BUILDER'S NOVEL WAY TO DELIVER IT SPACE
D Govardan
Financial Chronicle
At a time, when several property developers across the country are sitting on large stock of unoccupied built-in IT space, Chennai-based India Land and Properties, part of Americorp Group, is going ahead with its Rs 320 crore, 1.8 million sq ft, IT special economic zone (SEZ) at Saravanampatti in Coimbatore.
But, instead of following the trodden path of getting the building ready and waiting for occupants, India Land adds space as and when it gets a client. Helping it to achieve this unique concept is the pre-cast concrete technology that ensures that the company gets the required space ready in record time.
Use of pre-cast concrete technology enables it to deliver the space, complete with glazing and air-conditioning, within three months after signing up a client.
"Normally, this technology is used in construction of bridges. For the first time, it is being used in buildings in a big way," said S Salai Kumaran, director, India Land.
The IT SEZ is being developed jointly with Coimbatore-based KGISL. According to him, pre-cast concrete technology is being increasingly used in countries such as Singapore, Dubai and Indonesia.
"The method not only ensures zero wastage, but also offers better quality and saves cost," he added.
Slabs are produced at the site using steel moulds. These are then lifted and fixed using high capacity cranes. "We have signed up contractors from Singapore and they have already completed 5 lakh sq ft of pre-cast concrete slabs," Kumaran said.
Using the pre-cast concrete technology, the builder is able to complete one floor in about seven to eight days, against 1220 days taken in conventional method, where quality could be comparatively inferior and there's more wastage.
"We have used this technology for beams and floors. It can even be used for columns and pillars," he pointed out. In fact, impressed by the delivery standards of the contractors, Americorp Construction, the parent company of India Land, has taken them on its rolls.
Kumaran said the use of precast concrete technology has helped the company save up to 15 percent of the estimated Rs 320 crore project cost.
"Though the economic slowdown has delayed the completion of the project and the resultant interest charges may gobble up the purported savings from use of this technology, we expect to complete the project within the estimated budget. Had we opted for traditional construction method, the project would have cost us Rs 350 crore due to delay and interest burden," he explained. Of 1.8 million sq ft, about 1.3 million sq ft will be office space, with the rest would be reserved for basement parking and other facilities.
APOLLO TYRES MULLS RS 1,000 CRORE INVESTMENT IN KERALA
Kochi
Business Standard The Economic Times
Apollo Tyres was planning to invest about Rs 1,000 crore for setting up an IT park and a hotel complex in Kerala, Apollo Group Chairman Onkar S Kanwar today said.
There were plans to set up a five star hotel and IT park at the 30 acres land at nearby Kalamassery where it has a tyre unit, Kanwar said.
The company had decided to shift the unit to the Rubber Park at nearby Irapuram. But due to strong objection from the trade unions, it had been held up.
Kanwar said the unions have more or less agreed for shifting the factory.
Apollo Tyres is planning to double the capacity of the unit from 100 tonnes per day to 200 tonnes per day after it was shifted to the rubber park.
On the company's revenues, Kanwar said from the India operations, the total business revenue was Rs 4,100 crore and it was expected to grow to Rs 6,000 crore by 2011 fiscal.
Apollo's 60 percent turnover was from Indian operations and the target was to raise it to 70 percent, he said.
A Rs 2,000 crore new plant was coming up in Tamil Nadu and it was expected to be completed in another 11 months time where truck and bus radial tyres would be manufactured.
The company was planning to put in Rs 100 crore investments in its Perambra unit.
35 percent of the total tyre production was from Kerala. The company had invested about Rs 300 crore in the last two years for production, he said.
GREEN NOD FOR EFFLUENT PLANT AT FAB CITY SEZ
Hyderabad
The Hindu Business Line
The Andhra Pradesh Environment Impact Assessment Authority has issued environmental clearance for the proposed common effluent treatment plant (CETP) planned at the Fab City Special Economic Zone at Maheswaram near Hyderabad.
The Fab City SPV (India), a subsidiary of Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) and IL&FS, has established a CETP on build-own-operate basis through IL&FS Waste Management and Urban Services Ltd.
According to an IL&FS statement, the initial capacity of the CETP at the Fab City would be 1.1 million litres a day which would be scaled up to meet the future demand. . The first module would facilitate the photovoltaic cells manufacturing units being established in the initial phase.
IT PARK LOOKS FOR ‘ANCHOR PLAYER’
Vijayawada
The Hindu
Though recession is proving to be a little dampener, officials of the L&T Hitech City project at Kesarapalli near here are confident that a major software company will be attracted to fill the space of “anchor player” in the project.
Total space
So far, only two companies have come forward to occupy some space at the IT Park’s first tower, which will have a total space of nearly 2 lakh sq.ft. on completion of all works soon. The Extranet Software Solutions and the Tektraks Technologies have booked space here and they are going to occupy the same after the tower is inaugurated next month.
For giving a kick-start to the project’s entire operations, it will need at least one major software company initially and its role will be pivotal in enhancing the image of the IT Park as a potential software hub in the region.
The officials are also looking at the possibility of attracting small and medium players by offering space in blocks of 3,500 sq. ft. each.
The IT tower will have five floors, including the ground floor, each having 40,000 sq. ft. and providing the best infrastructure needed for software companies. A major company having the potential to occupy one entire floor of 40,000 sq. ft. should come to give the much-needed initial boost to the prospects of the IT Park.
At the recently conducted roundtable on ‘Industrial development in Vijayawada and surrounding areas’, Vijayawada MP Lagadapati Rajagopal cited the example of IT Park project in response to the concern expressed by some speakers over lack of industrial development in the district.
The MP said that a good IT Park was ready for occupation at Kesarapalli, but only two companies expressed interest so far. He said that the first priority should be to attract software companies and develop the city as a software hub, as it would not require huge tracts of land.
The officials of the IT Park say even big companies will slowly turn their attention to tier-two cities like Vijayawada in due course of time. They maintain that the companies can reduce costs significantly as space will be offered to them for a rental that is 40 percent cheaper than the same in metro cities. This is available with the same quality of infrastructure, says IT Park chief operating officer V. Udaya Bhasker.
He says consultations are on with three to four companies as of now, while enough space will be offered to attract small and medium players too.