L&T bags Rs.1637 crore orders, to add 10,000 jobs despite economic slowdown

According to a press statement, L&T has bagged three major orders aggregating to Rs.937 crore during September and October 2008 in Delhi and Andhra Pradesh.

L&T said it bagged an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) project worth Rs.582 crore from Hyderabad Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) under the prestigious Godavari Drinking Water Supply project Phase-I. The project, L&T said, involves construction of trunk mains of MS pipe for 58 km to bring 735 million liters per day (MLD) treated water to Hyderabad city. The project is expected to be completed in 24 months.

The company said it also bagged two EPC projects from Delhi Jal Board valued at Rs.355 crore. While the first project envisages design, providing, laying, jointing, testing and commissioning of MS twin-pipeline from Bawana to Dwarka (Package 1A), the second project involves design and construction of 2 million gallons per day (MGD) water treatment plant (WTP) at Okhla. The water treatment plant will have clarifloculator, flash mixer, filters, pre-sedimentation tanks as major units along with the intake system, L&T said. The two projects are expected to be completed in 21 months.

L&T said it has also bagged a Rs.700 crore order from HPCL-Mittal Energy Investments (HMEL), a joint venture between Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Mittal Energy Investments.

The project involves setting up two 44000 tonnes per annum (TPA) capacity Hydrogen Generation Units (HGU) for HMEL's greenfield refinery in Bathinda, Punjab.

The scope of work includes residual process design, detailed engineering, procurement, supply, transportation, storage, fabrication, inspection, construction, installation, testing, mechanical completion, pre-commissioning and commissioning.

"The order for the HGU has been awarded to L&T on a Lump Sum Turnkey basis, affirming customer confidence in L&T's integrated capabilities to execute critical sections of refineries," the company said in a statement.

The HMEL order was bagged by the Chemical Plants Business Unit of L&T's Engineering and Construction Division.

In a separate development, L&T said it plans to enter solar power generation business and expand its offering in the green energy technology business that includes nuclear and hydel power.

The company, which depends on orders to build plants for steel, oil, automobile and power companies among others, said it will hire 10,000 employees in the next 2-3 years, as it starts new units in Chennai and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.

"Some of our clients have slowed down. [But] We maintain our projected target of 30-35 percent growth in book order for the fiscal," said A.M. Naik, chairman and managing director of the $7 billion company. The company presently has an order backlog of about Rs.60900 crore from steel, copper and power companies in India and overseas.

Despite economic slowdown, the company will stick to its capital expenditure targets, Naik said. "Like most other industries even infrastructure has had to face the brunt of a global slowdown. We are seeing that most of our clients are postponing the construction of projects because everybody is facing an acute problem of liquidity crunch. However, the slowdown in some areas has been made up in other areas such as power, railways and shipbuilding," he said.

Naik said the company has entered into three JVs in Gujarat. "Half a dozen plants are being set up in Gujarat which would include boilers, forgings and castings. Out of the three JVs, two are with Japanese companies and one with the Central Government," he said.

The company said it is also in talks with Europe's second-largest port Antwerp Port Authority to establish a greenfield port that will cater to auto and auto component manufacturers. After the agreement is finalized, the company said it will look for suitable land (about 4000 acres) in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu for the port, which may require an initial investment of Rs.2000 crore.

At 1328 hrs, L&T's shares were trading at the BSE at Rs.764, down 3.47 percent.