Take off cleared

Naresh Goyal8217;s ambitious Rs 2,300-cr buyout of Air Sahara finally got back on the rails after some uncertain moments. Aviation observer...

Naresh Goyal8217;s ambitious Rs 2,300-cr buyout of Air Sahara finally got back on the rails after some uncertain moments. Aviation observers always felt that the deal would have lost its economic rationale for Goyal but for the transfer of rights over Sahara8217;s 26 parking slots in the airports across the country. Now with the slots under his belt, the experts believe, the tycoon will have a clear edge over competitors who will continue to struggle with poor infrastructure in the country. Amidst all the delay over government clearance to the deal, the tycoon had to extend the March 23 deadline for conclusion the deal by another 90 days. In the meanwhile, Goyal has earmarked a corpus of Rs 500 cr to run Sahara till the final consummation of the deal and asked his trusted lieutenant Gaurang Shetty to takeover as Chief Operating Officer. In fact Shetty8217;s team consisting of some of Jet8217;s star managers would soon be relocating to New Delhi to run the show. With the green signal from the Government, Goyal may well have moved passed a big road block, but he surely cannot take things easy given the fact that his detractors are not expected to lie low and would raise all kinds of issues to derail the most significant deal in the Indian skies. But of more interest at the moment is how Sahara8217;s beleaguered Roy makes his next moves with his fresh cash flow.

8216;Green Zone8217;

Ananda Mahindra is keen on cashing on the current infrastructure boom. The tycoon has formed a joint venture with the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation MIDC to develop a 3000-acre Special Economic Zone SEZ at Kalra near Pune. He is planning to pump in Rs 2000 crore into the project, which he expects to complete in the next 2-3 years. Mahindra has a 8216;green8217; agenda for this new SEZ. He insists that the Zone will remain completely focused on non-polluting industries like high-end electronics and computer hardware. The tycoon claims to be already in talks with some investors from Japan and Singapore. Mahindra8217;s penchant for novelty doesn8217;t end here though. He wants to design his SEZ on the interesting concept of 8216;work-live-learn-play8217; and expects a third of the workers to actually live within the SEZ. Industry watchers believe that Mahindra8217;s Pune SEZ is going to be a big hit among the target industries because of its proximity to the Mumbai and Nhava Sheva Ports. The tycoon, who is developing two more SEZs in Chennai and Jaipur believes that his Pune venture would be able to attract around Rs 9000 cr in investments and employ more than 75,000 when fully operational. The automobile and tractor tycoon however is aware that the worsening power situation in Maharashtra could raise some doubts in the minds of his investors. Though already assured by the state government about adequate power supply, Mahindra is playing safe and planning to go for a captive power plant.dilipcheriangmail.com