DLF ties up with GPL for infrastructure projects

New Delhi: Real estate major DLF Ltd on Thursday inked a memorandum of understanding with infrastructure firm Gayatri Projects Ltd (GPL) to develop road and highway projects across India.

The 50:50 alliance plans to bid for large infrastructure projects – Rs 2,000-4,000 crore. The two would bid as a consortium and execute projects under various special purpose vehicles (SPVs).

The partnership would also leverage the strength of DLF-Laing O’Rourke (LOR), an existing joint venture between DLF and LOR, which would act as the contractor for the projects undertaken by DLF-GPL.

GPL, at present, has projects worth over Rs 3,450 crore under construction in States such as Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Orissa. These projects include national and state highways, dams, reservoirs, ash ponds and major canal works.

“The alliance will bring together the technical strength of LOR, vast infrastructure experience of GPL, and the financial strength of DLF. We see infrastructure as a major opportunity. The Planning Commission has estimated that during the Eleventh Plan, the infrastructure sector would need an investment of about $500 billion,” Mr Rajeev Talwar, Group Executive Director of DLF Ltd, said at a conference here.

DLF and GPL together aim to develop projects worth thousands of crore every year. “We will aim for new infrastructure projects. The National Highways Authority has asked for pre-qualification for project in Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. There are six-lane and four-lane projects. These will be amongst our focus areas,” Mr T.V. Sandeep Reddy, Managing Director of GPL, said.

Meanwhile, officials said that the DLF-LOR joint venture’s order book comprises 25 of DLF’s projects across the country. “These are spread across major cities entailing a total built up areas of about 65 million square feet,” Mr Brian Emerton, Managing Director of DLF Laing O’Rourke, said.