HYDERABAD Projects and Updates - II

[rizwan3]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...ow/7600897.cms

1 Mar, 2011, 02.07PM IST,REUTERS
Hotel Leela to tap land bank, raise Rs 9.5 bn


MUMBAI: Hotel Leelaventure Ltd, which runs five-star hotels, plans to raise about Rs 9.5 billion over the next 28 months by developing residential projects in Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad and selling a property in Chennai, a top official said.

The company will use the proceeds mainly to cut its debt which currently stands at about 38 billion rupees, Vice-Chairman Vivek Nair told Reuters on Tuesday.

He also said the firm has put on hold its plan to sell shares to institutional investors and also to issue foreign currency convertible bonds. He said the company would wait for market conditions to pick up.

[rizwan3]

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...?homepage=true

Phase 1 of Continental Carbon's Vizag unit to be up in two years

Hyderabad March 2:

Continental Carbon Company is gearing up to complete the first phase of its proposed Rs 1,500-crore carbon black manufacturing unit in Visakhapatnam within the next two years.

The first phase of the project, involving an investment of Rs 500 crore and a production capacity of 1,40,000 tonnes per annum, was flagged off at a function here on Wednesday.

The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr N Kiran Kumar Reddy, laid the foundation stone for the project at the function.

The project is being implemented by Continental Carbon India Ltd (CCIL), which was formed in October 2000 after the acquisition of the carbon black assets of Oriental Carbon & Chemicals Ltd by CCC. Since then its carbon black manufacturing facility in India in Ghaziabad has been refurbished and production capacity doubled to 65 tonnes per annum.

“The Vizag unit will be much bigger than the Ghaziabad facility. It will be expanded in phases to touch a capacity of 4,20,000 per annum. Initially, we will sell 50 per cent of the production in the domestic market and the rest in overseas market,” Mr Kim K.T. Pan, President of CCC, told Business Line.

Carbon black is an engineered carbon primarily used as reinforcing filler in rubber compounding — the end products such as tyres, profiles, hoses and V-belts are mostly consumed by the automotive industry. The chief raw material for carbon black making is residual oil from refineries.

Mr Pan said the Visakhapatnam unit will imbibe cleaner technologies such as reducing the sulphur content in the feedstock.

Launching the project, Mr Kiran Kumar Reddy said the unit will have a strong domestic demand, with the automotive sector gearing up to expand production. “In Andhra Pradesh itself, we recently signed agreements for a Mahindra tractors unit and Royal Enfield motorbike unit in Medak district,” he said.

He said about 90 projects covering a wide spectrum of sectors were in the pipeline, involving an investment of Rs 3,00,000 crore and employment potential of 3.5 lakhs.

The Union Minister of State for Human Resources Development, Ms D. Purandeswari, and Mr Leslie Koo of Taiwan Cement Group were present on the occasion.

[Cosmicbliss]

http://www.business-standard.com/ind...erabad/427094/

EuroKids International Ltd, a Mumbai-based school education company, plans to expand its presence in the K-12 segment in the city by setting up two greenfield EuroSchools, one each in Hyderabad and Secunderabad, with an investment in the range of Rs 30-50 crore.

The actual investment would depend on the cost of land, of which it would require 2 - 2.5 acres for each school, Prajodh Rajan, board member and head of EuroSchool operations, EuroKids, told Business Standard here on Wednesday. The company already has 30 franchised pre-schools in the city as well as two company-owned, company-operated EuroSchools at Madhapur and Banjara Hills with a capacity of 800 students each.


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Rajan said, "Hyderabad is a key focus market for us. We are also looking at acquisitions of suitable, established schools. We are expecting to close a deal for one such school in the next 15-20 days." Its pre-schools in Hyderabad are the most successful in the country in terms of student strength, which averaged 150 compared to a national average of around 94, according to Rajan.

At present, the company has 784 pre-schools (96 percent of which are franchised) and 17 K-12 schools (all company-owned) in the country, and plans to increase these to 1,000 and 30 in the next two-three years. It would focus on south and west of the country, and was evaluating options in Chennai, Coimbatore, Pune, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada, apart from Hyderabad. It would fund all its investments from internal accruals, Rajan said.

International plans
Mainly targeting the expatriate Indian communities in West Asia and Singapore, the company plans to set up 10 EuroSchools in UAE over the next two years, and has tied up property for one on the East Coast of Singapore. About 50 percent of these would be company-owned while the rest are to be franchisees. It has set up its first EuroKids pre-school in Jumeirah with an investment of Rs 3.5 crore, and signed a master franchise agreement with the government in Saudi Arabia for setting up pre-schools there.

EuroKids started as a publishing joint venture between Indian Express (Bombay) and Egmont Publishing of Denmark in 1998. When the two partners decided to exit, the management bought out the company in 2004. Later in 2008, Educomp invested Rs 50 crore for a 50 percent stake, while the rest remained with four promoters.

EuroKids' K-12 operations are independently managed though Educomp is also present in that segment. The latter is only a strategic investor and equity partner in the company, and would share knowledge with it, Rajan said. EuroKids is continuing with its licensed publishing business, marketing 250 live titles a year from, among others, Disney and BBC Worldwide, apart from partnering with Gali Gali Sim Sim television programme.

[Babji]

Date:05/03/2011 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2011/03/05/s...0558350200.htm

Mahindra tractor unit at Zaheerabad in five years

Staff Reporter
It will provide direct employment to 1,600 locals
Rs. 250-crore unit will be completed in a phased manner
Geeta Reddy inaugurates tourism cottages at Jharasangam

SANGAREDDY: Industry major Mahindra and Mahindra would be establishing tractors manufacturing unit with an estimated cost of Rs. 250 crore at Zaheerabad in Medak district.

Disclosing this after formally inaugurating cottages constructed by the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) at a cost of Rs. 20 lakh at Jharasangam on Friday, Major Industries Minister J. Geeta Reddy said that this would provide employment to 1,600 locals in addition to providing scope for the establishment of auxiliary units which would create indirect employment. “We are able to bring the industry here after a lot of effort from the government side and offering 100 per cent incentive on value added tax for 10 years.

The industry will be set up in five years in phased manner,” she said adding that under Corporate Social Responsibility it has already established an educational institute and sanctioned money to meet the requirements of 10 welfare hostels in the district. Ms. Geeta Reddy also said that the State government had sent proposals to the Centre to the tune of Rs. 12.5 crore for the development of tourism places .

[Babji]

338 skyscrapers lack fire safety
Mar 06 2011

March 5: Many buildings in the city do not have the proper safety features that are prescribed by the state fire department. Though the fire department is responsible for inspecting the fire safety measures, officials claim that the department is short-staffed and cannot deploy personnel for the inspections.

According to the additional director general of the fire service department, AP office, Mr K. Jayaram Naik, “Around 338 high-rise buildings have been identified as buildings that do not follow the fire safety norms. However, the department lacks manpower. Around 1,600 vacancies need to be filled in the fire services. We have asked the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation to share the task and the GHMC officials will check the buildings with a height of up to 50 metres. As for high-rise buildings, we are checking all new applications and we will only clear the buildings that have all the prescribed safety installations.”

The safety measures that must be installed in all buildings that are up to 50-metres in height include a water tank on the terrace, valves on every floor, a manual alarm, an automatic sprinkler system in every cellar and emergency lighting.

The fire safety wing has issued notices to 1,200 schools, 280 shopping malls, 200 function halls and 282 hostels that do not have the prescribed safety equipment.

Source URL:
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/hyder...ire-safety-989
its good to know that somebody is keeping track of these measures - so the future buildings will comply with requirements ...

[vin_hyd]

Hyderabad skyline is growing!!!!

[vin_hyd]

HYDERABAD: Taking a cue from Mumbai and Bangalore civic bodies, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has taken up preparation of a master plan for roads in the city.

The master plan is being prepared as an inventory and condition survey for major roads, which have at least three lanes, and prioritise them for development keeping in view future traffic demands for the next 20 years.

The other part of the plan is preparation of a detailed project report (DPR) of all identified major roads for immediate development.

Officials said there is about 4,500 km road network, including bitumen road and cement concrete roads. Of this, about 800 to 1,000 kms are major roads in various areas.

Now, the GHMC's engineering wing has taken up `road inventory and condition survey' under which about 200 km major roads, excluding national highways and roads and buildings roads, would be identified with the help of consultants. The consultants, who started their study recently, are likely to submit their reports by April, 2011.

Officials claim there was no database and no scientific study with any agency on the existing major road network system and development of roads, including widening, and are taken up without considering future traffic demands.

Now as part of the master plan, which would be in two reports, the corporation wants to know the existing strength of roads and what needs to be done to cater for the future traffic demand.

The first report is to study and arrive at requirements for future traffic demands with incremental every year, including widening proposals on the selected prioritised existing roads.

The first report, includes general condition of roads, pavements, existing storm water drains, water stagnation points, obtaining history of road accidents on stretches and location of accidents, BRTS, MRTS alignment planned on roads and study of records maintained by GHMC.

The consultancy would also look into aspects of existing city bus routes, average daily traffic volume, heavily congested roads which are being controlled by traffic signals or traffic police during peak hours, existing road width and pavement condition index and widening schemes already proposed by the town planning wing.

The second one would be a comprehensive detailed project report of the selected prioritised road stretches.

Officials said detailed project reports (DPRs) would be prepared for the identified major roads. In these reports, each stretch's traffic volume survey would be done. Apart from this, soil investigations for roads, topographical study, ducting system, material survey, roughness measurement survey, buildings and structures on the road, utilities like cables, designs like junctions, pavement, drainage and road improvement plans would be incorporated in the project reports.

When contacted, GHMC chief engineer R Dhan Singh said two consultancies were entrusted with the job of preparation of plans and prioritisation and this report would be ready by March-end. "Later, the technical report (second report) would be taken up by another consultancy," he added.

[vin_hyd]

HYDERABAD: When the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) recently declared the 90-year-old Nampally Sarai as a listed heritage monument, heritage activists did not exactly rejoice. Although they had been bleating with the authorities for the heritage structure's restoration, the Sarai's listing did not enthuse them for they apprehend not only would the heritage tag fail to protect it from being razed to make way for the metro rail project (a metro station in place of the historic structure is proposed), the Sarai would not even get a basic facelift.

Activists say they speak from past experience (of listed buildings being ruthlessly demolished) and familiarity with the way the government functions. They note that the heritage listing of the Nampally Sarai could be a well-thought out plan to silence the anti-metro voices that have been raising their voice against the metro rail plan to set up a station in place of the structure.

"The HMDA has declared it as a listed monument only to silence the anti-metro voices for the time being. But I am convinced that if the rail line reaches Nampally, the authorities will be pressurised to de-list the sarai so that they can pull it down," said an activist. A total of 13 heritage structures have been added to the HMDA's heritage list.

Nevertheless, experts pointed out how HMDA's move does have an upside too. With the Nampally Sarai now a listed structure, they said that activists could use this clause to fight the metro rail authorities in court, in case the latter proposed to demolish the Sarai. "At least now any tampering will be considered a violation of law," explained Sajjad Shahid, member of HMDA's heritage conservation committee adding how this would not be so in the case of an ancient building like the Assembly, which is neither listed by HMDA nor protected by the state.

Meanwhile, members of social groups like Forum for a Better Hyderabad and INTACH while lauding the decision said that the government should make available more funds for the upkeep of these listed buildings.

[vin_hyd]

March 5: Many buildings in the city do not have the proper safety features that are prescribed by the state fire department. Though the fire department is responsible for inspecting the fire safety measures, officials claim that the department is short-staffed and cannot deploy personnel for the inspections.

According to the additional director general of the fire service department, AP office, Mr K. Jayaram Naik, “Around 338 high-rise buildings have been identified as buildings that do not follow the fire safety norms. However, the department lacks manpower. Around 1,600 vacancies need to be filled in the fire services. We have asked the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation to share the task and the GHMC officials will check the buildings with a height of up to 50 metres. As for high-rise buildings, we are checking all new applications and we will only clear the buildings that have all the prescribed safety installations.”

The safety measures that must be installed in all buildings that are up to 50-metres in height include a water tank on the terrace, valves on every floor, a manual alarm, an automatic sprinkler system in every cellar and emergency lighting.

The fire safety wing has issued notices to 1,200 schools, 280 shopping malls, 200 function halls and 282 hostels that do not have the prescribed safety equipment.

[Suncity]

Originally Posted by Babji

338 skyscrapers lack fire safety

Source URL:
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/hyder...ire-safety-989
its good to know that somebody is keeping track of these measures - so the future buildings will comply with requirements ...

What is the definition of highrise in Hyderabad? Six storey buildings? While there is no official definition for skyscraper, we really shouldn't be calling 10 storey buildings in this age and time as "skyscrapers". Why didn't the newspaper just say Highrise building?

Plus there are 280 shopping malls in Hyderabad? Wow!

[World8115]

The Charminar gets a facelift

Source

The iconic heritage structure of Hyderabad is being given a much needed facelift by the Archaeological Survey of India as many of its frescoes and intricate carvings are beginning to peel off .

Photos: P.V. Sivakumar


Several months after the plaster on one of the minarets peeled off after heavy rains in August 2010, the Charminar is now being restored by the ASI.


Workers, commissioned by the ASI, constructing the scaffolding in preparation for restoration.


The 421-year-old monument needs immediate repairs and removal of the soot and grime deposited by ceaseless flow of vehicles around the heritage monument.


A specially made mortar of limestone, egg white, jaggery, galnut water and jute will be used to retore the frescoes.


In the days to come, the damaged minaret will be rebuilt.

[vin_hyd]

SECUNDERABAD: The turf war between two civic bodies is raising a stink.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has warned the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) against dumping garbage at Jawaharnagar dumping yard till Rs five crore dues are cleared. On the other hand, SCB officials are demanding that the corporation reduce charges for using the dumping yard.

The SCB authorities have been using Jawaharnagar dumping yard for the past five years as they do not have their own garbage dump. For this, SCB has to pay a rent of Rs 3,000 to the GHMC for each truck. However, the cantonment authorities refused to pay saying the rate is `exorbitant'.

"On an average, 100 to 120 tonnes garbage is being lifted from the cantonment jurisdiction every day through 24 trucks," a senior SCB official told TOI.

The problem began when the GHMC authorities stopped cantonment trucks from dumping garbage at Jawaharnagar due to non-payment of arrears. "We are negotiating the rate with GHMC authorities. Hence, we requested officials to cooperate with us," the SCB official added.

The SCB had two dumping sites in its jurisdiction, but due to an Andhra Pradesh State Human Rights Commission (APSHRC) order it was forced to stop using it. "We are using a piece of land belonging to the Army at Balamrai pumphouse, (near Paradise circle) as temporary dumping point," the official added.

When contacted GHMC additional commissioner (Health & Sanitation), S Aleem Basha said, "The SCB has to clear Rs five crore arrears. We served notices on SCB several times, but there was no response. We had to stop SCB trucks from dumping garbage at the Jawaharnagar yard."

[Babji]

Date:09/03/2011 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2011/03/09/s...0962200300.htm

Mamata has no ‘mamata' for State

V. Geetanath
Railway Minister gives nod to only three works
HYDERABAD: Dreams of phase two of Multi-Modal Transport System (MMTS) being realised this year can be dashed.

Or, for that matter most new railway projects announced by Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee in her budget because all she gave is a wooden spoon to Andhra Pradesh. Ms. Banerjee promised a lot but in reality only three works got cleared! No other project finds a mention in the ‘pink book' or a compilation of ‘Works machinery and rolling stock programme of railways – 2011-2012' which portrays the correct picture of the cost of a project and allocations made (can be accessed in the Indian Railways website).

‘Gudur-Durgarajapalem' line and Guntur-Tenali, Krishnapatnam-Venkatachalam doubling with electrification are the only new projects lucky to get funds.

Rest of the other 38-odd projects listed under the chapter ‘Assets-acquisition, construction and replacement' are “works in progress” like construction of various lines, gauge conversion, doubling, electrification, yard modelling and others. “The budget speech indicates the intent of the Railway Minister whereas it is the pink book which shows whether the project is sanctioned and precise allocations made,” accept senior officials, requesting anonymity.

Even the prestigious wagon factory at Kazipet does not get any allocations. Doubling and electrification of Vijayawada-Bhimavaram-Nidadavole and Nadikude-Srikalahasti lines were only mentioned in the speech but not in the pink book. Along with MMTS phase two, these three works were cleared by the Planning Commission and also the Railway Board later but with did not get funds, they admit.

The case of MMTS phase two pending for last six years is quite galling. On railways insistence, the State government had issued official orders committing itself to fund two-thirds the cost or Rs. 460 crore of the Rs. 640 crore project for the proposed six routes connecting the capital to Medchal, Shamshabad, Moulali, Ghatkesar and Telapur.

Yet, not a single rupee was given despite a specific mention made in her speech. In fact, a misleading claim of providing six suburban trains for 10 additional services for phase one was also made when it was the railways which sat on the work for years despite advance payment of Rs. 90 crore as part of the 50 per cent cost borne by the Government. Railways had supplied 10 only trains in 2003.

Last year on persistent demands, another amount of Rs. 22 crore was released to the Integral Coach Factory for “cost escalation”.
Ironically, MMTS was sanctioned during Ms. Banerjee's earlier stint as Railway Minister in NDA government.

Surveys announced for nine new lines and assured to be taken up in the 12 {+t} {+h} plan is hogwash as only few lakhs of rupees are allotted for the same and there is no guarantee of the works being grounded. “Clearance of railway projects depends a lot on lobbying by our MPs,” is the pithy remark of officials.

?!

[World8115]

Zoo to have children's park

Source

Work on butterfly park, insectarium, tortoise tunnel to be completed soon

Walkways being equipped with granite and designer pavers

Zoo has recently received a pair of black swan

As part of initiative towards improving amenities and visitors facilities at the Nehru Zoological Park, authorities have taken up different projects including a children's park and dust-free pavers. A Butterfly Park, Insectarium and a Tortoise Tunnel too getting finishing touches.

Work on children's park close to the fish aquarium is in advanced stage of completion and some more play items for the young visitors are in the process of being acquired. Apart from appropriate fencing, the space being earmarked for the park is being provided with tiled floor where required and four ‘rachchabanda', circular seating area below trees, are being created.

To ensure dust free pathways inside the zoo premises, most walkways are being equipped with granite and designer pavers, Zoo Director P. Mallikarjuna Rao said. Similar pavers are getting installed at the ticket issue counters at the main entrance.

The popular Butterfly Park here has been given a facelift and the authorities are in the process of creating a small yet interesting display of insects. “The Insectarium with a small collection will be ready in another 10 days time,” Mr. Rao informed.

Interesting feature

Another interesting feature that is sure to catch the attention of the visitors is a Turtle Tunnel. While these facilities for visitors are taking shape, the zoo hospital too got a new look with adequate equipment. “Our budgetary resources are not really high and we are trying to go in for aesthetic, cost-effective and eco-friendly initiatives to improve things at the zoo,” an official said.

Meanwhile, the zoo has recently been gifted with a pair of black swan by a retired police officer. For the swans which are native to Australia, the donor has spent around Rs.1.25 lakh, officials said.

[World8115]

Hyderabad - the emerging megapolis
Source

Fast forward to 2020, Hyderabad will be one of the finest cities to live in once the plans of Andhra Pradesh Government and Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) are implemented.

Various elements of a mega plan include a Rs 6,696-crore Jawaharlal Nehru Outer Ring Road project, 33 arterial roads, two logistics parks, beautification of lakes and river bed and support infrastructure backed by a metro rail project and rapid bus transport system.

The HMDA is spread over 7,100 sq.km comprising Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) with a total spread of 625 sq.km, and Sangareddy and Bhongir municipalities (13.60 sq.km and 9.60 sq.km), 849 villages in districts of Rangareddy, Medak, Nalgonda and Mahbubnagar totalling 6,451 sq.km.

Mr Rajeshwar Tiwari, Commissioner of HMDA, said that in order to get a balanced development of such a large area, the demands of a growing city and increasing population, HMDA is in the process of finalising a Master Plan for Hyderabad up to 2031. The plan is likely to be announced by month-end.

Main objective

As a part of the integrated development plan, HMDA is working on creating a mega Nehru Outer Ring Road (NORRP) project connecting Gachibowli-Patancheru-Medchal-Shamirpet-Hayatnagar-Shamshabad, State Highways and three National Highways (NH 7, NH 9, NH 202) around Hyderabad and serve as a bypass to the city.

This will be backed by circular linkage to radial and arterial roads by providing quick access to the International airport from strategic locations. All the vital city nodes such as Hitec City, Games Village, IIIT, ISB, Hardware Park, Singapore Township at Pocharam, IT Park at Adibatla, FAB City and Nano Park will be connected.

The 159-km Nehru ORR project designed for speeds in excess of 120 km has a right of way of 150 meters with four lanes on each side, apart from two service lanes, with facility for the metro rail and bus rapid transport system.

The Phase I of the NORR between Gachibowli and Shamshabad close to the new airportis ready. Phase II-A covers Pedda Amberpet to Shamshabad and Narsingi to Patancheru with an outlay of Rs 2,349 crore. This has been taken up under BOT (Build, Own and Transfer) mode.

The NORR project will be backed by 33 radial ring roads. Of this six have been taken up with an investment of Rs 350 crore, three are being improved with an outlay of Rs 170 crore.

The Rs 12,136-crore Hyderabad metro rail project which seeks to decongest three dense corridors and two mega bus terminals are being developed, one at Miyapur on the highway towards Mumbai with a capacity for over 100 buses and two logistics parks a 22-acre facility at Magampally , and another of 40 acres at Batasingaram will come up under public-private-partnership mode.

[ygvjs2000]

Hyderabad to come 4th in population by 2021
As per the Master Plans of the Cities prepared by the concerned State Governments, the projected population for 2021 is given as under:-

Delhi 230 Lakh
Mumbai 142 - 163 Lakh
Kolkata 199 Lakh
Chennai 111.97 Lakh
Bengaluru 100 Lakh
Hyderabad 136 Lakh

The master plan for Delhi stands notified. Ministry of Urban Development does not propose to put in place a master plan for Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad as it falls in the purview of States and cities concerned.

This information was given by Shri Saugata Roy, Minister of State for Urban Development in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

[OnionPrice]

Originally Posted by ygvjs2000

Hyderabad to come 4th in population by 2021
As per the Master Plans of the Cities prepared by the concerned State Governments, the projected population for 2021 is given as under:-

Delhi 230 Lakh
Mumbai 142 - 163 Lakh
Kolkata 199 Lakh
Chennai 111.97 Lakh
Bengaluru 100 Lakh
Hyderabad 136 Lakh

The master plan for Delhi stands notified. Ministry of Urban Development does not propose to put in place a master plan for Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad as it falls in the purview of States and cities concerned.

This information was given by Shri Saugata Roy, Minister of State for Urban Development in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

That is cool! Can you give us the source?

[Prodigist]

Ministry of Urban Development via Press Information Bureau

http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=70992

[ygvjs2000]

yes that is the link.

Originally Posted by Prodigist

Ministry of Urban Development via Press Information Bureau

http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=70992

[shravan27]

how would population of Mumbai be between 142- 163 lakh, if its current population is around 130 lakh