The Hindu Business Line : GMR Infra setting up 2 teams to look for new projects

New Delhi, July 11 Fresh from its recent success in Turkey, GMR Infrastructure plans to set up two teams to look for business opportunities in energy, roads and airport projects in India and abroad, a senior company officer said on Wednesday.

“We have identified these areas as strategic growth areas. The company should have little problem in financing such projects as it enjoys a debt equity ratio of 1:1 that should help us raise close to $2 billion. The company therefore has enough debt leveraging capability,” the Chief Financial Officer, Corporate Strategic Finance, GMR Group, Mr Madhu Terdal, told Business Line. The composition of the two teams and also who would head them are yet to be finalised, he said .

Unsuccessful Bids

The group decision comes a day after a joint consortium that included GMR Infrastructure won the contract to develop Sabiha Gokcen International airport in Turkey.

GMR Infrastructure, which is a listed company, has a 40 per cent stake in the project with Limak Turkey holding a 40 per cent stake and Malaysia Airport Holding having a 20 per cent stake. Fraport, the operators of Frankfurt airport, Chicago airport, TAV from Turkey and Venice airport were the four airport operators in the fray to bag the contract for development of the Turkish airport.

The Instanbul project was the second attempt of GMR Infrastructure to acquire assets abroad. Earlier this year, the company made unsuccessful bids to acquire power assets of Globeleq in Sri Lanka, Egypt and Bangladesh. The value of the transaction was in the region of $600 million.

Good News

“Although it has just been 48 hours since we won a global project, we will continue to evaluate opportunities in India and abroad. We expect to announce some good news connected with India soon,” company officials said when asked whether another deal was in the pipeline.

In India the company has been involved not only in the modernisation of Delhi airport and the development of a greenfield airport project at Hyderabad, it is also participating in six power projects and the construction of roads.

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