Efkon India, a subsidiary
of European
construction giant
Strabag, will invest
more than
100 crore in
the domestic urban transportation
and highways
tolling business over the
next four to five years.
Efkon, which offers solutions
for the transportation
market including toll collection
systems and services,
holds about 50 per
cent market share in the
segment. Besides manufacturing
toll system
equipment, Efkon also
operates two toll plazas on
the Bengaluru and
Vijayawada highways.
"With the National Highways
Authority of India
awarding increasing
number of projects, we will
step up our investments.
Since 5 per cent to 7 per
cent of the total project
cost is of tolling equipment
and on operations
and maintenance, we see
a larger portfolio in the
next few years," said
Pushkar Kulkarni, CEO,
Efkon India. The company
will also be looking at
operating more toll plazas
in future.
Efkon India is also looking
at higher revenues
through installation of an
automatic fare collection
system for buses, which is
a vital part of the Jawaharlal
Nehru National Urban
Renewal Mission. It is
already working on one
such project in Jaipur. Its
other areas of operation
are smart cards and setting
up of clearing houses
(providing settlement for
transactions).
There are 1.5-2 lakh
city buses in the country
and the government has
allocated
45,000 crore
under the city modernisation
plan. "About 10
per cent of this would be
for technology companies,
which presents a
huge opportunity for
growth," Kulkarni said,
adding that the approximate
investment for setting
up fare collection
and tracking systems on
500 buses for five years
would be
60-70 crore.
Efkon, whose projected
turnover for 2012-13 is
about
100 crore, is currently
executing the
50-
crore Yamuna Expressway
project. While toll system
equipment and services
make up the bulk of
Efkon's revenues, logistics
management, GIS mapping
and vehicle tracking
system contribute 10 per
cent to 15 per cent.