Patel Engineering bags $1 bn order in Djibouti

Construction firm Patel Engineering Works said it has bagged nearly $1 billion (about Rs 4,600 crore) order for building a 350-km highway connecting Djibouti border to Ethiopia.

"Patel Engineering Works has bagged the order worth nearly $1 billion. The work which commenced six months ago is being carried out on Build-Operate-Transfer basis," Consulate General of Republic of Djibouti in India Mohamed Idris Saban told reporters here.

When contacted, company officials said Patel Engineering Works is in advanced talks and a formal agreement is yet to be reached.

HRD and CO, another Mumbai-based firm, has been given an order for a geo-thermal energy project in Djibouti. It was a power purchase agreement, Saban said.

"We are also looking at tie-ups with Indian computer education firms like NIIT and Aptech to start such institutes in Djibouti and are looking at student-exchange programmes. We have almost 750 students in India from Djibouti," he added.