The promoters of KEF Infrastructure India Pvt. Ltd., a Dubai-based precast concrete manufacturer, would be divesting 30% stake to private equity (PE) investors to part finance a ₹2,000-crore expansion programme, said a top official.
“Currently, we are in talks with a PE [investor] and a final decision will be arrived [at] soon,” said Faizal E. Kottikollon, founder and chairman, KEF Infra and KEF Holdings. “Most of the expansion cost will be met through internal accruals and we will go public later.”
The firm recently established KEF Infra One Industrial Park on a 42-acre site, near Krishnagiri, to produce precast concrete structures, modular rooms, bathroom pods, wood joinery and glazing and stone processing solutions.
As per plan, KEF Infra’s annual manufacturing capacity would increase from the current six million sq.ft. of constructed space to 28 million sq.ft. Two new precast concrete facilities at Lucknow and Hyderabad would add two million sq.ft. of constructed space each. They would be ready by April 2018 and December 2018 respectively.
“We are also planning to put up three more mother plants, similar to the facility at Krishnagiri, at Mumbai, New Delhi and Hyderabad. They entail a total investment of ₹1,800 crore and have production capacity of 18 million sq.ft. of constructed space,” he said.
In the last few months, KEF Infra had built two government schools in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Infosys building in Bengaluru, Meitra Hospitals in Kerala and Indira Canteens in Bengaluru in a record time. Affordable housing can be built at a cost of ₹5 lakh per unit, he added.
Prefab mall
“We have bagged the contract to build the country’s first 2 million sq.ft prefabricated mall for Lulu (a Dubai-based group) in Lucknow,” said Mr. Kottikollon.
“This will be done in 21 months against the conventional five years’ time. Going forward, we will take up construction of hotels, hospitals, affordable and residential homes, offices, schools and retail stores. We are planning to open off-site manufacturing facilities in Lucknow, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra to deliver projects across the country,” he said.
KEF Infra had an order book of ₹1,300 crore and would be investing ₹130 crore this year at Krishnagiri to add about one million sq.ft. of capacity across precast, aluminium components and joinery.
The firm posted a turnover of ₹1,000 crore in FY 2017 and expected to double it in three years and cross the ₹5,000-crore mark by March 2021.
