As the industry steps into 2019, companies are strategising to ease project risks. Here’s how! “Being an integrated infrastructure solution provider, involved in investment, development, construction, operation, maintenance and management of highway projects, keeping in view the new model contract document, experience gained in dealing with the land and other issues and ever-changing socio-political scenarios, the process of realignment and reengineering is already underway in the company, which will continue in 2019 to mitigate project risks,” says Yogesh Jain, Managing Director, PNC Infratech. This being an election year, Devendra Jain, Executive Director and CEO, Dilip Buildcon, does not see many bids on the platter. “So, for orders bagged, we will start work soon. As a company, for the next two to three months, we will not be bidding aggressively owing to various factors at the government and market levels. However, depending on the results of the elections, we may streamline our strategies in Q2 FY20.”    In Dholera, Dholera Industrial City Development Company (DICDL) has already undertaken international best practices since 2013. For proper management and execution, a SPV was formed between the state of Gujarat and DMICDC. The Program Manager for New Cities (PMNC) in charge has implemented best practices in programme management, including project scheduling, cost control risk assessment, online collaboration platform, 3D design and asset management, to name a few. “As an example,” says Jai Prakash Shivahare, Managing Director, DICDL, “we are happy to mention that in 2013, the first phase of the Dholera programme was estimated at Rs 44 billion and now, five years later, after issuing over a dozen contracts worth almost Rs 30 billion, the final estimated budget is Rs 43.50 billion, about the same as the original 2013 budget. This speaks volumes about our cost control and risk management.”     For its part, NHAI has already aligned its strategies for project award till 2020. “Our DPRs are in advanced stages,” says RK Pandey, Member-Projects, NHAI. “Also, we have identified six to seven corridors and are working on it.”    Meanwhile, Sunil Srivastava, Managing Director, BARSYL, says, “We have become extremely stringent in terms of project funding. We ensure project funding is available, land and other clearances are in place; else, we decline the project. This helps us mitigate risk to a large extent.”  SHRIYAL SETHUMADHAVAN and RAHUL KAMAT