Engineering and construction major, Larsen & Toubro is considering possibilities of forming up joint venture (JV) companies with Indian Railways to make equipment for the railways.

Indicating its future roadmap, board member and president (operations) at L&T, JP Nayak stated, “Indian Railways has two locomotive manufacturing units the Chittaranjan Locomotive Works and the Diesel Locomotive Works. There is a possibility of putting up another loco manufacturing unit in India, and we will be interested in setting up a JV with the government.”

Further Mr. Nayak said that the Railways decided to establish new manufacturing capabilities through the public-private-partnership (PPP) route, and L&T is interested in floating a JV with them.

In order to strengthen capacities at its growth centres, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) is all set to invest Rs 2,500 crore during the existing fiscal (2008-09).

The money will be spent in augmenting the existing facilities across all locations and for establishing a ship-building yard in Tamil Nadu.

The company registered a turnover of Rs 29,600 crore during the last fiscal (2007-08), and this year it anticipates a growth of 30% in sales.

Mr. Nayak also said that the company’s joint venture (JV) with Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for making boilers and turbine generators would be operational within the next 12-18 months.

L&T holds the majority stake of 51% in the joint venture, while Mitsubishi control the remaining 49%.

Moreover, the company (L&T) will go ahead with the first of the three proposed initial public offers of its group companies in 2009-10.

Mr. Nayak also said that the listing will depend on market conditions, and that there would be an IPO every year for the other two companies.

The shares of the company, on Friday (May 30), closed at Rs 1,981.35, up Rs 92.25 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The total volume of shares traded was 748,757.