Fastest Growing Construction Companies in 2020

This year, the stage was virtual. However, the pizzazz of the 18th CONSTRUCTION WORLD Annual Awards 2020 - presented by Apollo Tyres - remained undiminished, as they unveiled India’s Fast Growing Companies and the CONSTRUCTION WORLD Persons of the Year.

Gracing the evening virtually were Chief Guests Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Minister of Steel, Government of India, and Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, Chairman, NHAI. “Building next-generation infrastructure is crucial to achieving Atmanirbhar Bharat,” said Pradhan. “The Ministry of Steel is continuously making efforts to enhance steel production capacity domestically and increase domestic demand. The Indian steel sector is seeking to fulfil all domestic steel requirements and emerge as a major player on the global stage.” Pradhan appealed to the construction industry to spread awareness on the need for greater steel usage. (See full speech on page 32). 

Dr. Sandhu too spoke optimistically: “We are supposed to spend about Rs.13 trillion in the NHAI as part of NIP. A major chunk of this amount would be spent under the Bharatmala scheme.” “This year, in the first 6 months, we have awarded road projects worth Rs.470 billion. The target for this financial year is to award works worth Rs.2 trillion. Similar or slightly more is the target for the next financial year. So, a lot of projects are coming”, he added. (See full speech on page 31).

In his welcome address, Pratap Padode, President, FIRST Construction Council said, “India needs to spend 7-8 per cent of its GDP on infrastructure annually, which translates to an annual infrastructure spend of $200 billion. Currently, we have been able to put in around $100-110 billion annually. This huge investment gap needs funding through different and innovative approaches. The National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) envisages an investment of Rs.102 trillion over the next five years, which would put the economy into a high growth orbit.” (See full speech on page 30).

The winners of the CW Annual Awards are chosen on the basis of their performance over six years, with higher weightage given to recent performance; this is basis a statistical model created by FIRST Construction Council (FCC). Growth and profitability have been given equal weightage. The companies are categorised as Large, Medium and Small. Further, ensuring a transparent process, a jury panel evaluated the emerging winners under the lens of ethics, reputation, governance and business fortitude. 

GR Infraprojects was announced as the Fastest Growing Construction Company in the Large subcategory. Expressing his heartful gratitude to CW for honouring the company for three years running, Vinod Kumar Agrawal, Managing Director, GR Infraprojects, acknowledged the debt to his construction team, engineers, workers, operators and labour for their hard work during these difficult times. He also lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, saying, “Unki soch aur mehnat ne desh ke infrastructure ko ek naye mukaam pe lejane ka mazboot iraada rakha hai aur unhi ke karan ye sector itna grow kiya hai.” (It is their vision, hard work and resolve to take the infrastructure sector to the next new level that has given us the ability to grow.)

The 2nd Fastest Growing Construction Company in the Large subcategory was Afcons Infrastructure. Expressing his pride at receiving the award in successive years, S Paramasivan, Managing Director, Afcons Infrastructure, said that in these uncertain times, the infrastructure construction sector is one entity that can create employment and confidence in the system. He added, “According to ENR (USA) 2019, we are the 9th largest marine player and 13th largest bridge player in the world. We are the only Indian company to figure in the top 20 in these two categories; and in the current year, our international ranking has moved up from 136 to 119.” 

Dilip Buildcon was adjudged the 3rd Fastest Growing Construction Company in the Large subcategory. Thanking CW for giving the industry the inspiration to excel, Dilip Suryavanshi, Chairman and Managing Director, Dilip Buildcon, credited his 35,000-strong team working across 19 states in diverse geographies and political situations, saying, “Woh pureh tanmayta se aur ownership lekar kaam karte hai. Har karigar, worker, ek lagan, ek himmat aur ek hosle se kaam karta hai aur voh company ko apna parivaar ka ang manta hai, aur mein bhi apne company ke har employee ko parivar ka ang manta hoon.” (The whole team works with commitment, ownership, dedication and courage; they consider the company part of their family and I, too, consider them a part of the family.)

The winners in the Fastest Growing Construction Company Medium subcategory were Dineshchandra R Agrawal Infracon, Apco Infratech and PNC Infratech; while those in the Small subcategory were Welspun Enterprises, PSP Projects and Vascon Engineers.

The winners in the Fastest Growing Steel Company category included Tata Steel, Jindal Steel and Power, JSW Steel and Steel Authority of India in the Large subcategory and Kirloskar Ferrous, Lloyds Metals and Kalyani Steel in the Small subcategory. The winners in the Fastest Growing Paint Company category were Berger Paints India and Asian Paints. And the winner in the Fastest Growing Tiles, Ceramics & Sanitaryware Company category was Cera Sanitaryware.

FCC has also created a model for the Top Challengers Awards. Top Challengers are selected from the entire construction industry, including building materials, equipment, real estate and contracting, having shown the ability to have a sturdier response to the market than others. The winners under this category, in alphabetical order, included Ashoka Buildcon, Dilip Buildcon, Godrej Properties, HIL, IRB Infrastructure Developers, J Kumar Infraprojects, JK Cement, KNR Constructions, Kolte Patil Developers, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), PNC Infratech, Prestige Group, PSP Projects and Welspun Enterprises. L&T also won the award for the Largest and the Most Profitable Construction Contractor.

Dr Brijesh Dixit, Managing Director, Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation (Maha Metro), was named CONSTRUCTION WORLD Person of the Year in the Public Sector. “This award recognises my thousands of co-workers and colleagues working around the clock to ensure high quality and timely delivery of our projects in Nagpur and Pune to render world-class urban transport service to citizens,” he said. (See full speech on page 34).

Further, KVB Reddy, Managing Director & CEO, L&T Hyderabad Metro Rail, was recognised as CONSTRUCTION WORLD Person of the Year in the Private Sector. “The current COVID situation has literally pushed back the entire global economy,” he said. “But we are putting in all efforts to come back with the new norms of life. This award only reiterates the fact that a lot more hard work still needs to be put in by me and my team.” (See full speech on page 34).

Another highlight of the evening was the launch of CW’s 24th Anniversary Edition, a blockbuster issue with the theme ‘Construction Technology’. In this edition, 28 industry captains across sectors share their action plan for growth in the current circumstances, using technology. This one’s a real keepsake!

India Construction Festival was supported by Presenting Partner: Apollo Tyres; Gold Partners: APCO Infratech, Larsen & Toubro, Wirtgen India, Timken India and Welspun Group; Silver Partners: Dineshchandra R Agrawal Infracon and Bonfiglioli Transmissions; Associate Partners: Action Construction Equipment (ACE), GR Infraprojects, JK Cement, J Kumar Infraprojects, Gulf Oil, Omnicomm, KNR Construction, Schwing Stetter and Shyam Steel; Supporting Partners: Consulting Engineers Association of India (CEAI), India BIM Association, Indian Steel Association and National Highways Builders Federation (NHBF); Knowledge Partner: Off-Highway Research; and Magazine Partner: Dalal Street Investment Journal.

Presenting Partner: Apollo Tyres

Gold Partners: 

L&T; APCO Infratech; Wirtgen

Silver Partners: 

Dineshchandra R Agrawal Infracon

Associate Partners:

JK Cement; Shyam Steel; KNR Construction;

Action Construction Equipment;

Schwing Stetter India