Lodha UK, the London based development arm of India’s largest real estate developer, Lodha Developers, has raised USD 375 million (GBP 290 million) as construction funding for its Lincoln Square development in London, located adjacent to the London School of Economics (LSE) and close to Covent Garden.

HCC, as a lead partner in the joint venture with HSEPL has been awarded Rs 672.99 crore contract on EPC basis for the construction of Parwan Gravity Dam by the Water Resources Department, Government of Rajasthan. HCC’s share in the JV is 90% (Rs 605.70 crore).

Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited (DAMEPL), a subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure has been awarded compensation of Rs 2,950 crore by a three member Arbitral Tribunal, a company statement said.

An estimated 30 people will leave rural India for urban areas every minute during the next 20 years. At this rate, in the next two decades, most Indian cities are likely to double their size in terms of population and more than double in area.

Harshavardhan Chitale, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Philips Lighting India Ltd, has lauded Urban Local Bodies for focusing on smart and modern lighting systems in their Smart City plans.

With 59 special purpose vehicles (SPVs) in place, India's Smart Cities Mission is now ready to take off. With more than 15 tenders coming in every month, winning cities have made sure their envisaged plans are on track, albeit at a slow speed.

In an exclusive interaction, Zheng Bin, CEO, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd and Chairman, MCEA, says that India should not blindly follow the models adopted by other Smart Cities which have come up across the world, and instead rely on its own strategy.

With projects off the ground, the recently held summit focused on transportation, PPP, planning future cities, water and wastewater, IoT and energy.

Arun Lakhani, Chairman and Managing Director, Vishvaraj Infrastructure, says users will pay for drinking water if service providers improve service and engagement levels. Lakhani, whose firm has successfully rolled out the much-acclaimed 'Nagpur 24x7 Water Supply Scheme' in partnership with the French firm Veolia, also feels that the government needs to enunciate a policy on water reuse to make treated water an attractive proposition for the industry.