Standing Tall

A MOTLEY GROUP OF EMERGING INFRASTRUCTURE COMPANIES HAS SEEN RAPID GROWTH IN RECENT YEARS

Emerging infrastructure firms have seen rapid growth in recent years

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley put the spotlight on infrastructure in the last budget with a massive `3.96 lakh crore allocation for the sector. A signal to infrastructure companies that more projects are coming their way. But it does not translate into much joy for infrastructure conglomerates – the likes of GMR, GVK, Adani and Lanco – who, for over a decade following India’s economic reforms, had begun to look like the new face of Indian private enterprise with their assetowning developer model. Today, they are all sharply focused on internal housekeeping and dealing with the challenges of restructuring debt. Estimates show that the total debt by the four leading players – GMR, GVK, Adani and Lanco – alone will add up to close to `2 lakh crore. With such high leverage, it's difficult for them to venture into newer projects.

Business Today spoke to analysts and industry insiders to get a sense of which infra players are growing rapidly and, consequently, well placed to make the

most of Jaitley's largesse. The exercise threw up a motley group spread across the country. The thread common to the companies featured here is their strength in EPC (quickspeak for engineering, procurement and construction) capabilities. In an EPC, a client is billed and he pays for the costs incurred for a project as against BOT (Build, operate and transfer) where the company raises its own funds and recoups them after completion of the venture.