Maytas Infra board clears reference to CDR forum

Maytas Infra Limited, promoted by the family of Satyam Computer Services founder Ramalinga Raju, today cleared the reference to the corporate debt restructuring forum after SBI Capital Markets, consultants to the company on the CDR scheme, made a presentation to the board. Major lenders of the company were present at the meeting.

“As the CDR scheme is likely to be approved soon, the board is optimistic on the execution of various projects,” said a company release. The company had approved the corporate debt restructuring proposal on April 29. As many as 17 banks have a combined exposure of Rs 1,750 crore in the company.

CDR is a mechanism put in place by the Reserve Bank of India to support borrowers facing genuine difficulties in putting together timely restructuring packages. The system stipulates that a debt revamp proposal, once cleared by 75 per cent lenders in value terms, shall be binding on all the parties.

The meeting, chaired by Airport Authority of India’s former chairman, Ramalingam, also reviewed the status of various build, operate and transfer projects take up by the company, including the Hyderabad Metro rail project. According to information, the board evaluated the Rs 12,000-crore Hyderabad Metro project with reference to land acquisition and financial closure. It has already sought six more months for the financial closure of the project after failing to do so by the stipulated date of March.

The board now has six members, including four appointed by the government. It interacted with senior executives and evaluated various projects.

The order book of the company has shrunk marginally due to the global financial meltdown and developments in the wake of the disclosure of fudging of accounts in Satyam Computers. The current order book, excluding the Hyderabad Metro rail project, is over Rs 8,500 crore and most of these projects have achieved financial closure and are expected to be completed in two years.

Of these, the irrigation projects that the company is doing are worth Rs 5,000 and the company has receivables of around Rs 500 crore. It also plans to raise Rs 800 crore to Rs 1,000 crore through asset sales and loan and guarantees from banks, respectively, to complete various projects and bid for new projects.

With investigation into the affairs of Satyam and related companies still on, it will take some time for the infrastructure company to provide the audited accounts for the year ended 2008-09.