MUMBAI: State-run construction major NBCC is set to acquire two more public sector construction firms by the end of September this year, according to chairman and managing director Anoop Kumar Mittal. On Friday, Mittal said that the firm will shell out around Rs 500 crore to acquire the two loss-making firms.
NBCC had last year acquired a 51 per cent stake in Hindustan Steel Works Construction (HSCL), also a public sector company under the steel ministry, with an investment of Rs 35.70 crore.
“We are gradually moving towards consolidation in the construction business. As a part of the strategy, we acquired loss-making HSCL. We will be completing the acquisition of two more Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) by the second quarter of this fiscal,” Mittal said. While the CMD did not reveal the names of the two firms, he pointed out that “these two firms are also engaged in the construction business and therefore their acquisition will be strategic”.
With the acquisition, the cumulative order book of Rs 15,000 crore will pass on to NBCC. “With the addition of orders from HSCL, which was around Rs 4,000 crore when we acquired it and the Rs 15,000 crore orders from the new acquisitions, our order book will cross the Rs 1 trillion mark this fiscal,” he noted, adding that the company was aiming to increase its revenues by 35 per cent to Rs 10,000 crore this fiscal.
NBCC is also looking at expanding its reach to 10 new countries, in addition to the three it operates in currently. “Nine out of these will be in Africa and one either in Dubai or Abu Dhabi,” Mittal said.
The company is also mulling developing real estate projects on lands belonging to sick or loss-making PSUs or land that is available with the government on a self-revenue generation model.
“We have quite a few land parcels and we are working on 4-5 of those. We plan to develop large townships, or mixed-use developments, or use it for creating affordable housing or high-end luxury residential with commercial space, among others. By the end of the year, we will be finalising two projects with one in the NCR and the other either in Hyderabad or Kolkata,” Mittal said.