GMR security arm eyes overseas buyouts

Raxa Security Services Limited, a company formed by the GMR Group to provide consultancy services for integrated security solutions for business and industrial establishments, is contemplating taking the inorganic route to cater to the security needs at its airports and power projects abroad.

“As a consultant, to suggest a system is different. But to man a system, it is always good if a local agency comes and takes care of the security at the airport as they know the local conditions better. If we find any security organisation with technical and professional standards similar to us, we will go for it, may be next year,” said Raxa managing director MR Reddy.

Reddy was speaking to Business Standard on the sidelines of the Pan-India Security Summit 2010, jointly organised by GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited and the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Response and Fire Service Department, here on Monday.

GMR, which operates Hyderabad and Delhi international airports, made its overseas foray by developing Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport in Turkey, besides winning the bid to build, operate, modernise and expand Male International Airport in Maldives recently.

The group has 12 power projects in six countries including Australia and South Africa. All these projects are being manned by local security agencies.

“Raxa is currently providing technical and manpower services to all the GMR Group companies in the country. And, there is demand from outside companies, especially from major organisations like Wipro. We will start supporting them from the next financial year, as we will completely meet the requirements of the GMR Group by then,” Reddy said, adding Raxa would offer its services to three large clients beginning next year.

Raxa’s training academy, set up with an investment of Rs 40 crore over 100 acre on the Bangalore-Hyderabad national highway in 2005, currently has a capacity to churn out 900 marshals and security supervisors a year. About 2,000 Raxa security personnel have already been deployed at various GMR locations in the country, while the current requirement of the group works out to 2,500 personnel.

Reddy said the private security market in India was pegged at Rs 20,000 crore, which was expected to double in the next three years. “Courtesy the liberalisation and the increasing public-private participation, huge infrastructure projects are coming up, to be constructed and operated by private managements, which require huge technical and security personnel,” he said, adding the company expected to garner revenues of Rs 75 crore this financial year, as against Rs 60 crore last year, on the back of its technical and consultancy services.