Entrepreneurs must meet deadlines

There is tremendous scope for entrepreneurs in infrastructure,as one infrastructure project can create a 1,000 entrepreneurs.

There is tremendous scope for entrepreneurs in infrastructure,as one infrastructure project can create a 1,000 entrepreneurs. In order to make this possible,it is important that entrepreneurs are able to manage their services so as to meet the deadline of completing the projects,said Vimal Shah,MD,Ackruti City Ltd,during the infrastructure outlook panel debate session on Day One of TiEs The Entrepreneurial Summit 2009.

Shah said,Only if young entrepreneurs have accurate ideas to spearhead the infrastructure business that suits current market dynamics and have the diligency to work hard,will they be able to successfully deliver their projects.

During the economic slowdown,25% of the investors declined to invest in urban Indian infrastructure projects. Manish Agarwal,partner at KPMG,said,As a result,now many semi-urban markets in India are witnessing a slew of infrastructure activities,be it airports or bridges. In such a scenario,it also becomes important to privatise the infrastructure sector so that the development is managed at its best.

Agarwal said,There is enough liquidity in the market that can be used to invest in the right infrastructure projects. Investing in small-sized clusters of development too interests investors. This trend can probably give scope for small-time entrepreneurs to enter the infrastructure business. We feel that though real estate and infrastructure belong to different asset classes,they complement each other in terms of location,price and returns on investments.

The Indian infrastructure sector lacks long-term debt market that existed in other international markets. Unless there is better long-term repayment schemes,it will be difficult for infrastructure developers to take a loan and complete the long-pending projects in time. In the process,they may also tend to lose out on higher yields,he said.