Construction and contracting became a part of me: AK Mittal

Excerpts from an interview with AK Mittal, Chairperson, National Buildings Construction Corporation by Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO, DNA and Zee Regional News Channels

When you started your career as a civil engineer, did you think that you would become a chairperson some day?

I always intended to do good work but never thought I'll become the chairperson.

Did you have a god father who helped you excel?

I do not believe in god fathers. I was appointed the chairperson in 2013. I believe God made it possible for me to reach this stature.

When did you join ASIAD?

I started my career with ASIAD. I completed my engineering from Patiala's Thapar College in 1982 and joined ASIAD, which was working on an indoor stadium at that time. Then I worked with Shapoorji Pallonji & Co LTD in Delhi for another 30 years. This is how construction and contracting became a part of me.

How did you come in the Central Leadership or Appropriate Leadership's notice?

You can only excel through hard work. Same happened with me. I reached this position after four years of hard work. If you are methodical and you have a positive attitude, you will definitely stand out.

You enjoy the reputation and goodwill of an outstanding performer. How did you achieve this?

When you work for 30 years in an organisation you start having a vision. When the government made me the chairperson for five years, I got an opportunity to fulfill those dreams. I worked hard and introduced transparency in the system which ultimately helped us gain the confidence of investors. Now, our company's market capital stands at Rs18,000 crore.

What is your organisation's basic mandate?

Apart from railways, our company also deals in all kinds of construction work including real estate, power plants, solar plants, and road construction, among others. Delhi Metro's first station Seelampur was also constructed by the NBCC under my supervision.

How is your coordination with different government organisations like DDA in Delhi?

We work for different governments. Right now we are working on a project with the DDA, one with the centre and another with the state government in Delhi. People say it's really difficult to work in the public sector but you need to coordinate with the right organisations to get approvals easily and in time.

You have recently sanctioned three projects worth Rs 25,000 crore. Tell us about them...

We have initiated a model redevelopment of Delhi. We started with redeveloping the new Moti Bagh colony, where we invested Rs 700 crore. We ensured the government that we will arrange the money and we did so by selling Hotel Leela. It was the biggest deal at that time. Today, 80 per cent policy makers of the Indian government live in that colony. Following the same model, we started a redevelopment project in East Kidwai Nagar. We are constructing 5,000 houses for which we had to generate Rs 6,000 crore. Government has also given us redevelopment projects worth Rs 25,000 crore in Narojji Nagar, Netaji Nagar, and Sarojini Nagar.

What is the East Delhi Hub?

The DDA has 75 acres of land in east Delhi's Kakaddooma. This dream project aimed to develop an Integrated Township and build Delhi's tallest 100-storey building there. Since the DDA is a policy maker and had no capacity execute it, they handed over the Rs 12,000-crore project to us. We have started working on it in collaboration with a Spanish company.

Is NBCC also working on any project in Pragati Maidan?

That project is a lifetime project. We are redeveloping a convention centre being built there. It will be India's only convention centre with a capacity of 7,000, a fixed auditorium catering to three thousand people, and around four thousand flats. We will be spending Rs 800 crore on traffic intervention for this project. The entire network — Bhagwandas Road, Purana Qila-High Court Road — will be made signal free. We are also constructing seven tunnels, which will connect Pragati Maidan to Ring Road.

How long will this project take?

This project has been assigned a time-period of 24 months, starting July this year. But, keeping the G-20 summit scheduled to be held in July in mind, we have wish to complete the work on the convention centre in 18 months.

Is the entire map of Pragati Maidan going to change?

Yes, the map will change completely. We had released a map in a press meet. It will be a state-of-the-art structure.

What projects have you taken up in Gurgaon?

We are making a housing complex in Gurgaon which is being sold to the public sector. We are also working on an affordable housing in Alwar and the surrounding area.

Will affordable housing projects in India be a success?

Yes, they will be, I believe.

Have you given some suggestions on this to the PM?

The PM has agreed to the suggestions I made. We have created a DPR of the three projects — one of them being in Hyderabad and the other in Kolkata. It is clear that nobody wants to travel 40 km to work. It's not about money it's about the time for which integrated townships are the only solution.

Is your company in direct competition with private companies?

Our company has been competing with private real estate companies for the last 25 years. We are just as active in the field of real estate as they are. The only difference being that these private companies operate on loans, but we fund our own projects.