30 July, 2018
Indian Infrastructure Sector Could See Investment From Saudi Arabia
India has been seeking investment from Saudi Arabia for its infrastructure sector for a longtime. The efforts have intensified now, with the world’s biggest oil producer, Saudi Aramco, partnering with the consortium of Indian state-run companies to set up the largest global refinery and petrochemical complex at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra at an investment of $44 billion. Saudi Aramco will enter fuel retailing in India, where the energy demand is likely to grow at 4.2% in the next 25 years. Further the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia, which is an investor in SoftBank’s Vision Fund and Uber, is now looking to invest in India’s infrastructure sector. PIF, which is the Kingdom’s chief investment vehicle, intends to increase its assets under management from $230 billion to more than $400 billion by the year 2020. Building “strategic economic partnerships” is among its key objectives.
Govt. Of Andhra Pradesh Inks Concession Agreement For Development Of Nellore Airport
Nellore International Airport Pvt Ltd, a consortium of SCL-Turbo, has inked the concession agreement for the development of a greenfield airport and a cargo hub at Dagadarthi, about 25 km from Nellore in Andhra Pradesh.
Managing Director of Nellore International Airport, inked the concession agreement with the Managing Director of Andhra Pradesh Airport Development Corporation Ltd. Described as one of the no-frills airports to be developed in the country, it will be developed on a 1,350 acres of land, for which the acquisition is complete. As per the concession agreement, a revenue share of 9% has been offered to the government.
The consortium has reportedly, collaborated with a French airport operator for operations and maintenance. It is expected to handle a capacity of up to 2 million passengers a year and 55,000 tonnes of cargo. This airport is expected to play a key role in the fast growing industrial hub and the proposed Cargo Village will serve as a cargo hub not just for Andhra Pradesh State and also for Chennai.
Govt. Of Odisha To Set Up 20 New Hospitals On PPP Mode
The Government of Odisha has decided to set up 20 new hospitals at an estimated cost of Rs 1,000 crore on public private partnership (PPP) mode. The decision in this regard was taken at a high level meeting chaired by the Chief Minister. The hospitals would be developed in eleven high priority districts under Odisha Health Service Investment Policy-2016. The planned hospitals would be built with an investment of over Rs 1000 crore and are expected to generate employment opportunities for over 10,000 para-medics. The hospitals would be developed on Hub and Spoke model under the Affordable Health care Project of the State Government. Out of the total 20 hospitals, some hospitals will function as central hospitals and the rest will operate as branch hospitals or spokes.
Delhi Metro Phase-IV And Many Other Metro Projects Granted In-principle Approvals
The Ministry of Finance has granted an in-principle approval to three corridors of Delhi Metro Phase-IV which have a combined length of 61.66 km, out of the total 104 km of the proposed Phase-IV project of the Delhi Metro.
The three corridors, for which approval has been sought in the first phase, would be built at a cost of Rs 29,000 crore. As per the original plan, work on this phase would have commenced in April 2016 however, in the absence of the Government approval, the start date kept getting postponed.
The Ministry of Finance has also granted in-principle approval for metro projects in Indore, Bhopal, Kanpur, Agra, and Meerut. The final approval would be granted under the aegis of new Metro Rail Policy, which was cleared by the Union Cabinet in 2016. Besides, the Finance Ministry has also approved a proposal of rapid rail project connecting Delhi to Meerut. All such proposals would be put up before Public Investment Board (PIB) to evaluate and scrutinise the investment plans pertaining to these projects. Once the PIB approves these projects , the proposals would be put up to Union Cabinet for approval.
The new Metro Rail Policy seeks to introduce Public-Private Partnership (PPP) component in the sector by making it mandatory for seeking central assistance. As per policy, private investment and other innovative forms of financing of metro projects has been made compulsory to meet resource demand for capital intensive high capacity metro projects. The new policy also aims at ensuring provision of last-mile connectivity and preventing escalation in cost of projects.
For further information, please contact:
Vineet Aneja, Partner, Clasis Law
vineet.aneja@clasislaw.com
