L&T wins order for renovation of New Delhi railway station; stock hits record high

Shares of Larsen and Toubro (L&T) rose over 1% to hit fresh all-time high on the BSE in opening trade on Monday after the engineering and construction major emerged as the lowest bidder for the redevelopment of New Delhi railway station. Several big players such as Tata, GMR Group, ITD, NCC had shown interest in the project, but only Shapoorji Pallonji and L&T participated in the bidding, which opened on March 10.

L&T submitted a bid of ₹8,740 crore for the New Delhi Station redevelopment project, which is over ₹3,000 crore higher than the Centre’s estimate, as per media reports. The redevelopment project is a flagship programme of the Government of India and the RLDA, a statutory authority under the Ministry of Railways, has been given the task for redevelopment of many iconic stations.

Reacting to the news, shares of L&T shares opened marginally higher at ₹2,275.75 against the previous closing price of ₹2,274.75 on the BSE. Extending opening gains, the largecap stock surged 1.6% to hit a fresh all-time high of ₹2,310.65, while the market capitalisation climbed to ₹3.24 lakh crore.

L&T shares breached its previous record high levels of ₹2,297.30 touched on January 20, 2023, while the share price hit a 52-week low of ₹1,456.80 on June 20, 2022. The engineering heavyweight has risen nearly 30% in the last one year and 21% in the past six months. In the calendar year 2023, the counter added 10%, while it gained 7% in a month.  

As part of the redevelopment plan, the New Delhi railway station, which handles over 400 trains per day and witnesses a footfall of about 450,000 daily, will be modernised to facilitate the movement of passengers and explore commercial possibilities. The existing structure will be replaced by a twin dome-shaped structure.

In September last year, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had approved cleared a ₹10,000-crore proposal for the redevelopment of three major stations – New Delhi, Ahmedabad and Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CST). The redevelopment of these stations envisages provisions for a spacious roof plaza on the station premises, facilities such as food courts, waiting lounges, playing areas for children and a designated space for local products. These stations will be developed on the concept of intelligent building and will be integrated with other modes of transportation like metro, bus etc.

Last week, the multinational conglomerate informed exchanges that its hydrocarbon business, L&T Energy Hydrocarbon (LTEH), secured a “mega” order from a client in the Middle East. Mega orders are worth more than ₹7,000 crore, as per the project classification given by L&T. The scope of work comprises engineering, procurement, construction & installation for various new offshore facilities and integration with existing installations.