Punj Lloyd bags Rs 666 crore contract for the Asian Highway project, shares up 4.6%

MUMBAI: Infrastructure company Punj Lloyd has bagged a Rs 666-crore order to upgrade a 90.6 km stretch of the Asian Highway network, which aims to connect 32 countries in Asia and Europe, the company said on Tuesday.

Punj Lloyd said the project entails upgrade of roads connecting Pasakha on the Bhutan border to Changrabandha on the Bangladesh border. The contract includes the proposed 6.558-km Pasakha access road and bypass to Jaigaon and Hasimara in West Bengal. The project is scheduled for completion in 30 months.

“We are proud to be a partner in this cooperative project. Besides creating high-quality infrastructure, this development will reduce travel time and more importantly improve safety levels for travelers, as it will be built to world-class specification,” said JP Chalasani, managing director and chief executive of Punj Lloyd.

With this order, Punj Lloyd’s consolidated order backlog now stands at Rs 24,021 crore.

The news sent the shares of Punj Lloyd up 5% on the Bombay Stock Exchange to Rs 40.15.

The Asian Highway project, also known as the Great Asian Highway, aims to improve the highway systems in Asia. It is a co-operative project among countries in Asia and Europe and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

It is one of the three key features of the Asian Land Transport Infrastructure Development project that is backed by ESCAP; the other two being the Trans-Asian Railway and facilitation of land transport projects.