Monday, June 6, 2011

At London Stock Exchange Capital Market Day - MTD Walkers represents Sri Lanka

Representing Sri Lanka Capital Market Day, MTD Walkers was the only infrastructure company amongst 10 other blue chip companies selected to make a presentation at this prestigious event.

Addressing the audience, MTD Walkers Chief Financial Officer Viraj De Silva said, “Following the end of the three-decade long war, Sri Lanka is in ‘build mode’ with US $7 billion projects in the pipeline for the company in 2011-2015.” These projects, he pointed out, were all backed by the government and is a reflection of the country’s economic resurgence.

In the construction and piling sector, MTD Walkers is a top-ranked, only listed C-1 grade contractor to undertake projects for highways, bridges, ports and harbours, irrigation and water supply. The company is backed by a multi-national construction company with prior experience in large scale infrastructure development in an emerging economy.

MTD Walkers subsidiary, Northern Power plant is one of two IPPs operating in the North. With parts of the recently liberated North operating with less than 15 percent in electricity distribution, Northern Power is in the process of expanding its capacity, from 30mw to 50mw through 2021, implying an Internal Return on Revenue (IRR) of 25 percent.

With a full spectrum of engineering services, MTD Walkers recently signed a joint venture contract with China Shipbuilding to operate a floating dock at a cost of US $ 100 million in the new Hambantota port in Southern Sri Lanka. The company is also a principle sub-contractor to upgrade 200 telecommunication towers in Sri Lanka with a further 800 towers expected to be upgraded in the future.

Envisaging an exciting future, De Silva highlighted a joint venture with China-listed Anhui to build a 75km highway in southern Sri Lanka with an expected revenue of US $ 250 million. The Company is also studying a proposal to construct Sri Lanka’s first toll road (US $ 850 million Colombo-Kandy expressway) as well as piling related projects to construct low cost housing for 40,000 families. Additionally, a US $ 200 million worth of water treatment project is under consideration.

De Silva said that with the government’s fast-tracked infrastructure development programmes including airports, ports, highways, land reclamation within Colombo, water and sanitation, railways, as well as tourism related, mixed development and power generation projects encapsulates the growth of the country and the vast opportunities available for MTD Walkers.

source - www.dailynews.lk

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