Reverse merger of NICE, NECE with BF Utilities in 6 mnths: Kheny

NICE is a step-down subsidiary of the Baba Kalyani-led BF Utilities. The former had subsequently floated a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to execute the first phase of the BIMC project.

Kheny says the company already has a 41-kilometer road in service and toll collection is under way on that project.Below is the verbatim transcript of Ashok Kheny's interview with Latha Venkatesh, Reema Tendulkar & Varinder Bansal on CNBC-TV18.Latha: What is the progress on contempt petition? Are you expecting to hear from the Supreme Court any time soon before April 18 and what has been the response of Karnataka government? Have they released any land?A: It is difficult for me to talk about Supreme Court because it is sub judice on my part, but I can say that the mood of the Supreme Court was that enough is enough, let\\'s get on the table, both of you resolve the issues and get going with an important public interest project and implement and let the state of Karnataka get the benefits. Latha: Has Karnataka government released any of the land?A: The ruling came yesterday and now Supreme Court told us as well as the state of Karnataka to set up a schedule of which land to release, what are the issues to be resolved in phased manner and they said they will monitor week by week, monitor the progress. The first meeting they have set up is on April 18 and a week later on April 25 and then May 2. However, we are hoping that these three meetings will resolve all the issues and get going with the project.Reema: Let us assume by the end of May or mid May you get those clearances but apart from that are there any other clearances and by when can the project gets kick-started according to you?A: The project has already started, 41 kilometre of peripheral road is in service and we are collecting toll, which is the busiest road in and around Bangalore and bypassing Bangalore city. So it puts pressure on both the state government as well as NICE to start implementing the projects and start having more meetings and resolve disputes and try to come with amicable solution so the project could be implemented. So it\\'s a very healthy decision by the Supreme Court. Latha: What part of land has not come to you? How much do you need to complete the project?A: The total project has 20,193 acres of land. Some of land is under possession; some of the land is under final notification phases, so no movement has happened in the last six years since the last ruling by the Supreme Court in 2010, so we are hoping that now we will start seeing momentum and what we couldn\\'t accomplish in the last six years, hopefully, we will accomplish in next six months. Varinder: Give us the revenue visibility of this project in the next two-three years. Hopefully you get all the clearances in the next two-three months. What is the revenue visibility of this project, why is this project so important for the company in the next two-three years?A: The project is not only important to the company, it is very important for the people of Karnataka and the state of Karnataka. As PM Modi is talking of smart cities and highways, expressways, we came up with this concept over 20 years back; 1995 is when we signed the MoU, it\\'s nearly 21 years since we have been struggling. So the difficulties we are going through, I am sure the projects will go through the same difficulties because usually these projects worldwide take 20 years to get started.Reema: Let us assume by the end of May or mid May you get those clearances but apart from that are there any other clearances and by when can the project gets kick-started according to you?A: The project has already started, 41 kilometre of peripheral road is in service and we are collecting toll, which is the busiest road in and around Bangalore and bypassing Bangalore city. So it puts pressure on both the state government as well as NICE to start implementing the projects and start having more meetings and resolve disputes and try to come with amicable solution so the project could be implemented. So it\\'s a very healthy decision by the Supreme Court. Latha: What part of land has not come to you? How much do you need to complete the project?A: The total project has 20,193 acres of land. Some of land is under possession; some of the land is under final notification phases, so no movement has happened in the last six years since the last ruling by the Supreme Court in 2010, so we are hoping that now we will start seeing momentum and what we couldn\\'t accomplish in the last six years, hopefully, we will accomplish in next six months. Varinder: Give us the revenue visibility of this project in the next two-three years. Hopefully you get all the clearances in the next two-three months. What is the revenue visibility of this project, why is this project so important for the company in the next two-three years?A: The project is not only important to the company, it is very important for the people of Karnataka and the state of Karnataka. As PM Modi is talking of smart cities and highways, expressways, we came up with this concept over 20 years back; 1995 is when we signed the MoU, it\\'s nearly 21 years since we have been struggling. So the difficulties we are going through, I am sure the projects will go through the same difficulties because usually these projects worldwide take 20 years to get started.For entire interview, watch accompanying video.