Mumbai, March 24, 2003: L&T, India's largest engineering, construction and cement conglomerate, has won against stiff competition, a Rs. 269-crore road contract from the Karnataka State Highways Improvement Project. Funded by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), this 'deemed export' order is for the upgradation of the State Highway between Hiriyur and Bellary in the Chitradurga and Bellary Districts of Karnataka. The order will be executed by ECC, the Construction Division of L&T.

The project execution involves a stretch of 144 km, passing through a dry belt. The contract is to be completed within a stringent time-frame of 42 months from March 2003, with four distinct milestones to be strictly adhered to.

The First Milestone will mark the completion of a continuous stretch of 25 km in 12 months. The Second Milestone relates to the next stretch of 41 km and is to be completed in 24 months. While the Third Milestone comprises laying of a continuous stretch of 41 km in 36 months, the Final one envisages execution of the last continuous stretch of 37 km in 42 months. The road project also includes the construction of cross drainage works consisting of 92 bridges and 148 culverts all along the 144 km.

ECC will bring to bear the full range of its construction capabilities on this project. It includes massive mobilization of plant and machinery with state-of-the-art road-building equipment. The project involves carrying out extensive earthwork excavation, blasting and quarrying before the final road building operations.
Announcing the award of the contract, Mr. A Ramakrishna, L&T's Deputy Managing Director and Head of L&T's Construction business, said, "Ten years ago, we executed a similar prestigious road project of over 160 km from Sambalpur to Rourkela for the Government of Orissa. The difference now is that, we have to complete the project at a much faster rate and at a lesser cost, in keeping with global competition and quality benchmarking."

Background: ECC is India's largest construction organization. Backed by the capabilities of L&T's allied Divisions, ECC offers EPC solutions with single-source responsibility, from concept to commissioning.
For over five decades, ECC has the proven capability of executing projects of large magnitude on a turnkey basis. Eighteen Strategic Business Units (SBUs), offer specialized construction services for specific projects, covering every sphere of industry.

ECC's well-structured quality assurance systems ensure project quality, safety and reliability at every stage of engineering, procurement, fabrication, assembly, erection and commissioning. ECC's construction capabilities have secured wide recognition, including ISO 9001 certification for its work-process. Recently, ECC was conferred the American Society of Concrete Contractors (ASCC) prestigious ASCC-2002 Safety Award.
ECC has executed many prestigious road, highway and expressway projects under the Prime Minister's Golden Quadrilateral programme. For further information on ECC, you may log on to: www.lntecc.com.