RMD Kwikform opens new division in India

RMD Kwikform, a leading global construction specialist providing formwork, falsework, shoring, propping and temporary works solutions, has opened up a new India division to support the major growth in the construction industry.

The Indian operation will be based out of three key locations - Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai.


“India is currently one of the fastest growing economies in the world,” said RMD Kwikform worldwide managing director Steven Dance, adding,  “We have had major success supporting our customers in India on an export basis, but we have recognised the importance of being able to provide a greater level of service to our customers by having staff and equipment on the ground.

"Due to increasing demand from existing customers for our services and a growth in the demand for concrete infrastructure and building projects, by investing in facilities, equipment and staff in India we are able to service the market more effectively,” he said in a statement.

Previous RMD Kwikform projects for existing customers in India have included the ONGC headquarters in Bandra, Mumbai as well as Ibis and Novotel hotels in Chennai and the Windemere Towers in Pune.

RMD Kwikform’s new India business will be offering a full range of services from the provision of specialist equipment including 120kN Alshor Plus aluminium shoring and heavy-duty Megashor shoring to the development of bespoke solutions for projects.

Property Tax may be hiked in Chennai

Chennai: It seems the Tamil Nadu government has it plan cut out to ‘tax’ people more in the coming days. After effecting steep increase in milk prices, bus fare and electricity charges, Chennaiites would wake up to yet another hike soon. If the City Corporation has its way, a hike in property tax to fund its various infrastructure projects would become a reality in next week’s Budget.

Taxing indeed!

According to certain section of the media, an increase in property tax along with allocation of additional fund for infrastructure development in expanded areas of the corporation and strengthening government-run educational institutions would top the agenda of the Corporation’s budget for 2012-13, which is likely to be presented on Monday.

Facing large-scale tax evasions by commercial buildings, the civic body began a survey to re-asses the commercial and residential buildings but it still doesn't have precise data on the tax collected from commercial buildings.

Property tax is the main source of income for the corporation, contributing Rs 365 crore in the last fiscal out of the total income of Rs 489 crore. A similar special drive in 2007 found that Rs 270 crore was being evaded by property owners since 2001.

The budget will be presented by Chairman of the standing committee on taxation and finance K Santhanam while Major Saidai S Duraisamy will make the opening remarks, said the report.

IT and MNCs to be taxed

Earlier, the Corporation has indicated that it would tax more on IT and multi-national companies, as it felt that they are making more profits than the local grocery stores - both come under the same tax bracket. 

Now, the budget is round the corner, these multi-national and IT firms in the city may have to shell out a higher amount as property tax from the next financial year. "How can a multi-national company and a local store pay the same rate for one square foot?" said Mayor Saidai S Duraisamy at a recent council meeting.

The taxes were last raised in 1998. A revamp in the gradation system and tax slabs is likely, TOI quoting an official having said.

"We are going to meet and discuss changes in the classification of buildings. IT parks and MNCs may be brought under a special category or a separate slab could be created for them," said a revenue officer. Corporation sources said it might require an amendment to the Corporation Council Act, but that it was subject to government approval. Presently, there are different tax slabs for commercial and residential properties and a separate slab for special commercial buildings. 

"Special commercial buildings, including movie theatres, marriage halls, lodges, hotels and restaurants, pay higher tax than normal commercial buildings," said the official.

MoEF guidelines may hit Kerala realty sector

Kerala's construction industry is in quandary. One side, it has to tackle the exploding population which has increased the housing demands multifold and on the other hand the new guidelines floated by the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) over increasing the building heights. It’s like catch-22 situation for the state as its request to increase the height of the buildings to 15-meters has met with a series of guidelines which would dampen the mood of the property market further. 

As per MoEF guidelines, buildings that are more than five storeys or 15-metre high should have wide roads around them. These guidelines are applicable to Kerala, Maharashtra and Haryana. These three states had approached the ministry for approval to increase the height limit for buildings.

According to the guidelines, a 5-storey or 15-metre high residential or industrial building should have a 15-metre wide road surrounding it. Higher the building, wider the roads! For instance, a 15-storey building should ideally have a 24-metre road around it, TOI reported.

"Considering Kerala's exploding population, if construction and road widening are carried out as per these guidelines, the price of land will shoot up to astronomical levels. Then hypothetically, open spaces and paddy fields will be eaten up by construction works. As far as Kerala's infrastructural development is concerned, only vertical growth is possible," said Antony Kunnel, president of Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI), Kerala.

The draft also proposes carrying out mock fire drills on an annual basis on all high-rise buildings in the state. "This is a welcome decision, and it should be followed. It will definitely reduce casualties due to fire accidents," said Kunnel.

The draft suggestion to have a fire station within 10km radius of buildings with more than 10-storeys has also been received well.

On March 28, chief minister Oommen Chandy will take up the issue with the concerned representatives. "We will look into it after an official meeting with builders and concerned stake holders in the coming weeks. These are only guidelines and can most definitely be worked on in order to arrive at a consensus," Oommen Chandy's office told TOI.

TN to Have Country's First Maritime Museum

NEWDELHI: Keeping in line with the rich maritime heritage of Tamil Nadu dating back to Chola Dynasty, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa is set to give approval to set up the country’s first maritime museum under Project Samudram near Chennai, official sources said here.

Project Samudram, a maritime heritage tourism package proposal, is an abbreviation for ‘Seashore Archaeological Museums of the Dravidian Mainland’ encompa-ssing Chennai, Mamallap-uram, Alamparai, Sadras, Puducherry, Porto Novo and Kaveripoompattinam, IBN Live reported.

The proposal was mooted by the Indian Navy that has offered to give its decommissioned Foxtrot class submarine — INS Vagli to the state to be kept as the centre piece at the museum.

“The Ministry of Defence has given in principle approval to the project and the proposal is now with the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister for final approval,” sources told Express. 

The state government had earlier accepted the Navy’s offer.

Once the final nod from the Chief Minister’s comes, the completion of Maritime Heritage Museum, including a Maritime Research Centre, will take around one year.

Talking about the project, a naval official said, “The Chola naval conquests are well known and Tamil Nadu has been taking a good interest in preserving its rich mar-itime heritage. Also in modern times, it has the potential to emerge as the leading maritime State of India, because of its strategically located ports and academic institutions connected with the sector. The proposed museum is in line with this maritime consciousness of the State.”

The project will also serve two purposes of attracting the youth of Tamil Nadu to take a career in maritime sector and to boost tourism by projecting the unique museum as a major highlight in the state’s tourism circuit.

While the Indian Navy has a submarine museum at Visakhapatnam’s R K Beach where a Kursura class submarine is open for visitors, the scale of Tamil Nadu maritime museum is unprecedented. Around 30 acres land has already been earmarked off North Chennai for the construction of the museum, the sources said.

INS Vagli, the oldest operational submarine of the Indian Navy, undertook its last dive on July 21, 2010 and was decommissioned later that year.

RPP Infra wins orders worth Rs 30 crore in Tamil Nadu

  Erode-based construction company RPP Infra Projects Ltd has won new orders worth Rs30 crore in the irrigation and building sector in Tamil Nadu.

The work order includes construction of a library building for Central Library Buildings at Thiruvarur, Tamil Nadu, under the Central Public Works Department and rehabilitation of modernization of supply channels in Vellore and Villupuram Districts under water Resources Department, Public Works Department Tamil Nadu.
The orders are to be completed in 12 months.

Commenting on the occasion, CMD P. Arulsundaram said, "These new orders in the irrigation and building sector have added our repertoire of projects that we are executing in Tamil Nadu. As always we are proud to be associated with infrastructure orders in our home state."

At the BSE, RPP Infrastructure shares are currently trading at Rs.70.30, up by 5.79 percent from the previous close.

About RPP Infra Projects 

RPP Infra Projects Ltd., known for its quality of work and formerly known as R.P.P Builders, established in the year 1988, attained the status of Private Limited Company during the year 1995.

MHADA, a boon for low income group

Pune: The proposed Maharashtra Housing Regulatory Development Act is a step in the right direction, one that will bring the members of the low-income group to the mainstream, said Gautam Chatterjee, Principal Secretary, Housing, Government of Maharashtra, according to a Financial Express report

“The proposed Maharashtra Housing Regulatory Development Act will safeguard the interest of customers as well as builders. Though, it may not solve all the issues, it is nevertheless a positive step. A notification has been issued to the builder community to reserve at least 20 per cent space for the weaker section and the low income group. The main motive is to ensure decent housing for all,” he said.

Chatterjee was speaking at an interactive session organised by CREDAI Pune on Sunday on the issue of notification of 20 per cent reservation for low income group and economically weaker section in a given housing project and proposed Maharashtra Housing Regulatory Development Act.

Also present on the occasion were Satish Magar, president, CREDAI Maharashtra, Head of MHADA — Pune Rajendra Nimbalkar, Shantilal Kataria, vice president CREDAI — Pune, Hemant Naiknavre, vice-president CREDAI — Pune, Nitin Nyati, the honorary secretary, CREDAI — Pune .

Speaking on the real estate sector scenario in the country, he said, “We are witnessing a huge crunch of houses. To develop a city, real estate sector needs to play a crucial role. But the increasing rates of houses are making it difficult for lower income group, resulting in the development of slums. To promote the construction of houses for these groups, the notification for 20 per cent reservation has been introduced.”

This, he said, is not applicable to commercial projects. Builder community needs to look into this issue with an open mind. “So, instead of considering this as a government policy against realtors, they should consider it as a genuine step towards making houses available for the weaker sections and involving them in the mainstream,” he said.

“Only construction charges will be levied on houses constructed under 20 per cent reservation for weaker section. MHADA will undertake the distribution of such flats as per lottery system. The proceeds collected will be given to the builders after MHADA deducts 5 per cent commission.

Chatterjee also touched upon the need to bring in more transparency. “Government has tried to bring transparency in the Act. The builders violating the Act will be booked under civil offence. Formation of Regulatory Authority body under this Act is also been ensured. If the completion of a project or delivery of flats is delayed due to the callous approach of customers, then builders can approach this regulatory body for intervention.”

He added that before the sanction of the plan, builders should refrain from advertisement of the project.

Users taking Chennai realty to new heights

Chennai property market is growing steadily notwithstanding the global recession and several macro-economic conditions affecting the overall industry’s growth.  Even during the economic downturn of 2008, when neighbouring property markets in Bangalore and Hyderabad fell by 24-29 per cent, the Chennai market fell only 8.3 per cent, according to a study.

East Coast Road, Chennai

The uniqueness of the Chennai realty is that it has been driven by end users and has seen most of the property transactions within the Central Business District areas only. That speaks volumes about the growth potential of the city as well.

If the National Housing Bank’s property price index ‘NHB Residex‘ is a fair indicator, property value in Chennai has doubled from the downturn price of 2008, best appreciation than any other part of the country. What has helped the Chennai market beat the more glamorous Mumbai, New Delhi and even Bangalore in price appreciation?

Bottlenecks

Frequency of property fairs is yet another indication of the vibrancy of the real estate in the southern metropolis. Though the real estate has been showing steady growth, according to Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI)’s Chennai chapter, the growth would have been more had the local government has amended rules to expedite project clearing process, which has proved to be the main impediment for the industry. According to T Chitty Babu, the CREDAI President, “The growth now we are witnessing only 15-20 per cent and had the government taken measures to speed up the file-clearance process, we would have seen the growth jumped to even 40 per cent.”

Several project are getting delayed due to the bottlenecks created by several government departments and this is pushing the project cost through the roof and subsequently the prices of the homes to the buyers, he said and appealed to the state government to look into the industry’s genuine concerns.

Areas of interest

Real estate in Chennai has been undergoing a shift in its trends recently. Chennai property prices have been on rise since long, especially the commercial property rates. The rates of commercial properties are very high in areas like IT corridor, T Nagar, Anna Nagar and Adyar. As these localities have reached saturation and new industries & software companies are coming up at NH4, GST Road, Oragadam and OMR. These new developments are coming in affordable limits and larger areas, according to Track2Media Intellisearch.

The booming commercial segment and growing influx of IT professionals have pushed the residential demand and prices to a new high in Chennai over the last few years. The Chennai office market has witnessed remarkable growth which is due to the offices built for the IT industry (as IT Parks or IT Special Economic Zones), which constitute 86 per cent of the operational office stock in Chennai.

According to a report by Real Estate Intelligence Service of Jones Lang LaSalle India, 2011 had ushered in renewed interest in non-IT office space in Chennai – especially from firms wishing to relocate their offices to better grade buildings. The expected fresh supply of non-IT office space should witness active absorption at the right rentals. There will be greater demand for investment grade office spaces within the city, since there is a severe dearth of high quality office buildings in the central areas, the report said.

Old Mahabalipuram Road

Chennai’s high streets continue to remain a favourite location for retailers as conversion rates in high streets are higher compared with those in malls. The neighbourhood of premium residential catchments, ample space for a hassle-free car park and proximity to the city centre are the key demand drivers for high-end high streets. The high streets of Khadar Nawaz Khan Road (KNK Road) and Wallace Garden Road have emerged as important retail destinations for global luxury, fashion and premium brands, the report further added.

Changing scenario

While, the commercial properties of Chennai have reached a point when it is very difficult to purchase a property in prominent locations, the residential property preferences are also changing. Apartments in Chennai are gaining popularity day-by-day due to the increase in population and lack of space. Many prominent builders in Chennai are building projects comprising of luxurious apartments, providing ultra modern facilities. With young professionals going in more for rented units, the lifestyle apartments are attracting huge investments from NRIs.

With the announcement of the monorail project in Chennai, the land value in Chennai is going to see another dramatic change. A crisscrossing network of four monorail corridors, running to a total length of 111 km is expected to add to the beautification of the city and make Chennai by and large traffic free. Chennai infrastructure is looking forward to match to the international standards.

Unlike other metro cities land prices in suburbs are yet to reach the peak and the concept of satellite town yet to catch fancy even after Jayalalitha Government is keen to develop more satellite towns with the latest being thirumazhisai in Thiruvallur district near Chennai. In most parts of Old Mahabalipuram Road, GST Road and the Chennai-Bangalore Highway, realtors say, land transactions are very few. Surprisingly, many new residential projects were launched along these corridors over the past two years and even received good patronage from buyers. But that has not translated into an increase in land prices along these stretches, says Kevin William Albert, Associate Director of Jones Lang LaSalle.

“This indicates the potential of Chennai’s suburbs to emerge as an attractive retail destination. Bigger residential catchments in the suburban areas combined with more reasonable rentals compared to those in the prime city are expected to act as key driving forces for retailers to increase their presence in the suburban precincts of Chennai in the long term,” the JLLI report added.