The Indian Government is pulling all stops to beef up the infrastructure sector, focusing on a gamut of projects worth around USD 550 billion in the medium term. Around a third of the investment is expected to be funded by foreign direct investment (FDI), Ashwani Kumar, the Minister of State for Industry stated, while addressing the UBS CEO Forum in Florence, Italy yesterday.

Indian Railway Stations to be Revamped

The Government has approved several large infrastructure projects of late, the latest being the upheaval of 21 railway stations to match global standards. The New Delhi railway station will take off soon at a projected cost of Rs.5000 crore under the public-private participation model. 6 international consultants have already bid for the project, which would be completed before the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

The ambitious project will allow the developer to use the property commercially to develop restaurants and shopping complexes. Passengers can look forward to separate arrival and departure terminals, luxury waiting rooms and other conveniences at the new-age stations.

The railway stations at Agra, Ahmedabad , Amritsar, Anand Vihar (Delhi), Bangalore , Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Bijwasan (Delhi), Chandigarh, Chennai, Mumbai CST, Howrah, Jaipur, Lucknow, Mathura, Patna, Pune, Secunderabad, Thiruvananthapuram and Varanasi have been selected for a complete overhaul.

Upcoming MRO services in Indian Aviation

As the aviation industry in India grows by leaps and bounds, with a new aircraft landing every week, and another 450 still to come, the sector has opened up to a new avenue of business - that of maintenance, repair and overhaul. MRO services would not only cut costs of operations in India, but also bring in revenue from overseas fliers.

The market has already seen a growth from USD 570 million in 2002 to USD 790 million in 2006 Lufthansa Technik has tied up with the GMR Group for a MRO in Hyderabad, while Boeing is already committed to the MIHAN project in Nagpur.

Indian is in agreement with Jupiter Aviation and Logistics and EADS of Europe for MRO services in Delhi and Hyderabad. Go Air and Singapore Airlines have an ambitious plan to establish 13 MROs in India.

Kingfisher Airlines is expected to finalize a similar deal with GAMCO of Abu Dhabi In the very controversial sector of SEZs, the Government is reviewing its policy to ensure rehabilitation of displaced persons from the land bought over by developers.

The manufacturing sector is set to grow by 12% by 2010 and 1.6 million jobs would be created in the process, the Industries Minister added.

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