L&T hopes to ramp up order book by 35%

Infrastructure major Larsen and Toubro (L&T) is expecting a 35 per cent increase in its order book this financial year, said the company's chief financial officer YM Deosthalee.

At present, L&T's order book stands at about Rs 21,000 crore, which, according to the company's estimate, will go up to Rs 28,000 crore by the end of the year.

"For energy and construction projects, we are exploring country-specific joint ventures in the Middle East, including Qatar and Kuwait. Importance is being attached to capacity expansion on fabrication as well," Deosthalee said.

This fiscal, the half-yearly results indicated robust growth of 70 per cent in the company's engineering and construction business.

Buoyed by rising oil prices, Gulf countries have started increasing infrastructure spending in oil exploration, power refining and water desalination. So, L&T is eyeing the Gulf region as one of the main growth areas. "We are continuously analysing our portfolio but don't want to experiment in new territories," Deosthalee said.

In line with its global strategy on roads, the company also plans to beef up its workforce in its offices in the Middle East and China. "We would need people who have knowledge of the local environment," he added.

The company on Monday bagged the 'Organisation that Creates a Learning Culture' award "� a human resource initiative by Dr Peter Senge, founder of Society of Organisational Learning and a senior lecturer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

L&T has bagged contracts valued at about Rs 252 crore in the electrical, transmission and distribution sector. The projects include laying of a 400-kilovolt switchyard in Himachal Pradesh, a substation in Bhutan, and a 132-km power transmission line in Chattisgarh.