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Government to launch first housing start-up index 14 January 2014
India: The Indian government is inching closer to the launch of a much needed Housing Start Up Index (HSUI), which is a measure of housing construction activity in the country, following a three year delay.
A joint initiative of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) Ministry, the index will help policy makers get a clear picture about the trends in the housing sector and its contribution to the economy.
The HUPA Ministry and the RBI will release the HSUI website and its logo on 15 January 2014. The government had initially planned to launch the first set of data for 10 cities in December 2010.
The number of housing units built during a period indicates the demand and supply situation in the housing market. They are considered as a lead indicator of economic activities because of their strong forward and backward linkages. About 275 industries, including cement and steel, are dependent on the construction and housing sector.
The index would come up every quarter and will be based on data of newly built residential units in urban India from 2007 onwards. It would measure the change in the level of activities in the housing sector and identify the growth / recessionary tendencies in this and related sectors of the economy.
"The RBI is developing a pilot index based on the housing data from 25 towns. We are planning to release this by 31 January 2014," said a senior HUPA Ministry official. The detailed index would be released at a later stage. It will cover 50 cities that contain more than 100,000 inhabitants.
Presently, five countries in the world have their own housing start up index.
HCC resumes civil works at TLDP-IV 14 January 2014
India: HCC, the civil works contractor for NHPC's Teesta Low Dam Project Stage IV (TLDP-IV), has resumed civil works that had been stalled for over eight months. Works halted on 20 March 2013 as HCC feared termination of the contract.
HCC had earlier noted that the work had stalled due to a severe financial crunch being faced by NHPC and accordingly requested that NHPC extend financial assistance to the tune of US$8.46m to HCC for resuming works. While NHPC agreed to extend the requested assistance, civil works contractor HCC refused to accept the proposal as it is and sought an increase beyond US$8.46m.
Aggravated with the constant modifications in terms of financial assistance and non-resumption of works, NHPC shot a missive to the contractor on 3 December 2013, directing the latter to restart the works within 7 days, failing which NHPC would initiate the action for termination of contract. In response, HCC has started the work of dewatering in the RCC dam pit and preparatory work for second stage concrete in the power dam area.
HCC has presented a final proposal to NHPC that the company has agreed to present to its Board. HCC has requested that NHPC to provide US$3.25m initially for clearing the past liabilities and US$9.76m for various construction material purchased. On this account, NHPC has requested the Board to release the interest bearing advance of US$32,530 to HCC for discharge of its partial past liabilities. The Board shall further resolve that all the construction materials required for balance works shall be procured directly by HCC after certification by the project. NHPC shall extend the assistance under this head in a phased manner based on requirement of material which shall be interest bearing and limited to US$97,590 against bank guarantees.
Lafarge sells Maryland aggregates assets for US$320m 13 January 2014
US: Lafarge has announced the sale of five aggregates quarries and related assets in Maryland to Bluegrass Materials for a total enterprise value of US$320m, subject to relevant regulatory approvals.
With these divestments, Lafarge has largely completed its strategy of refocusing on its core markets in the US. The company now operates a strong network of integrated positions mainly located in the Great Lakes and Mississippi River regions. These include nine cement or grinding plants and associated cement terminals with a combined capacity of 11Mt/yr, as well as related aggregates and concrete businesses in these markets.
Najran Cement launches trial operations at WHR power plant 13 January 2014
Saudi Arabia: Saudi cement producer Najran Cement said that it launched trial operations of the first phase of its waste heat recovery (WHR) on 11 January 2014. The trial will take 10 days to complete and the commercial launch is yet to be announced. The US$45m WHR project is being installed by China's Sinoma Energy Conservation on a turnkey basis.
Dongwu Cement to form joint venture with Hengtong 10 January 2014
China: Dongwu Cement and Hengtong Group have agreed to establish a 50:50 joint venture company with a registered capital of US$24.8m.
The joint venture scope includes highways, urban roads, bridges, tunnels, foundation works, sewage treatment and drainage works. It also covers the construction and management of industrial and civil buildings and landscaping projects, including engineering technical consultation, project supervision, project bidding agency, property management, sales of building materials and domestic trade.