Anil Ambani invests in BMIC

Anil Ambani gives muscle to BMIC plan
Major Deal For First Phase
The Times of India

Anil Ambani will now join hands with Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE) to build the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC). A day after the apex court verdict directing NICE to continue with the road building, sources said, Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Enterprises (ADAE) through its investment arm Reliance Energy Investments has signed a deal with NICE to pick up a 15% equity stake in the first phase of the project.

This is seen as a major coup for the Kalyanigroup led consortium which has won the mandate to build a controversial expressway between Bangalore and Mysore.

Though the deal has been inked for the first phase, sources said, Anil is said to be interested in the entire project.
The cost of phase one is estimated at Rs 1,000 crore.

Anil’s ADAE which comprises Reliance Energy and Reliance Infocomm is expected to bring the telecom and power generation and distribution expertise to the project. The Rs 2,250 cr BMIC project consists of four phases. The first phase will see the ring road connecting NH4 and NH7 and the initial part of the expressway going up to the Toyota plant in Bidadi (on the outskirts of Bangalore). Sources said it will also have a township where Anil proposes to build a state-ofthe-art park modelled on Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge Centre in Navi Mumbai.

ADAE will lay fibre optic network along the road and will provide connections at each of the five townships.

It is likely to chip in with the 400 MW power generation and distribution which is part of the project. NICE has roped in ONGC to supply gas both for the power generation and at the township for domestic usage.

For Anil, the deal is seen as the first major foray into infrastructure projects. Though, ADAE has bid for the Mumbai and Delhi airport projects, partnering with NICE is the first concrete step, said sources.

Industry circles were buzzing that teaming up with ADAE provides NICE a strong new ally to see that the project takes off.