L&T wins Rs 4,510 crore order from Qatar Railways

The construction giant has been focussing on overseas projects as several projects in India have been stuck due to slow down and lack of clearances

Engineering and construction company Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has won a Rs 4,510-crore order from Qatar Railways Company for design and construction of the Gold Line of the Doha Metro project.

Many of its India projects stuck because of a slowdown as well as delay in getting clearances, L&T has been focusing on projects abroad. The company has an order book of Rs 1.7-lakh crore and has given an order growth forecast of 15 per cent for 2013-14.

L&T said its heavy civil infrastructure business segment secured the order with joint venture partners Aktor (Greece), Yapi Merkezi Insaat (Turkey), STFA Group (Turkey) and Al Jaber Engineering of Qatar. The total value of the order for the venture is Rs 20,000 crore.

The project is to be completed in 54 months.

The deal includes design and construction of twin tunnels for 11 km and nine underground metro stations.

This Metro project is among the key infrastructure projects of national interest, according to the Qatar National Vision 2030 report.

“This order, close on the heels of Riyadh Metro order, has been won in the face of stiff global competition and reflects the growing confidence of clients in L&T’s capability to handle mega projects in the Middle East,” said S N Subrahmanyan, board member and senior executive vice-president (infrastructure and construction) at L&T. The Riyadh project was valued at about Rs 8,250 crore.

“We are seriously pursuing our programme of internationalisation and such orders go a long way in opening the doors to new geographies and opportunities,” Subrahmanyan added.