The value of our on-going projects is about Rs 440 crore

Dilip Varghese, Director-Planning, Roman Tarmat With a track-record of profitability for almost 25 years, Roman Tarmat has established itself in the infrastructure pantheon with quality projects in highways, runways and other vital sectors. Established by Promoter and Managing Director Jerry Varghese - a qualified engineer with over four decades of experience - it provides engineering, procurement, construction and design services for infrastructure projects sponsored by government and private agencies. Indeed, the company is one of the few construction companies in India operating in the area of construction of runways, taxiways, aprons, parking bays and instrumental landing systems (CAT) on turnkey basis, which requires a strict focus on quality to ensure safe take off and landing of aircraft. Over the years, Roman Tarmat has developed the expertise of airfield works that adhere to the most stringent international standards and has built runways for major civil airports in Mumbai and Delhi as well as for the Military and Airport Authority of India. Dilip Varghese, Director - Planning, who aims to help the company scale new heights, shares more details with Jayanthi Narayan…. Core strength Broadly, our business activities can be categorised into three major segments: airside works, highways/roads, and other infrastructure-related work. We have done the maximum number of airside works in India followed by over 300 km of roadwork. We recently bagged the Nagpur airport project from the Maharashtra Airport Development Company Ltd (MADC). Currently, about 20 per cent of the work is completed. The project involves the design and construction of a brand new apron and will be completed in the next four to five months. Milestones In 1988, we bagged our first major contract for construction of roads and bituminous flexible pavement and construction of rigid concrete pavement base with RCC beams and columns for the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT); we completed the project within the stipulated period of 24 months. We took up the challenging work of strengthening the secondary runway at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, and upgrade of main runway at Mumbai airport. Last year, we commissioned the resurfacing of the runway at the airport in Juhu, Mumbai, and are now completing the resurfacing of main runways for Kochi International Airport. Our company has been accredited with ISO 9001:2008 and UKAS Quality Management System Certificate for construction of highways and airports. Current order book The value of our on-going projects is about Rs 440 crore. Roman Tarmat has taken up roadwork for government departments such as the Public Works Department (PWD), Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Some of our major clients include: National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Airports Authority of India (AAI), Karnataka State Highways Improvement Project, Public Works Department (KSHIP), Mizoram PWD, Military Engineer Service (MES), and the Roads & Buildings Department of Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. Equipment bank The equipment we own distinguishes us from other players. Standardisation of all equipment by painting it in blue creates a brand image for us. We believe in keeping ourselves ahead of the clan by importing modernised equipment, which in turn helps us deliver a superior finished product for clients. Based on our project requirements, we plan to buy more equipment this year. Favourite project We are re-carpeting the runway along with related pavement upgrade work at Kochi International Airport in Kerala. The project envisages strengthening of the runway by providing layers of dense bituminous macadam, semi-dense asphalt concrete and dense asphalt concrete. The project also envisages rehabilitation of the taxiway by milling the existing wearing surface and providing pavement reinforcement of glass-grid, SDAC and DAC. The work is actually being carried out on an operational runway. Two computerised hot mix plants have been installed to produce an asphalt mix of about 1,200-1,500 mt within a span of four to five hours every day. Two German-made electronic sensor pavers with 9-m-wide paving width capacity have been deployed. Compaction is achieved by deploying vibratory road rollers and vibratory tandem rollers, which are followed by pneumatic tire rollers to provide a kneading effect during compaction of the asphalt layer. Safety norms prescribed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) are strictly followed to ensure safety of workmen and equipment, as well as the safety of the aircraft operating at the airport. The hot mix plants are fitted with a dust arresting arrangement to ensure compliance of environmental requirements to eliminate air pollution. A well-equipped laboratory with trained engineers and technicians is established at site for quality assurance. Highway projects Some prime projects we have bagged include the upgrade of the state highway from Sankeshwar to Yaragatti with a total length of 72 km; the project was implemented by KSHIP, which was a World Bank-funded project. Another challenging project we undertook was the construction and maintenance of three state highways in Mizoram; all three were to be executed in extreme terrain at high elevations. And we recently completed the first Bus Rapid Transport System in Gujarat. Future strategies We now plan to venture into BOT/PPP projects, which seems to be the future for many players like us, as a majority of the upcoming projects are in that sector. We also plan to venture into real estate, as the company has a decently sized land bank. The future seems to be good for all infrastructure developers, especially the ones in the road sector, because India has realised that improving the quality of its roads will have a major effect on its economy. Having the third largest road network in the world is of no use when it is filled with potholes. Fact Sheet: Established: 1986Top management: Jerry Varghese, Chairman & Managing Director; Anil Gopal Joshi, Non-Executive Independent Director; Ramesh Chandra Gupta, Non-Executive Independent Director; Dilip Varghese, Director-PlanningNo. of employees: 525 Projects completed in 2008-09:• Nanded Airport-Main Runway• Nanded Airport-Apron• State Highway: Sankeshwar to Yargatti, Karnataka. Ongoing projects:• Kochi International Airport- Main Runway.• Chennai State Highway Project• Six-laning of Taramani Link Road, Chennai• Concretisation of roads in New Mangalore Port Trust Centres of operation: Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Mizoram, Gujarat and Delhi.Turnover: Rs 200 crore (approx)