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Public Investment Board clears three power projects
New Delhi: The Power Ministry has received the approval of the Public Investment Board (PIB) for three power projects worth Rs5,050 crore, Power Minister P.M. Sayeed said here today. The ministry would approach the Cabinet shortly for clearances, he added.

According to the minister, two of the projects are hydel plants in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, while the third is a transmission project in Bihar. The 45-MW Minoo Bazgo hydel project in Leh and the 44-MW Chutak hydel project in Kargil would be built at a cost of Rs629.65 crore and Rs631.72 crore respectively. Both are run-of-the-river projects and would be completed by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation within four years from the date of sanction, he said.

The initial tariff in these projects is pegged at Rs5-6 per unit, Sayeed said, adding that these areas received central subsidies and high consumer tariffs would be offset through Government aid.

The third project is the transmission system linking NTPC's 1980-MW coal-based Barh power plant to the Eastern grid.
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Paswan: Posco and Orissa govt. set to sign MoU
New Delhi: The Korean steel giant Posco and the Orissa government will conclude a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for setting up a steel plant at the end of this month as all issues have now been sorted out, according to the Union Steel Minister, Ram Vilas Paswan. The minister also said the Korean company had agreed not to insist on supply of additional iron ore sought by it originally.

Addressing a press conference, Paswan said Posco's requirement was only 600 million tonnes and it had therefore agreed not to insist on export of 300 million tonnes of iron ore. He said the Centre had opposed this export as had the State government earlier.

Posco was earlier to sign an agreement with the state government for setting up a 12 million tonne steel plant in April but the deal could not be concluded in view of issues relating to iron ore exports.
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Merrill Lynch study: Mall construction set to boom
Bangalore: A report on real estate trends by Merrill Lynch said that the number of malls in the five cites of Mumbai, Bangalore, New Delhi, Hyderabad and Pune was expected to grow to about 250 by 2010 as against 40 now.

In terms of total area, there was 12.40 million square feet (mnsqft) of mall space available in these cities, the report said quoting a survey by Knight Frank India. By 2007, the mall space availability was estimated to increase to 55.70 mnsqft.

In the commercial space, business opportunity was led by the unprecedented outsourcing activity in the country, the report said. As the trend gathers pace commercial space requirement would expand to 75 mnsqft by 2008 from the present 8.5 mnsqft entirely driven by information technology or IT-enabled services.

The boom in mall construction is driven by organised retail industry, the report said. About 200 malls were already under construction in various parts of the country with a combined retail space of 25 mnsqft.

Foreign direct investment in the retail sector would help accelerate the growth of the organised retail trade. Currently, cash and carry wholesale trades were the only options for foreign retailers in India. The report said that with the planned opening up of the retail trade sector, the full potential in the sector would be realised.
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