Pradeep's Journal

GMR Infra Team Bags Hyderabad–Vijayawada Highway Project

The consortium led by GMR Infrastructure Ltd has won the 181 km Hyderabad–Vijayawada highway project to be executed on a Build, Operate and Transfer (Toll) basis through international competitive bidding process. The Group received the Letter of Award from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on May 27. This is the seventh highway project of GMR [...]

Tata Signs Deal With Sirkorsky To Manufacture S-92 Cabin

Indian conglomerate Tata took another step towards establishing itself as a major player in the country’s aerospace industry after signing an agreement with Sikorsky to manufacture S-92 helicopter cabins. The agreement between Tata Group subsidiary Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) and Sikorsky, a United Technologies Corporation subsidiary, envisages delivery of the first cabin by late 2010 [...]

Satyam To Put 7,000-10,000 Staff On “Virtual Pool”

Technology outsourcer Satyam Computer Services, which has launched a cost-cutting drive to improve its bottomline, said it would put around 7000-10,000 staff on “virtual pool” as part of its strategy to manage excess staff and cut costs. Satyam plunged into a crisis in January ever since its founder and former chairman Ramalinga Raju shocked investors by [...]

Air India To Set Up MRO Facilities In Hyderabad

State-run carrier Air India is setting up maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad at an approximate investment of Rs 80 crore. Arvind Jadhav, chairman and managing director of the airline, laid the foundation stone for the MRO and engineering facilities here on Thursday. The project is expected [...]

HMDA Master Plan For ‘New City’

If Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) has its way, even Charminar may be demolished for wider roads. Likewise, heritage structures like Old Jail in Secunderabad, Ek Minar in Nampally and King Koti palace will have to demolished to make way for over 100-feet roads. In the near future, even lanes and bylanes in the twin [...]

ORR Phase-II A To Be Completed By May 2010

The HMDA is set to complete the phase IIA of the Outer Ring Road in May next year, six months ahead of schedule, officials said. Work between Shamshabad and Pedda Amberpet is on in full swing. Officials who inspected the works on Saturday said 40 per cent work was complete. “We asked the contractors to complete [...]

SCB Sits On Road Widening Projects

It has been two years since experts conducted a study and recommended widening of the two roads up to 80 feet.The existing width varies from 30 to 40 feet. The Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) has been delaying the widening of two important roads that link Secunderabad with Safilguda, Kapra, Alwal and Malkajgiri Traffic jams are a [...]

ORR Project Faces Cash Crunch

Though the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) claims Outer Ring Road (ORR) Phase II-A will be completed by May, 2010, the ORR project officials are struggling to pay Rs 180 crore towards land compensation to farmers in villages abutting both Phase II-A and Phase II-B areas. About 100 acres of land was acquired for ORR phase [...]

Recession Effects: Interns In Demand

In today’s recession-struck market, where companies are struggling to stay afloat, it’s interns who are considered hot property. Both MNCs and smaller firms find it more profitable to rope in eager interns, instead of paying fancy pay cheques to experienced employees. Apart from willing to work for next-to-nothing stipends, or in some cases, even for free, [...]

HMDA In Need Of Cash For PVNR Expressway

To complete the PVNR Expressway , the HMDA plans to secure loans from banks as it has no funds. The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) hoped to raise money through land auctions but there has been no response for that. There has also been no response from the five district collectors-Hyderabad , Ranga Reddy, Medak, Nalgonda [...]

US Consulate Opens Visa Services At Hyderabad

The American dream came a little closer to the residents of Andhra Pradesh with the US Consulate office in Hyderabad throwing open its visa services for those wishing to travel to the US. Interview appointments for all visas commenced on Wednesday. To begin with, the temporary consulate at Paigah Palace would conduct 100 visa interviews a [...]

Realty Prices ‘Will Not Go Up For Atleast Two Years’

With a 6,000-acre land bank in Mumbai and over 27 million sq.ft across 30 ongoing projects, the Lodha Group is clearly one of the largest developers in the country. Valued at over Rs 32,000 crore, it has 300 million sq.ft under planning, slotted for delivery over the next five years. Beyond Mumbai, it has launched a [...]

Quintiles & Apollo To Setup Clinical Trial Unit

US-based Quintiles Transnational Corporation, a pharmaceutical services provider, has entered into a partnership with Apollo Hospitals group to open a Phase I clinical trial unit in Hyderabad. The unit will allow customers additional options to complete integrated Phase I programmes across multiple geographies at this stage in medical research. “Phase I development in both healthy volunteers [...]

Citi, Merrill, Novartis, GSK May Drop Satyam Contracts

Troubles keep mounting for Satyam Computer Services. Four of its large clients — Citigroup, Merrill Lynch (ML), Novartis and GlaxoSmithKlein (GSK) — are in talks to move their business from the Hyderabad-based company to other Indian IT firms. These clients contribute over $200 million to Satyam’s topline. In response to queries about the contribution of Citi, [...]

Hyderabad Realty In A Flux

The real-estate market in Hyderabad continues to be in a state of flux with the slowdown taking a toll on the sector, even as the Satyam scandal has cast a shadow on real-estate projects as well as land deals. With thousands of acres around the city now put under the scanner, developers have become extra [...]

Realty Majors Witness Worst Quarterly Drop In Profit

Realty majors DLF, Unitech, Parsvnath and Ansal Properties today reported their worst quarterly drop in profit in at least six years as faltering economic growth crimped demand for homes and offices. DLF, the nation’s biggest real estate developer, reported a 69 per cent drop in consolidated profit at Rs 670.79 crore, trailing analysts estimates. The company [...]

DLF, Unitech Following ‘Satyam’s’ Path? Credit Suisse Report Smells Something

DLF, Unitech lack in transparency: Credit Suisse Credit Suisse, a global investment banking major has said in a report that in terms of transparency and key disclosures, the country’s top real estate firms including DLF and Unitech are found lacking. Noting that related-party transactions account for a significant portion of their revenues, its report said that their [...]

Market Wisdom: Is It The Right Time To Buy?

Instead of waiting for prices to fall and enter the market at the lowest possible level, an end user should try to identify a suitable property and negotiate hard to buy it, says Prabhakar Sinha. Will the real estate prices fall further? When will the revival in real estate sector begin? These are the key questions [...]

Wells Fargo Dumps Maytas Hill County

The world class Maytas Hill County SEZ, a flagship venture of Maytas Properties and the only venture of the company still afloat is now in trouble. US-based Wells Fargo, the first and only firm to have tied up with the SEZ coming up in Bachupally and had even located its office there, pulled down its [...]

Underpass at Aramgarh To Be Made Available For Public Soon

A major initiative aimed at providing a smooth ride to the International Airport at Shamshabad has been to ensure that traffic landing from the proposed expressway does not get stuck at Aramgarh junction. Part of the P.V. Expressway project — the underpass — at this junction is almost complete, though the 11.4-km expressway is months [...]