L&T bids for Rs 4K-cr defence contract; bullish on foreign mkts

We see a huge opportunity in the hydrocarbons sector in the international market, says L&T president (heavy engineering) MV Kotwal

To expand its presence in global market, engineering major Larsen & Toubro plans to bid for hydrocarbon projects outside the country, even as it is aggressively getting into the domestic defence sector worth around Rs 8,000 crore.

As part of defence thrust, the company has bid for a Rs 4,000-crore contract from the Coast Guards and also plans to bid for an equal amount of contracts from the Navy.

On the international side, L&T is looking at markets including Russia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, Africa, apart from West Asia and the US, where it currently has a significant presence in the hydrocarbons business, L&T president (for heavy engineering) MV Kotwal told reporters here today.

"We see a huge opportunity in the hydrocarbons sector in the international market. We recently entered the Russian market by bagging a Rs 250-crore contract. There is still a four-times potential business there which we plan to tap," he said.

"We have already bid for four Indian Coast Guard contracts worth Rs 4,000 crore. We expect a final decision on this to be taken in the next six months," Kotwal said.

Already L&T is working on a Rs 2,000-crore order from the Coast Guard contract to supply 54 vessels, at a cost of Rs 30-40 crore each.

Besides this, the company is also planning to bid for two landing platform dock projects ranging from Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 2,000 crore each, to be awarded by the government.

The government is planning to build four multi-purpose landing platform docks, out of which tow will be given to private-sector firms, he said.

"A request for proposals for the docks will be finalised in the next few months," Kotwal said, adding, "in the next two years, we expect to see significant improvement in the sector, and we are prepared to meet this demand."

Though there has been a downturn in this sector over the past two-three years both in the international as well as in the domestic markets, the momentum is expected to revive in the coming years.

"We are expecting a significant number of projects in the hydrocarbon business," he said, adding, "nearly 55% of orders in this business will be contributed from overseas."