Maytas Infra to sell its stakes in expressway projects

Maytas Infra, the family-owned company promoted by Hyderabad's scam-tainted Satyam founder B Ramalinga Raju, will sell some of its stake in two expressway projects, in a bid to raise its liquidity.

The company will reportedly sell a 36-per cent of the 50 per cent it holds in Cyberabad Expressway and Hyderabad Expressway, to Neco group's Terra Projects. The rest of the stake in these companies is currently held by Gayatri Projects.

The combined value of the two deals has been estimated at around Rs200 crore.

Maytas may be required to keep a minimum of a 14-per cent stake in the two projects, which are nearly complete. Maytas is reportedly seeking approval for the deal from institutions that had lent Rs667 crore for the projects.

The Cyberabad Expressway is a project of Hyderabad Growth Corridor Limited, a joint venture of HUDA and INCAP. It is an eight-lane, 11.7-km access controlled expressway to be built as an outer ring road to Hyderabad. The project aims to construct a highway link to Hyderabad city in order to reduce the high traffic congestion in the main city. The estimated cost of the project, according to Maytas website, is Rs415 crore. The project had begun in December 2007.

The Hyderabad Expressway project is aimed at reducing high traffic congestion in the main city, and to provide uninterrupted access to new developments like the international airport. The project, to cost Rs362 crore, began in December 2007, and will comprise a route of 13 km.