RIYADH, 19 January 2007 — Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T), the largest engineering and construction company of India, has signed a joint-venture deal with A.A. Turki Contracting & Trading Corporation (ATCO) of Saudi Arabia, giving a major boost to the Saudi-Indian commercial relations.
The new giant business entity, to be known as Larsen & Toubro ATCO (Saudia) LLC, will be registered as a local company in the Kingdom.
“The new venture will focus more on electromechanical construction for hydrocarbon and power sector construction,” said Vivek B. Gadgil, L&T’s executive vice president, yesterday. Gadgil told Arab News in a telephone interview “a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed by the two companies to set up the new venture, which will ensure more presence in terms of business for the new entity in the Gulf States including Saudi Arabia.”
“We seek more job orders from the Kingdom, which is one of the biggest markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region,” said a press statement issued by L&T here yesterday.
In fact, as a part of its strategic plans, L&T has taken important steps in the Gulf region by establishing engineering and project management centers in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah followed by the construction of its own deep-water offshore platforms and modular fabrication yard at Sohar in Oman.
ATCO, belonging to Al-Turki, is a leading conglomerate in Saudi Arabia. According to the press statement, Ziad Ali Al-Turki, executive vice president of the ATCO says that the joint venture will enable the two companies to benefit significantly from the boom in the oil and gas and infrastructure fields of the Kingdom. In fact, L&T has successfully completed many projects in Saudi Arabia, while it is eying for several new projects.
After the implementation of mega formaldehyde and para-formaldehyde projects, L&T is now executing an over $120-million contract for methanol/ carbon monoxide project.
