Ashok Leyland bags Rs 178 cr order from Tanzania

Hinduja Group flagship company Ashok Leyland today said it had bagged an order worth Rs 178 crore ($36.56 million) from the government of Tanzania to supply 723 trucks, buses and special application vehicles.

These vehicles will be used for logistical purposes by the government and the company will complete deliveries by the end of the current fiscal, Ashok Leyland said in a statement.

Commenting on the development, Ashok Leyland Managing Director Vinod K Dasari said: "This is a very significant development and very much a part of our strategy to significantly increase our global footprint, more particularly, in the robustly growing African markets."

Ashok Leyland has been aggressively expanding its network in the African market with network offices in Nigeria and Ghana in the West; Malawi and Mozambique in the South; Kenya and Tanzania in the East, apart from their offices in South Africa and Egypt.

In 2010-2011, the company's export numbers grew by 72% to touch 10,306 units, it said.

Shares of Ashok Leyland today closed at Rs 26 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, down 2.43% from its previous close.