Development Watch – Week #3 August ’23
Development News
L&T to build India’s newest international cricket stadium
Buildings & Factories Business unit of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Construction has won orders worth Rs. 1,000 Crores to 2,500 Crores. This includes one deal from Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association for the construction of cricket stadium in Varanasi. The contract is awarded on a Design & Build Turnkey basis. The stadium may be ready by end of 2024. It will house close to 30,000 spectators. The scope of work for L&T includes main ground as per ICC standards, display score board installation, flood lights, corporate boxes, VIP lounges, office areas, broadcasting, press conference areas, kitchen and dining areas and practice ground. Additional work includes finishes and allied MEP services and external development within the site premises. Total area of the site is 30.67 acres.
7 key Railways Projects approved
The Union Cabinet has approved seven multi-tracking projects of Indian Railways. These projects will add 2,339 kilometres to the existing network of Indian Railways. A total sum of Rs. 32,500 Crores has been allotted to these projects. These will be built on Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) more. The funding will come 100% from the central government. These projects cover 35 districts across Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, UP & West Bengal. These projects will provide employment of 7.06 crore person days to people in these states.
Rs. 1 Trillion Maritime investment for West Bengal
Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port recently organized a road show as part of the Global Maritime India Summit (GMIS) 2023. The roadshow was attended by captains of India Inc. in Kolkata. Active participation of trade & industries in development of port infrastructure and other facilities is imperative for development of the country. Union Minister for Ports, Shipping & Waterways also attended the summit.
Ahmedabad, Pune, Kolkata most affordable housing markets
As per the Knight Frank Affordability Index, Ahmedabad, Pune, Kolkata are the most affordable housing markets in India. The ratio of EMI to income for an average household is 23%, 26% and 26% in the respective cities. Housing affordability has decreased due to higher home loan rates, barring in Mumbai. RBI has also raised repo rate by 250 basis points since May 2022. This has been done to address rising inflation, affecting affordability by 2.5% across cities. This has increased EMI load by 14.4% since then.
Jamshedpur airport powered through solar energy
Entire operations of Tata Steel owned Sonari Airport in Jamshedpur will now be powered through solar energy. Commissioning of a ground-mounted solar power project of 2.0 MWp (Megawatt Peak) capacity. The project has been commissioned by Tata Power under an agreement with Tata Steel for installing a total of 41 MW with a combination of rooftop, floating and ground-mounted solar panels. In the past, 4 rooftop projects totaling 7.65 MWp have been commissioned at Central Warehouse, Cold Rolling Mill, Wire Rod Mill and Hot Strip Mill. A floating solar power project of 10.8 MWp in Tata Steel Jamshedpur Works is about to be completed.
20% of rural income spent on medical expenses
Nearly 20% of rural and semi-rural incomes are spent on medical expenses. This is as per the PayNearby Survey. The survey found that 23% of these households turned to informal loans to cover hospital expenses. 6% resorted to selling assets to cover medical bills.
Local Feedback
LocalFeedback.org aims to track and document actionable parameters that help improve urban and rural infrastructure. The founder, Susmita, has juggled diverse roles in real estate, project budgeting, valuation and execution on construction sites. Having traveled to more than 20 countries, she has worked across 4 regions in India. Her areas of interest include sustainable buildings, electric mobility and urban development. She visited top-ranking cities on livability indices and has presented published papers at international conferences.