Egis India, the Indian subsidiary of a French project management major, is expanding its footprint by focusing on Metro, railways and water infrastructure. So far, the company was concentrating only on roads and highways. It has now widened its focus on other sectors in the backdrop of many road projects facing problems.

“About four-five years ago, we were getting 90 per cent of business from roads and highways. Now, we get 30 per cent of business from roads and highways,” Ashish Tandon, CEO, Egis-India, told BusinessLine .

For 20 years, till 2012, roads and highways were the company’s only focus areas. The company then shifted focus to the Railways — freight corridor and Metro — and water infrastructure projects. By 2013-14, it had got work contracts for Metros in Chennai and Kolkata, and for station designing in Kochi Metro.

He said Egis hired 50 per cent people from the Railways public sector unit — RITES — and 50 per cent from industry. It also took on work in World Bank-funded dam rehabilitation project, airports, urban development and ports, such as the fourth terminal of JN Port. The company has about 1,900 people in India.

A consortium, in which Egis is a part, has also won the general consultant work contract for Mumbai Line 3. The other Metro projects where the company is eyeing business include Nagpur, Kanpur and Varanasi.

Tandon said Egis was careful while bidding for projects and had also withdrawn from projects that don’t pay. “We are an engineering company, not a financing company,” he added.

While declining to share specific numbers, Tandon said Egis India was a cash-positive, profitable organisation.

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