Not heard from govt yet on VSNL land development: NBCC

NBCC has not received any official communication from the government for development of any part of the VSNL land that it plans to demerge in the near future, says Chairman Anoop Kumar Mittal. The government Wednesday took a crucial step towards reclaiming the 773-acre land held by VSNL and has decided to demerge it for development. Of the total land parcel, 120 acres is in the national capital and close to the sites where NBCC is among the leading developers.Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Mittal said the company's current outstanding order book is around Rs 70,000 crore and within the next 2 years it will exceed Rs 1 lakh crore.  Execution will begin over the next few quarters and revenue recognition from some of the projects is likely to start from around the first quarter of FY18, he said, adding, margins also are likely to start improving.Below is the verbatim transcript of Anoop Kumar Mittal’s interview to Anuj Singhal, Latha Venkatesh and Sonia Shenoy on CNBC-TV18.Sonia: The decision was taken yesterday. So, it may be too early but have you had any talks with anybody from the government with respect to developing this land and even if you do get business how long do you think it could take before it flows through into your revenue stream?A: I have also heard yesterday and so many people were asking about this amendment in law and definitely if it has happened that will benefit the construction agencies and being a public sector company and in this redevelopment and development of government properties. We also see opportunity in this property, but honestly we have not heard anything with the government. Probably in future we may be called by the government and discuss this issue.Latha: Can you tell us generally about the order outlook now. I am sure you know a little more about smart cities and what it might throw up for you. So, any fresh guidance that you can give us in terms of your order book and order execution for FY17?A: Today our outstanding order book is about Rs 70,000 crore and almost Rs 40,000 crore to Rs 45,000 crore we have received in the last 7-8 months time and I expect a few more good orders in this remaining financial year. Numbers can be Rs 20,000 crore or more. But definitely I can see after two years outstanding order book should be Rs 1 lakh crore after doing work in that period. So, that is about order book.As far as execution part is concerned all these orders are under preparation or all these projects are under preparation. The DPR is being prepared. So, honestly by next financial year we will be finalising all these things and from first quarter of 2017-18 you can see some revenue recognition from these projects.As far as this financial year is concerned last year we did around Rs 5,700-5,800 crore and conservative figure is 20-25 percent growth I am expecting by end of this financial year. But don\\'t expect this every quarter, but definitely by the end of financial year.Anuj: It is a bit hypothetical in nature of course but this question arises because right now your redevelopment areas are the same, posh south Delhi areas, Nauroji Nagar, Sarojini Nagar and this VSNL prime land is in Saket. So, that would be in sync with your current areas. What kind of potential will it have in terms of redevelopment?A: Again I will say that I am not aware of the details of the land but definitely the area which you are mentioning and I know this VSNL land is a very good place. It is a posh area in South Delhi and very near to the properties which we are developing and it is not less but definitely more than what we are generating in Kidwai Nagar and other places and potential is huge.Sonia: If you look at just Delhi there is about 120 acres of land, the VSNL land, the rest of it is in other states, Maharashtra, Bengal etc. But what could the value of this total land be and how much could you enjoy as a chunk of that value?A: I think third time you are asking similar thing.Sonia: We are just trying to do some number crunching if we get any kind of numbers from you?A: I know you are smarter than me but this time I am proving smarter than you. So, let us wait for some more time.Sonia: There are some reports indicating that the value of that land could be more than Rs 7,000 crore. I am just trying to get any kind of ballpark number from you?A: We should wait for some more time, maybe a couple of week. After that things will be more clear and as you know I am very blunt and I will be very straight to tell you everything and let us wait. Government has not called us officially and we will discuss later.Latha: Will margins improve? After all, the cost of funding seems to be falling for a lot of people. For a person like you getting money from the market should be child\\'s play. Shouldn\\'t your finance cost be going down and your margins going up?A: Yes, definitely because as you know most of our projects are project management consultancy and redevelopment side also. Whatever money is required that we are not taking loan or debt. So, margins will definitely improve.