Mukherjee said “We have several projects in Bengal and the Expressway is a small part of it. The momentary hold on the Raichowk-Kukrahati project will not affect our other projects, which are bigger in proportion. I have full confidence on the state government and the chief minister regarding the industrial development in the state,”.

In the teleconference, Mukherjee, who is now abroad, said he is till now to get an official order from the state government indicating that the Expressway project is on hold.

“But I have heard of it,” he said. “Regarding the Expressway, we are prepared to wait. Our initial work and land survey is over. Whenever a consensus for land is achieved, we will go ahead with it.”

On the subject of the land acquisition problem in Bengal, Mukherjee said: “People’s consensus is necessary for land acquisition. The people must be made aware of the positive side of development, before one asks for their land. I trust the government is doing just that.”

Mukherjee stressed that all major projects in Bengal, including the PCPIR and township developments projects, are on track and moving on smoothly.

“We already have 13,000 acres and are in a position to claim another 12,000 acres.”

A non-resident Indian, Mukherjee had mediated the deal between the Salim Group and the state government in July 31, 2006, two months after Bhattacharjee took began his second term as the chief minister.

From mid-2006, the mega corp announced three separate projects. The largest, involving an investment of Rs 40,000 crore, was to be implemented by a Special Purpose Vehicle, the New Kolkata Infrastructure Development.

The NKID was to set up two Special Economic Zones, a cluster or industrial estates, a 100-km Expressway and a clutch of townships, involving the acquisition of nearly 37,300 acres.

The NKID project received a setback in 2007, when people of Nandigram violently resisted the government’s attempts to acquire farmland for a chemical industrial estate and an SEZ without consulting them.

The result showed up this year: the CPM was routed in the elections to the three-tier panchayat setup in East Midnapore and South 24 Parganas.

Prem Subramaniam, Head, Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC) said, “There is not only a slowdown in the market, but also an alteration in project costs with the configuration of interest rates”.

While financial market analysts expect the decline in real estate stocks to continue in coming months, they also speculate that hotel projects will be stalled due to lack of liquidity and equity funding in the markets. On the contrary, hospitality consultants feel that projects that are already secured with funds will not be affected.

Out of the current order book, 56% pertains to government and 44% to private sector. The current order book as on May 2008 is at Rs 30224.6 million.

In order to diversify across real estate and infrastructure development, the company has initiated real estate projects across 3 cities through a wholly owned subsidiary.
The real estate projects are across Pune, Nagpur and Goa all in JV with BSEL Infrastructure.

Going forward, the company expects continued rapid and profitable growth – targeting topline and bottomline growth of more than 40% over the next couple of years.
The order book in March 2009 is expected to grow by more than 50% over that of March 2008.

Company is increasingly focusing on bigger ticket projects. It recently bagged on road project worth Rs 250 crore.

According to global consultancy Grant Thornton’s International Business Report 2008 on rising global Markets, China, India and Russia have emerged as the top three most- favored destinations for investment and development.

These are followed by Mexico at fourth and Brazil at fifth place. The study also revealed the presence of 22 other rapidly growing global economies, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, Thailand and Poland, that offer immense avenues for future growth.

“Availability of low-cost yet highly educated labor force with strong work ethics, combined with fast industrialization, technology deployment and a strong focus on infrastructure development is enabling these countries to close the gap with the more affluent and relatively slower-growing mature economies,” Chatrath said.

According to current projections, China’s Economy would move ahead of the US by 2027, India would catch up with the US by 2050 and the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China) as a group will surpass the G7 by 2032.

Emerging and developing economies’ will on an average grow by 6.3 % in 2008 and 6.4 % in 2009. In contrast, “advanced economies” are forecast to grow by 1.3 % during this period.

The Mahindra group’s real estate arm Mahindra City has roped in US-based architect and design firm HOK while Canadian firm Forrec, the lead architects behind Universal Studios, has tied up with Bombay Dyeing and Unitech. Lord Foster has tied up with the Neptune group to develop a 17-acre office complex called Evolution, near the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC). Neptune Group has reportedly paid Foster and Partner, Lord Foster ‘s firm $8 million for design alone.

“A city that works as hard as Mumbai deserves the best working environment possible. We will deliver a world class facility so far unmatched in the regions’ office property market,” Lord Foster was quoted as saying in a statement. Evaluation will be a low-rise structure, spread over 2 million square feet, easily accessible from the airport, three railway stations, two metro stations and two highways, with facilities like food court and health club.

Neptune group managing director Nayan Bheda said, “In each of our projects, we have tried to create a balance between little details and the big picture. We also believe that every piece of land has its unique potential. Fortunately, Lord Foster shares our vision and has agreed to come on board to unleash the potential.”

Similarly, the real estate and infrastructure development arm of the Mahindra Group, Mahindra Lifespaces has teamed up with US based HOK, one of the leaders in the global architecture and planning segment to develop the residential and social amenities zone at the Mahindra World City in Chennai.

HOK, which has developed landmark buildings including the Dubai Marina (the world’s largest planned waterfront community with a mix of residential, retail, hotel, office and recreational uses), is understood be working on other Mahindra projects as well, sources said.

HOK planning Group VP Jeff Davis said that the key challenge was to envision a master plan that would translate the vision of the Mahindra team while ensuring that it blended seamlessly with the natural surroundings. Forrec, the Canadian architectural firm, is a consultant to Unitech, DLF and Bombay Dyeing. Shapoorji Pallonji group has also teamed up with Craig Nealy for its joint venture projects in Pune.

HCC officials said two subsidiaries, HCC Real Estate and HCC Infrastructure, have already been formed and the third, HCC Capital, is in the process. HCC will focus on large-scale construction and engineering projects.

HCC chairman and MD Ajit Gulabchand said that they currently have presence in many infrastructure segments. He added, “We feel the restructuring will help us focus on the untapped segments”. For the past few years, HCC has been witnessing a strong growth in all segments it operates.

Mr. Gulabchand said that the number of projects being executed has increased manifold. However, most of our growth has come from the construction sector and opportunities in the engineering, real estate and other infrastructure segments are yet to be fully explored.

On Wednesday, HCC shares rose 2.7% to Rs 132.50 on BSE. The three companies will have separate CEOs and will bid for projects in their respective areas. They will also raise money and form joint ventures on their own.

HCC Infrastructure will focus on build-own-operate and transfer (BOOT) project opportunities in roads, hydropower, airports and ports. HCC is now the single-largest contractor of the National Highways Authority of India. It constructed more than 490 km of road in 2007/08 over 500 km in 2006/07. Besides, HCC Infrastructure will also bid for large projects in airports and hydro power.

HCC Real Estate will execute projects in real estate. However, HCC’s flagship real estate project, Lavasa near Mumbai, will continue to be a separate entity. A CLSA report released last week said the country’s infrastructure development is set to accelerate, backed by greater private sector participation and improved finances of government and public sector enterprises.

HCC Real Estate would build commercial centres, service apartments and hotels. HCC is currently developing an IT park called ‘247 Park’, a 1.9 million square feet project, and two slum rehabilitation schemes in Mumbai. It has plans to develop townships in Mumbai, Nasik and Nagpur.

HCC is also planning to own and finance select infrastructure projects in the future. HCC would route its investments in infrastructure projects through HCC Capital.

While continuing its operations in the construction space, HCC would mainly focus on building engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) capabilities, besides acquiring, executing EPC projects. It also has plans to enter the winery business and has acquired 400 acres of land in Nasik. For the fiscal ended March 31, HCC’s turnover crossed Rs 3,000 crore while its net profit touched Rs 108 crore.

Mr. Babbar would be in charge for the development of the Hinduja Group’s land banks located in key cities, including Bangalore, Mumbai and its adjecent areas, the NCR and Chennai. He would also take for investment into real estate projects, both green-field and brown-field.

Mr.  Babbar, on his selection said that The Hinduja Group has decided that real estate development as well as investment in real estate projects will be a main business focus. He was very much excited at being trusted with the responsibility of playing a key role in their foray into this business”.

He carries with him more than 33 years experience, out of which almost 23 years have been in Real Estate and Infrastructure Development. Before this he had a stint with Ansal Group and DLF Universal Limited.