AIL plans expansion of world's tallest railway bridge

Kolkata, Feb 13 (UNI) Afcons Infrastructure Limited(AIL), a leading civil engineering and construction company, which is on its way to creating some sort of a history by taking up the construction of the world's tallest railway bridge over the river Chenab in Jammu and Kashmir last year, now plans to enter the capital market to raise funds for further expansion.

AIL managing director K Subramanian today said that the 1315 metre long bridge, scheduled to be completed by 2009 at a cost of Rs 500 crore, would stand with a total height of 389 metre which is about 10 metre higher than the Empire State building of New York and more than 60 metre taller than the famous Eiffel Tower of Paris.

Claiming this as one of the most prestigious and highly complicated construction marvels of the world, Mr Subramaniyan said AIL's experience in construction industry also included a wide variety of programmes like the construction of marine works, flyovers, roads and several other important works like nuclear power projects and tunnelling under the sea in Dubai.

Mr Subramaniyan said after entering the capital market, they were also planning for some major acquision. To a query, he said apart from undertaking a number of major projects within the country they had spread their wings overseas by undertaking a number of civil construction projects in Iran, Oman, Yeman, Mauritius, Dubai, Qatar, Ethiopia and Sri Lanka where the total cost of project would be of the value of Rs 2000 crore.

He said last year AIL'S total turn over was to the tune of Rs 718 crore with a profit before tax remaining at Rs 18 crore.

'' Following the construction of the Chenab bridge and completing other major prtojects, both within and outside India, we are likely to become one of the largest players in the civil construction business, '' Mr Subramaniyan said but refused to making any forward looking statement in terms of their financial result because of the SEBI guidelines to this effect.

UNI