India is urbanising at, what a Union Minister has termed, a very 'dramatic' clip. It today has 50 cities with a population of over one million. As per the 2011 Census, the total number of cities and towns in the country had increased to 7,936 from 5,161 in 2001.

Highway developer Dilip Buildcon has said that it has bagged two EPC road projects worth about Rs 700 crore in Maharashtra from the Road Transport and Highways Ministry.

Engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro’s construction arm has secured its single-biggest order worth Rs 5,250 crore from Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation for power transmission and network expansion.

Gayatri Projects has secured an irrigation contract worth Rs 1,363 crore from the Executive Engineer, Karnataka Neeravari Nigama Limited.

Just as with PPP projects, HAM contracts too are finding financial closure to be a challenge. Banks, especially, are wary of putting their money on developers with weak financials and lack of adequate experience. Industry insiders, however, beg to differ.

Minimising of project execution risks and introduction of strong deterrents for non-performers are the only long-term solutions to ensure seamless funding for infrastructure projects, says Srishti Ahuja Taneja, Director, Transaction Advisory Services, Ernst & Young.

Larsen and Toubro Hydrocarbon Engineering has said that it has signed a five-year framework agreement with Shell for engineering, procurement and construction management services.

Infrastructure major Punj Lloyd's net loss has narrowed to Rs 231.81 crore during the quarter ended December 31, 2016.

The Smart Cities Mission ensures that systems and regulations that balance growth, business friendliness and public interest are in place, say Upendra Joshi and Shivanshu Thaplyal.