5.2 km elevated viaduct from Punjabi Bagh to Inderlok with five elevated stations for phase II of DMRC, which will be complete by 2010.

The entire Phase II stretch is around 70 km long.

SUGC, which has forayed into India with its partnership with IDEB, is keen to work on a joint venture basis with other Indian companies as well, for underground projects and other multi projects.

''India needs a lot of work done on its basic infrastructure, and requires more underground facilities,'' SUGC Chief Engineer Bai Yun said.

The company, which looks after both design and construction, has around 10 Mass Rapid Transport (MRT) projects outside India in Singapore, China and Hong Kong.

''Our annual turnover is 1.4 billion dollars of which 50 per cent comes from MRT projects,'' Mr Yun said.

IDEB, is also in the process of bidding for the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) stretches and more DMRC projects.

''Bidding for Central Secretariat to Ambedkar Colony begins from September 4. If we do get the project we will be looking after only the tunneling work,'' Mr Bedi said.

The company has plans to go public by the third quarter of 2008, and will use the funds raised for BOT and construction work.

''We will go public by the end of 2008, and will use the raised amount to further fund BOT and construction projects we undertake in the future. However, we haven't decided how much we will raise through the IPO,'' Mr Bedi said.

The IDEB group's current lead bankers are ICICI.

He added that by 2007, the company plans to figure within the top 15-20 companies, and in 2008, within the top 10-15 companies.

IDEB Projects reported a turnover of Rs 350 crore last fiscal and is aiming to achieve a total turnover of Rs 1,000 crore by FY07. The company's current order book stands at Rs 1,000 crore, and it occupies 6.5 million square feet of developed infrastructure in Pune, Uttaranchal, Dehra Dun and Jaipur.

IDEB Projects is involved in construction of infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, BOT projects, high rise buildings, mass housings, elevated and intricate RCC structures, treatment plants, etc.

Some of IDEB landmark projects include the 2.9 Km Elevated Viaduct for DMRC, 8,35,000 Sigma Soft-Tech Park in White Field, 2,35,000 sq'ft Sigma Mall on Cunningham road, Springfields, a 551-apartment high rise residential complex on Sarajpur road, Bangalore and a 63 km Road project in Madhya Pradesh.

Among other projects under execution by the company include an IT Park in Dehra Dun in joint venture with the government of Uttaranchal, through its State Industrial Development Corporation (SIDCUL) and residential apartments in Bangalore, Pune, Jaipur and Mysore.

The company has four divisions -- construction projects, real estate, framework manufacturing systems and hospitality.

''We will be setting up tri-star hotels in various cities in India including Pune, Mysore and Delhi. The tri-star hotel in Saket, Delhi, will be up by January 2007. The hotel in Bangalore is already functional,'' Mr Bedi said.

He added that 600-750 hotel rooms will be ready by December 2008 across India.

UNI RA PV HT1357