Introduction: The government agencies across India are continuously investing significant sums of money for development of large-scale infrastructure. In many cases, such infrastructure is funded with private sector funds. To select such an agency, a professional transactional advisor is engaged to estimate the investment requirement and estimate the possible return on investments. A few infrastructure projects for which transaction advisors are sought by the government are highway maintenance, development of tourism circuit, development of industrial area and convention centre development. This article analyzes the transaction advisory tenders published by the government agencies in India during the year 2023-2024.
Annual Analytics: A total of 344 tenders were published during the last year for selection of transaction advisors. . The states with the highest number of tenders are Karnataka with 184 and Maharashtra with 133 tender releases. With 69 and 61 tenders, Urban Development Department Mantralaya of Maharashtra and D. Devaraj Urs Truck Terminals Ltd of Karnataka respectively stand out among other agencies, which is followed by 37 tenders released by the Bank of Baroda of Maharashtra. Some other noteworthy organisations are the Directorate of Municipal Administration of Karnataka, Life Insurance Corportaion of India (Haryana), the Haryana Board Corporation (Delhi) and Department of Kannada and Culture (Karnataka) with 26, 14, 12 and 24 tender releases respectively. These tenders indicate a wide range of demand for transactional and financial advisory services across several regions. More than 50 financial advisory tenders were published during the last year.
Transaction advisory tenders: Out of the 344 tenders published by the government, 253 specifically sought to engage transaction advisor. Refer below for the various different projects for which transaction advisors are sought by the government agencies. The Bank of Baroda published a Request for Proposal (RFP) for appointment of a consultancy agency for providing advisory and assistance Services to the Bank on Green Financing Framework as per the applicable regulatory guidelines. Ports is an area which require significant financial investments. Gujarat Ports Infrastructure & Development Company Limited sought advisory Services for the development of Master Plan for all the GMB operated ports in the State of Gujarat. Metro rail is another infrastructure which require significant investments. The Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation Limited published a tender for the selection of transaction advisor for project structuring and bid process management for property development at land parcels of JMRC. Many initiatives are taken by the government agencies for the development of industrial parks. The West Bengal Industrial Infrastructure development agency published an invitation for Expression of Interest for engagement of transaction adviser for restructuring/ upgrading 3 nos Industrial Parks named Falta Industrial Park (Sector III).
Many initiatives are taken by the government for development of the tourism sector. The MP State Tourism Development Corporation Limited has published a Request for Proposal for Appointment of Transaction Advisor for Indore Hotel Project through PPP Mode. This tender was open for bidding only from Empanelled Transaction Advisers. The generation of solid waste has increased significantly creating serious environment issues. To address this issue, government agencies have made significant investments for treatment of solid waste. The Directorate of Municipal Administration in Karnataka sought to engage a firm to provide project management consultancy (pmc) services including dpr preparation, transaction advisory including bid process management and provision for supervision & monitoring services for implementation of integrated solid waste management services for the urban local bodies of gadag, bagalkote and vijaypura district under swachh bharat mission 2.0.
Financial advisory tenders: Many tenders were published to evaluate financial feasibility of infrastructure projects which require high investments. The Diu district for example published a tender for appointment of Transaction Advisor (TA) for carrying out the financial feasibility and bid process management for development of fishing harbour at Vanakbara- Diu. A few agencies sought to hire an financial advisor on-site to provide the services required by the client. In such contracts, the government will pay for this expert in a man month basis. Certain government agencies sought to hire a financial expert for professional advice in investment and divestment decisions. For example, the Bank of Baroda sought to hire an expert for the execution of the proposed divestment transaction for bringing in strategic partner in bob financial solutions ltd. (bfsl), a subsidiary of bank of baroda. Also, financial experts were engaged for debt restructuring by the government. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) sought the appointment of Financial Advisory Services for Debt Structuring and Debt Mobilization for development of twin tube tunnel between Thane and Borivali and other Infra Project. In a few tenders, consultants with both transaction and financial advisory expertise were sought. For example, Tripura Urban Planning and Development Authority published a Request for proposals (RFP) for the work of appointment of transaction cum financial Advisor in Tripura Urban Development Authority TUDA. Another example is a tender by the Mormugoa Port Trust: Appointment of Technical Consultant cum Transaction and Financial Advisor for Proposed Development of Dockyard/Ship Repair Yard in place of existing Barge Jetties at Mormugao Port
Live Tender Analysis: A total of 22 transaction advisory tenders were open for bidding as of 11th April 2024. The maximum number of tenders were published in Maharashtra, at 6. Karnataka and Tamil nadu were ranked second with 4 tenders each. In Delhi, 3 tenders were published followed by Kerala and Odisha at 2 each.
Conclusion: This analysis shows that government agencies engage transaction advisory and financial advisory experts to evaluate the prospect of a project. Before making heavy investments in development of infrastructure such as port, solid waste management initiatives, harbor, airports and highways, government agencies undertake due diligence with the support of experts. More than 300 such tenders were published during the last year. Given the increased emphasis on infrastructure development, it is likely that more such tenders will be published in the years to come. In certain cases, the government agencies sought to hire financial experts for investment and divestment decisions. The professional transaction advisors and financial advisors are advised to monitor these opportunities and participate in them. Such participation will enable them to grow their business.
