Established over 155 years ago, Shapoorji Pallonji Engineering & Construction (SP E&C) specialises in comprehensive end-to-end solutions in the engineering and construction segment in India, the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia. It offers design-build and general contracting services for industrial and manufacturing plants, R&D centres, pharma facilities, power plants and oil refineries, IT parks and SDCs, airport terminals, public buildings, banks, hospitals, hotels, sports infrastructure, institutional campuses, residential condominiums, townships, smart cities, and water and wastewater treatment plants. Its turnover from construction operations for FY 2019-20 amounts to ~Rs 8,500 crore. SC Dixit, Executive Director, Shapoorji Pallonji E&C, shares more on the company, its legacy, plans and prospects…. What is a key parameter that has contributed to you being among the most admired brands in construction? Reliability. We help our clients set up their facilities as per their priorities: delivering projects in line with the requirements of designs, specifications, timelines, quality, safety, budget and statutory compliances. How did you fare against the backdrop of the pandemic? A small portion of our orders were either cancelled or deferred. We are also facing difficulties in accessing credit. This has led to an impact on sales. However, we remain optimistic and agile. We should return to pre-COVID levels in forthcoming quarters. We took a hard look at our cost structure and focused on rationalising manpower strengths, reducing overheads, renegotiating commodity prices and revisiting resource deployment. As a result, we are much leaner today. Since the scenario started improving from September 2020, we have managed to book orders worth Rs ~10,000 crore till end-March 2021. Most are government-funded public infrastructure projects. Overall, we have Rs ~45,000 crore of orders on hand. What do your customers value most about you? In addition to reliability of delivery, our clients value our capabilities in offering end-to-end construction solutions. Here, we also bring in our experience in advanced construction technologies. Also, we offer clients flexibility; we have often reworked our resource deployment and associated cost structures to respond to business cycles. Are your products priced higher than your competitors? Most of our business is procured through competitive bidding on government projects or negotiated agreements on private-sector projects. We are experiencing increased costs of inputs and labour. The price we charge is a function of the value-added services we offer clients. Tell us about your plans for FY21-22 that will enhance your ‘admiration quotient’. We will continue to focus on using advanced construction technologies and operational efficiencies to expedite project delivery. Technology enables consistency, repeatability, scalability and predictability. These aspects along with our commitment to project success will help us achieve customer satisfaction.