Who's building India's highways
Order books and revenue from annual reports and BSE/NSE filings. Mid-tier contractors ranked by order book size. Updated annually.
Tier 1
Conglomerate spanning heavy civil, defence manufacturing, power, and IT services. The infrastructure segment is the largest division but the order book is not comparable to pure-play contractors on the same scale.
Source: L&T Integrated Annual Report FY2024-25
Mid-tier
Order book rankings, FY2024-25
India's most diversified mid-tier contractor. Strong in NHAI highway packages, JJM water contracts, and commercial buildings. Consistent track record across South and Central India.
Among India's oldest civil contractors. Specialises in complex projects: underground tunnels, hydro dams, nuclear plant civil works. Preferred for technically demanding packages where execution risk is high.
Primarily a road developer and operator rather than a pure EPC contractor. Combines construction execution with long-term toll and annuity income. One of the largest HAM players in the NHAI portfolio.
Shapoorji Pallonji group. Specialises in technically complex work: marine structures, metro viaducts, underground metro stations, and industrial facilities. Strong international presence in addition to India.
Among India's fastest-growing pure-play highway contractors. Business is almost entirely NHAI EPC and HAM packages concentrated in North and Central India. Went public in June 2021. Known for tight execution cycles on greenfield highway projects.
Focused NHAI highway EPC and HAM contractor. Consistent execution margins on road projects. Also active in airport runway construction and power transmission lines alongside road packages.
Large-scale road and highway contractor with roots in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Expanded nationally through aggressive NHAI bidding. Currently in a consolidation phase following rapid order book growth.
Veteran road developer and EPC contractor with a large portfolio of BOT Toll concessions held through Ashoka Concessions. Combines construction execution with long-term annuity and toll income. Active across Maharashtra, Karnataka, and central India highway corridors.
South India highway specialist. Smaller order book but consistently high execution quality and EBITDA margins. Active in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana irrigation contracts alongside NHAI packages.
MEIL and Gawar Construction are private companies. No verified public order book or revenue figures are available. Not included in this ranking.
Market Context
How the contractor market is performing
Average EBITDA margin for listed road EPC companies in Q3 FY2024-25. Margins have been broadly stable despite input cost volatility, supported by escalation clause claims.
Axis Direct sector report, Q3 FY2024-25
Median bid premium above MoRTH's Project Cost fell from over 20% in FY2019-21 to approximately 4% by FY2023. More contractors, tighter margins, better pricing discipline.
Vikran Group EPC Industry Assessment, Sep 2024
Typical order book to annual revenue ratio for listed road contractors (NCC, HCC, Afcons, PNC). Indicates 2-plus years of revenue visibility. Useful for working capital planning.
Annual reports, compiled by CivilBolt
What does order book mean?
Order book
Value of contracts awarded but not yet executed. High order book means revenue is locked in for future quarters. Reported quarterly by listed companies.
Cover ratio
Order book divided by annual revenue. A 2x cover ratio means the contractor has roughly two years of work in hand. Good visibility for planning subcontractor and equipment commitments.
Why it matters for you
Contractors tendering for subcontracts or JV partnerships look at order book as a signal of financial health and execution capacity. High order book means the contractor can commit resources; very high may mean they're stretched.
Using this data
What contractors do with this information
Pre-qualification benchmarking
NHAI packages above ₹500 crore typically require turnover and net worth thresholds. Knowing where your revenue sits relative to listed contractors helps assess which package sizes you qualify for.
JV partner selection
Joint ventures for large NHAI or state PWD packages require a lead partner with the right experience and financial standing. Order book rankings identify who has capacity to take on new work.
Competitive intelligence
Order book concentration tells you which contractors are stretched and which have headroom. A contractor with a 3x+ cover ratio is less likely to compete aggressively on price for new work.
Subcontract negotiation
Subcontractors working for listed companies can verify their client's financial health through BSE/NSE filings. Order book and cover ratio are standard reference points for payment risk assessment.
Sources
Data sources and verification
All order book and revenue figures are from SEBI-regulated company disclosures (annual reports, DRHP filings, quarterly BSE/NSE submissions). No estimates from unverified blogs or paywalled research. Data reviewed and updated annually after Q1 results season (July-August).
NCC Limited Annual Report FY2024-25
NCC Ltd / BSE
HCC Annual Report FY2024-25
Hindustan Construction Company
PNC Infratech Annual Report FY2024
PNC Infratech Ltd / BSE
Afcons Infrastructure DRHP / IPO Prospectus
SEBI / Afcons Infrastructure, Oct 2024
L&T Integrated Annual Report FY2024-25
Larsen & Toubro Ltd
Top 10 Infra Stocks by Order Book (Sep 2024)
Equitymaster
EPC Industry Assessment Report, Sep 2024
Vikran Group
Last reviewed: May 2026. Next review: August 2026 (after Q1 FY2026-27 results).