September 19, 2024: Mr Ajit Gulabchand, Chairman, HCC was bestowed with Lifetime Achievement Award at the 9th ET NOW Infra Focus Summit and Awards 2024 held on September 19, 2024 at ITC Maurya, Delhi.
Mr. Gulabchand also participated in a panel discussion on “Infrastructure Financing and Investment” to delve into the crucial aspects of creating a sustainable and resilient infrastructure ecosystem. The objective of the panel was to discuss current trends in financing infrastructure and how an enabling ecosystem can be created for infrastructure developers. The discussion could help shape the understanding of policymakers, industry stakeholders, and participants, leading to the formulation of more effective and impactful policies. The panel was moderated by Ms. Padma Priya J, Partner at urban infrastructure industry leader - Grant Thornton Bharat.
Addressing a question on “How the government should look at giving more impetus to attracting both international and domestic investors”, Mr. Gulabchand said, “The detailed project report of the infrastructure projects are prepared inadequately and are used many years later. So, when it comes to bid, the prices are much different or higher than what the project report says. These bids are passed by the latest engineers, and both these prices are accepted by the government. But should somewhere you have to terminate the contract, it only pays the prices outlined in the detailed project report. This makes the lenders worry and want the difference to be guaranteed by the sponsors or concessioner. That is one of the reasons why we see no international companies are coming forward to finance PPP projects unless they are completed.”