Texmaco Rail & Engineering bags railway project in Rwanda

Texmaco Rail & Engineering Ltd, the flagship company of the Saroj Kumar Poddar-led Adventz Group, seems well set to begin its African Safari. The Kolkata-headquartered premier multi-discipline, multi-unit engineering and infrastructure company, has been provisionally recommended for the tender award for the engineering design of LV underground cables and renovation of MV/LV Cabins in Nyarugenge, as part of the Rwanda Transmission System Reinforcement and Last Mile Connectivity (TSRLMC) project in Central Africa. The tender had been issued by the Rwanda-Energy Access and Quality Improvement Project.

The company, which has as many as five manufacturing units extending over 170 acres in the outskirts of Kolkata, had been formed after demerger into it of the Heavy Engineering and Steel Foundry Divisions of the parent company Texmaco Ltd, founded in 1939 by Late KK Birla.

Confirming the latest development in Rwanda (Africa), Indrajit Mookerjee, Vice Chairman and Executive Director, Texmaco Rail & Engineering Ltd, said, “We are happy to be a part of this project. We look forward to working with EDCL to ensure the successful implementation of the TSRLMC project.”

The company’s bid dated November 25, 2022, has been accepted for an amount not exceeding $7,870,981.09, excluding all taxes. EDCL, on its parts, is committed to providing reliable and affordable energy to the people of Rwanda, and this project is a significant step towards achieving that goal.

Interestingly, the African project came close on the heels of the company board at its meeting held on March 14, 2023 approving to transfer, assign, restructure or convey the whole or substantially the whole of Rail EPC business comprising of Kalindee Rail and Bright Power units i.e. two business undertakings of the company, by way of slump sale to two separate wholly owned subsidiaries of the company, subject to the terms and conditions as may be decided by the board of the company.

Meanwhile, the company is also looking to ramp up production at its existing plant and expand capacity following a steady rise in demand for wagons from the Indian Railways. Significantly, Texmaco had earlier witnessed a sequential drop in gross profit margins. However, now the company expects improved operational margins in the coming quarters.