Bids come in a flurry for IT parks

Highest bidder Lanco Infratech quotes around Rs 800 crore

The state government's open tender policy for the proposed IT parks in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam is evoking a tremendous response from bidders.

The highest bidder "� Hyderabad-based Lanco Infratech Limited "� is learnt to have quoted nearly Rs 800 crore for the development of four IT parks as compared to the upset price of over Rs 120 crore.

Officials termed the bidders' response as 'mind boggling' when the per acre price quotation by the highest bidder crossed more than four-five times of the upset price fixed by the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC).

"We anticipated the price of all the four highest bids together to touch around Rs 300 crore at the most. But what has happened is just beyond our imagination," a senior APIIC official told Business Standard on condition of anonymity.

In another interesting twist to the development, Lanco Infratech has beaten even the big-ticket companies like L&T and Raheja group who are in the fray.

APPIIC officials opened the price bids of over a dozen pre-qualified firms including DLF, Nagarjuna Construction Corporation (NCC), Golflinks and Patel Engineering JV here on Tuesday.

It may be recalled that APIIC invited tenders for the proposed three IT parks in Hyderabad at Manikonda, Vattinagulapally and Rayadurga, and one in Visakhapatnam a couple of months back. While the total land earmarked for the three IT parks in Hyderabad is around 300 acres, the proposed facility in Vizag is around 10 acres.

According to the tender rules framed by APIIC with regard to the proposed three IT parks in Hyderabad, whoever quotes the highest rate on the upset price for each of the four proposed IT parks will become the successful bidder.

But on a condition, which states a firm can choose only one IT park even though emerges as the highest bidder for more than one park. This clause, according to officials, has been incorporated to avoid the possible monopoly by a single company in developing the IT parks and also to ensure speedy completion of the projects.

In the present case, Lanco, which stood as the top most contender across the board, is learnt to have preferred Manikonda park, leaving the other two to the second highest bidders. But, as there was no such restriction with regard to the Vizag park, Lanco is likely to take that park too.

"To emerge as the successful bidder in the other two cases, the second highest bidder who remains in the fray has to match the price quoted by the original highest bidder, in this case Lanco Infratech Limited," sources said.

However, a final picture with regard to the other two IT parks at Hyderabad will emerge only after completing this process, which is expected to take at least one week from now.

While the per acre upset price for Manikonda, Vattinagulapally, Rayadurg stood at Rs 60 lakh, Rs 80 lakh and Rs 1 crore respectively, the price quoted by the highest bidder in one of these cases was more than Rs 4 crore, officials said.

While there was a huge price variation between the highest bidder (Lanco) and the second highest bidder (NCC) for the Vattinagulapally park, the price difference in case of Rayadurg and others is said to be in the range of just 10 per cent. DLF is said to be the second highest bidder with regard to Rayadurg Park.

The first phase of each of these four parks will have to be completed by the successful bidder within three years from the date of awarding the project. And the successful bidder will have to deposit 50 per cent of the quoted price within 45 days.

Lanco Infratech is part of the Lanco group owned by Congress MP Lagadapati Rajagopal. Among other businesses, the Lanco group has a 368-mega watt gas-based power project near Vijayawada. The group is also planning to set up thermal power projects in Chattishgarh.