Pick-up in infra playing out differently for large and small players

Having burnt their fingers with PPP model of build operate transfer in the past, larger companies have been cautious in choosing projects

Last week when Larsen & Toubro (L&T) announced it had bagged Rs 28.64 billion contract from the Railways for constructing a 222-km track for the eastern dedicated freight corridor, it was the twenty sixth order announcement that the infrastructure major made in the past six months. 

The pace of project award from the government, whether it is more metro construction, railways or highways, is bringing in some signs of recovery in corporate order books. A clear divide is, however, visible between the small and big companies in the kinds of contract they are picking up. For companies like L&T, which