Road EPC firms' order book shrinks as highway tendering hits slow lane

The lack of orders is neither causing worry over credit-worthiness nor dampening enthusiasm

Order books and order inflow of multiple road-building companies are showing signs of shrinkage as the tendering activity for highways has taken a hit.

A mix of diversification, piggybacking on healthy order backlog, and hopes of a tendering trend reversal in the next financial year, is expected to help companies tide over the predicament, company executives said.

Of those who bid for engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) and Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) of highway projects, multiple have either reported a shrinkage in the order book or no order inflows for the current year.

Company executives from HG Infra Engineering in