HCC plans overseas foray

Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) is planning a foray abroad and is aiming to get 15-20 per cent of its turnover from overseas markets over the next few years.

"We are actively looking at hydroelectric projects in the Middle East and Africa," said a company spokesperson, adding that over the next few years, HCC would have active jobs in these markets. Qatar, Oman, Libya, Uganda, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain are among the countries where the company is bidding for projects.

"We have bid for a few projects and have already been pre-qualified for some of these. The idea is to step up our biddings in these regions selectively and not to bid indiscriminately and risk over-stretching ourselves," the spokesperson added.

HCC bagged a port development project in Saudi Arabia last fiscal. It has also undertaken several projects in Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Iraq, Myanmar, Qatar, Bhutan and other countries.

The outlook for the hydroelectric power sector in some of these countries is extremely encouraging, he said, adding that most projects were fresh water projects, though generally small in size.