Land takeover delays may cost projects worth $100 bn: Report

September 17th, 2009 Gov't: Border fence to cost $6.5B over 20 yearsWASHINGTON — It will cost taxpayers $6.5 billion over the next 20 years to maintain the fence along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a government audit. But as the Obama administration realizes the long-term costs of the border fence, it does not have a way to evaluate whether this investment has helped control illegal entries into the country, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Thursday.

September 17th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - The Orissa government, which Thursday reviewed the progress of 14 greenfield projects underway in the state, said most of the companies setting up these projects have not completed land acquisition. "Acquiring land is the biggest problem before these mega projects.

September 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The railways ministry Wednesday said it would not resort to forceful acquisition of land for railway projects, and that it would review its land acquisition policy. "The ministry of railways has decided that there shall not be any forceful acquisition of land for railway projects," the ministry said in a statement.

August 4th, 2009 RANCHI - Steel projects worth Rs.125,940 crore ($26.4 billion) are hanging in the balance in Jharkhand as the state government is yet to give approvals to them, an industry lobby report said Tuesday. The report by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham), said: "Steel players like ArcelorMittal, Tata Steel and others are waiting for different forms of clearances for the last four years, which otherwise should have been cleared in two years." Releasing the report at a seminar here, Assocham secretary general D.S.

July 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Acquisition of land remains the biggest challenge in road projects development, Road Transport and Highways Minister Kamal Nath said here Tuesday. "When I look at the challenges ahead I feel that today land acquisition remains the biggest challenge for road construction," Kamal Nath said while addressing a conclave on highways development.

July 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Bidders for infrastructure projects in the shipping sector need to have a minimum net worth that is twice the project cost, the government said Monday. "Since BOT (build, operate and transfer) projects require the concessionaire to make the investment required for the project, it was suggested that threshold be increased to twice the project cost," Shipping Minister G.K.

July 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Government on Wednesday said it would award six shipping projects worth 3,319.14 crore rupees in next 100 days. These would be developed on the public-private-partnership (PPP) mode.

June 30th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The ministry of road transport and highways has earmarked Rs.13,397.2 crore for road projects in Jammu and Kashmir and northeastern states, it said Tuesday while releasing its 100-day agenda. The ministry has also set time lines for 30 projects so that they will be executed on fast track.

June 30th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government Tuesday said it will invest a huge fund for building and revamping road infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir and northeastern states. The ministry of road transport and highways, while releasing its 100-day agenda, said it has earmarked Rs.13,397.2 crore ($2.8 billion) for road projects in Jammu and Kashmir and northeast.

June 29th, 2009 MUMBAI - Leading engineering and construction company Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T) announced Monday that it has bagged six orders worth Rs.12.30 billion from electrical projects in the domestic market. L&T has been awarded four orders for transmission line and railway construction valued at Rs.10.31 billion, and two orders worth Rs.1.99 billion for the construction of sub-stations, the company said in a regulatory statement.

June 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde Tuesday set a target of generating an additional 5,653 MW of electricity in the first 100 days of the new United Progressive (UPA) government, and said he will himself monitor the progress. The country is looking up to the sector for delivering the promise of 'power for all' and there is a need to accelerate the efforts, Shinde told a review meeting attended by senior ministry officials and representatives of state-run power generation units.

March 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - India has lost the opportunity of employing more than 160,000 people with 18 major steel, power and auto projects getting delayed over land acquisition and forest and environment clearance issues, says a study by a business chamber. According to the study by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham), 'the 18 strangled projects of India Inc to the tune of Rs.244,815.5 crore (Rs.2.45 trillion) remained on papers, in the form of memorandum of understanding (MoU) and agreements over the past three-four years'.

February 22nd, 2009 RAIPUR - The Chhattisgarh government suffered a revenue loss of over Rs.1.85 billion (Rs.185 crore)) during 2007-08 because of 'undue benefits' provided to various companies, a report by India's audit watchdog said. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India in its report on Chhattisgarh said: 'The state government stood to lose revenue of Rs.185.71 crore due to undue benefits to the allottees such as allotment of land at reduced rates.' The report has widely criticised Chhattisgarh State Industries Development Corp (CSIDC) for its its inadequate monitoring of the implementation of several state-sponsored projects.

January 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI - High interest rates and credit crunch have delayed several infrastructure projects by up to six months, said a survey by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), released here Sunday. According to the Infrastructure Outlook Survey, around 85 percent of the respondents have expressed concern over the delay in financial closure of infrastructure projects being implemented by them.

January 10th, 2009 HYDERABAD - The Andhra Pradesh government Sunday denied there were any irregularities in awarding contracts for various infrastructure projects to Maytas Infra, the company promoted by the family of disgraced former chairman of Satyam Computers. Chief Minister Y.S.