IVRCL hires Ernst & Young to find buyer for road project

MUMBAI: IVRCL Ltd is in talks with a clutch of foreign investors to sell one of its road projects in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, a top official said.

The engineering and construction firm has hired Ernst & Young to find a buyer for its 155-km Salem-Coimbatore road project, its Group Chief Financial Officer R. Balarami Reddy said on Tuesday.

However, he did not specify the companies which had evinced interest, nor any expected valuation of the project.

"We are not desperate to sell. This is churning of the assets. We have completed the construction and of the total 155 km, 100 km are already revenue generating, while the remaining would start generating revenues in the next 6 months," he said.

"Equity raising is difficult in the present market, but at the same time we cannot stop bidding for projects. We have to take and execute further projects," Reddy said.

At present, the road project is under IVRCL Assets and Holdings, in which IVRCL holds a 75 per cent stake.

In Oct, IVRCL had received board approval for the merger of IVRCL Assets with itself.

Shares in IVRCL closed up 9.33 per cent at Rs 50.40 in a strong Mumbai market.