India's first infrastructure equipment bank Quipo, part of Rs the 1,600 crore (Rs 16 billion) SREI group, said on Thursday that the company will invest about Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next two years, adding that the land provided by Rajasthan government in Neemrana would be a major hub for the northern region.
"We plan to invest about Rs 200 crore in the coming two years as the infrastructure development activities in the country are growing very fast and the demand for equipment would automatically see a surge in demand," Sunil Kanoria, chairman and managing director, Quipo, told PTI in New Delhi.
Quipo, with 48 per cent foreign holding, including that by World Bank's private investment arm International Finance Corporation and the Netherlands government, would generate capital through internal borrowing, Kanoria said.
Lauding the Rajasthan government, he said it showed high level of professionalism and cleared the project very fast.
The state government has also provided three acres of land close to Delhi in Neemrana at concessional price of Rs 39 lakh (Rs 3.9 million).
"Neemrana will now be our major hub for the northern region where construction activities and infrastructure projects are coming up very fast, Kanoria said, adding, "Rajasthan has given us sales tax benefits for the next six years besides lifting entry tax on our equipment."
Kanoria said, "We expect another hub to come up soon in Hyderabad as negotiations with Andhra Pradesh government have reached a crucial stage."
"However, our plans to open a hub in Mumbai have failed to get a similar response from the Maharashtra government," Kanoria added.
On the problems faced by the company, he said, "There is tremendous difficulty in moving equipment from one state to another due to large-scale corruption and undue harassment."
"We hope VAT (value added tax), in a better form, comes into existence to bring uniformity and end our woes," Kanoria said.
"Lack of skilled manpower to run high technology equipment and providing training to workers is another area where, as the first such enterprise in the country, we face great difficulty," he said.
Kanoria, whose company Quipo is the major supplier of equipment to Delhi Metro project, Golden Quadrilateral and Delhi-Haryana highway, asked the government to allow tax relief up to 50 per cent to the company on import of machinery for the infrastructure projects as given to those carrying out the ventures.
