Exclusive: ‘West Asia rebuild to open massive EPC opportunities’ Q&A with Vimal Kejriwal, MD, KEC International

How do you assess the reconstruction opportunities emerging in West Asia in a post-war scenario?

If you look at our core business, we expect three or four types of opportunities. One is clearly rehabilitation work, because there has been damage. Some small corrections have already been made, and we have been told to be ready and keep the material prepared. Rehabilitation projects may be smaller in value, but they are typically fast-tracked and offer higher margins. The second area is redundancies in infrastructure systems. I expect countries in the region to start building more redundancies into their networks.

The third area is renewables, both in West Asia and elsewhere. Even in India, the government has increased the renewable energy target to 900 GW from 500 GW earlier. So, I clearly see a large focus on renewables, creating opportunities in renewable EPC as well as significant opportunities in T&D. Lastly, depending on how the war ends, there could also be substantial rebuilding opportunities in Iran if restrictions are eased.

So, in terms of the order pipeline in West Asia, what kind of numbers do you expect in FY27?

As of today, nothing has materialised from the four areas I mentioned. But if you look at the current tender pipeline, it is around Rs 30,000 crore, which we have to bid for over the next two to three months. If this momentum continues and you extrapolate it, the opportunity could even rise to Rs 1 lakh crore.

So, new tenders are coming from West Asia?

Absolutely. Tenders are coming in from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman. We have received four or five tenders to bid for.

And what kind of projects are these?

These are primarily T&D and transmission line projects linked to renewables. Another area we did not discuss is oil and gas pipelines. Today, Saudi Arabia has only one major pipeline carrying crude from east to west. Going forward, they may decide to build additional pipelines for strategic reasons. So, we believe substantial opportunities could emerge in the oil and gas pipeline segment as well.

What kind of revenue growth do you expect in FY27?

Given our order book of Rs 37,000 crore, we expect revenue growth of 10-15%.

Your profit fell 28% in Q4FY26. What steps are you taking to improve profitability?

The major impact came from the West Asia crisis, which resulted in a revenue loss of around Rs 400 crore. Hopefully, some of that will come back. The second issue was labour shortages, which continued through April and may persist partly into May. So, I do not expect a significant improvement in Q1 numbers. However, from Q2 onwards, with business activity picking up and logistics and other costs stabilising, margins should gradually return to normal levels.

How are you managing labour-related issues?

We are focusing on retention and improving facilities for workers. We are also retraining workers to upgrade skills from lower to higher categories. In addition, we are increasing mechanisation and automation to reduce dependence on higher manpower requirements.

Where will your capex be directed in FY27?

We are planning capex of around Rs 400 crore in FY27. Part of it will go into our cable business, including investments in the cable factory. We will also invest in construction equipment for the civil business, and partly in the transmission and distribution business. Our transmission factories have already been expanded, so current investments there will be more equipment-focused rather than factory expansion.

Given the domestic macro environment, which sectors could throw up significant opportunities for KEC?

Domestically, T&D will clearly remain a major opportunity. Oil and gas could also emerge as another strong area, especially pipelines, terminals and storage infrastructure. Given recent disruptions, the government may decide to build more pipelines and storage capacity.