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[ Source - THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS, Dated - 25 Jan. 07 ]
AFCONS Infrastructure Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shapoorji, Pallonji group, is targeting countries such as Middle East and Africa for more projects in the areas of marine, speciality bridges and civil construction.
Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday on the occasion of its forthcoming public issue, K Subramanian, managing director, AFCONS, said; "We are focusing more the Middle East and African countries. In the African region, a lot of World Bank and ADB sponsored projects are taking place while the Gulf countries are sitting with huge funds from better oil prices and seeking to develop major infrastructure projects like petroleum pipeline, barrage, ports and marine-related projects."
"We have identified countries such as Qatar, Dubai, Oman, and Yemen in the Gulf region and Mauritius in the African region. We will bid for funds-sponsored projects, particularly in the areas of marine, speciality bridges, ports where the company has decades expertise," he said.
According to S Paramasivan, executive director of AFCONS, the company has projects worth over Rs 3,030 crore in hand and expected to complete all these projects in the next 24 months. Global projects currently contribute 19% to the overall turnover of Rs 720 crore and expected to go up substantially over a period of time.
Among the areas, specialised contributes 28% to the turnover followed by marine (11%), hydro (14%) and civil projects (19%), he said.
The company is expected to get the necessary clearance from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) soon and will be launching its initial public offering (IPO) in mid of March, he said. Post-issue, the company hopes to bring down the debt to equity ratio to less than 1 as against 2:1 now, he added.
