Who were ADB's top 2017 contractors for goods and works?

Last week, Devex delved into the Asian Development Bank’s contract awards data to reveal its top 2017 contractors for consulting services. In this second part of the series, we look at ADB’s top partners for “goods, works, and related services” — the other category in which the bank awards contracts to external suppliers for the implementation of the projects it finances. Look out for the third part, coming soon, where we’ll analyze trends in ADB contract awards over recent years. As before, we’ll be looking at the bank’s top “primary” contractors — that is, organizations that were either awarded a contract individually, or were the lead partners in a consortium of organizations that won an opportunity. By analyzing publicly available data, we offer an overview of ADB contracts in 2017, before ranking its top contractors. Contract awards for goods, works and services in 2017 For contracts signed in 2017, ADB funded an average of 81 percent of the total cost of the projects. This represents $8 billion worth of contracts for goods and works. As either the main funder or secondary supporter of a project, ADB helped mobilize $25.7 billion in contracts. It is worth nothing that one contract on a drainage project in Laos has been excluded from our analysis while ADB checks the data. Of the 1,600 contract awards in goods and works in 2017, the largest was for the new 9.7 kilometer Ganga bridge in India, which represented both the biggest contract of the year at $466 million, and the highest ADB contribution for a loan at $423 million. At the lower end of the spectrum, while the bank is only committed to publishing details of contracts worth more than $1 million, several projects below this threshold appear in the data — the lowest being a Chinese education contract worth $100,037 to improve the training of kindergarten teachers and nurses. As for grants, around $242 million, representing the top eight contracts, was provided to Afghanistan for energy transmission and road transportation projects. Overall, the bank’s pipeline of awards represents a wide variety in terms of scope and value. Under ADB’s Strategy 2020, 80 percent of lending resources are intended to focus on five core areas: transport, water management, energy, urban development, and education. Most of the top awarded contracts fall in line with these priorities, meaning these sectors account for the vast majority of ADB-awarded funding for goods and works in 2017, at $7.4 billion, helping to mobilize a little over $11.96 billion in investment. As shown in the table, most of the funding (72 percent) came through ADB lending operations. The other contributions are mainly from national governments, and in a few cases from other international donors. Who were the top goods and works contractors in 2017? It is noticeable that the contracts for goods and works in 2017 were distributed widely, rather than being concentrated in the hands of a few big players: 1,600 awards were spread across 1,100 multidisciplinary partners and consortiums. Nonetheless, the top 10 contractors received around $1.38 billion in awards, of which $666 million accounted for ADB direct financing. These numbers represent 5 percent of the total awarded and 8 percent of the ADB pledged lending. The contractors have been ranked according to the number of awards they won. In eighth position, there was a tie between five companies: Kec International; the Uzbekistan Ministry of Finance; Retro Holding; China Civil Engineering Construction; and Fugro Consult. Each of them won six awards in 2017. To break the tie, we looked at the total value of awards, meaning that two companies fell out of the top 10 ranking: China Civil Engineering Construction, with contracts worth $26.5 million; and Fugro Consult, with contracts worth $5.5 million. ADB lists some contracts as having been awarded to “various contractors.” These were not included in the ranking, since it was not possible to determine the individual organizations within the consortia. The make-up of the 2017 ranking is mostly determined by the number of awards under two big Sri Lankan projects on transport and energy, and by the contracts awarded to continue reconstruction efforts in Nepal after the earthquake. While it might surprise some that no Chinese firms appear in the top 10 ranking, almost 30 percent of the 2017 contracts published by the bank were awarded to Chinese companies. 1. Maga Engineering Headquarters: Sri Lanka Number of ADB awards in 2017 as primary partner: 9 Total value of the awards: $99,834,162.45 Total value of ADB contribution: $20,331,054.28 As the largest construction company in Sri Lanka, Maga Engineering was awarded works for the $200 million, fully ADB-funded third phase of the Integrated Road Investment Program, managed by the Sri Lanka Ministry of Higher Education and Highways. In total, nine awards for the rehabilitation and improvement of rural roads meant the company received almost $100 million in works and goods. 2. Simplex Infrastructures Headquarters: India Number of ADB awards in 2017 as primary partner: 8 Total value of the awards: $138,340,080.16 Total value of ADB contribution: $74,068,742.41 Simplex, a construction leader in India, was awarded eight contracts in 2017. The largest project for the company was the Kolkata environmental improvement plan, which focuses on improving access to water and sanitation services in this municipality of India. It received six awards within this program for the construction of urban sewerage. It also received two awards as part of India’s green energy corridor program. 3. Lumbini Khani JV Headquarters: Nepal Number of ADB awards in 2017 as primary partner: 8 Total value of the awards: $29,710,420.65 Total value of ADB contribution: $26,597,595.49 In third position is a consortium of small Nepali companies that won contracts for the rebuilding of schools following the devastating earthquake that hit the country in 2015. ADB and the national authorities agreed on several urgent actions in the aftermath, with a key focus on putting thousands of children back into school by rebuilding and repairing almost 700 damaged schools. The emergency assistance project has been administered by the Ministry of Finance since 2015. 4. Swachchhanda Nirman Sewa Headquarters: Nepal Number of ADB awards in 2017 as primary partner: 8 Total value of the awards: $17,348,268.06 Total value of ADB contribution: $15,277,196.51 This Nepali firm was also awarded contracts to build schools — 21 in total, across several districts, as well as for the rehabilitation of basic roads. It won most of its awards as part of joint ventures. 5. Siemens Headquarters: Germany Number of ADB awards in 2017 as primary partner: 7 Total value of the awards: $552,421,409.35 Total value of ADB contribution: $138,543,716.06 This German multinational conglomerate received the highest amount of revenues among ADB contractors, across seven contracts. Focusing on cable installation, it will be executing four contracts in India, as part of the green energy corridor, for $472 million; and two additional actions in Sri Lanka on energy efficiency worth $36 million. They were also awarded a $44 million contract for similar works in electricity distribution in Bangladesh. 6. Larsen & Toubro Headquarters: India Number of ADB awards in 2017 as primary partner: 7 Total value of the awards: $167,032,114.90 Total value of ADB contribution: $97,454,624.73 This multinational Indian company received one of the highest amounts of funding, across seven contracts worth a total of $167 million. Focusing on electricity transmission and distribution, the firm won four big opportunities from the Nepal Electricity Authority to expand transmission in several parts of the country. It also won a $52 million award on an urban sewerage improvement project in Colombo, Sri Lanka. 7. Sierra Construction Headquarters: Sri Lanka Number of ADB awards in 2017 as primary partner: 7 Total value of the awards: $83,135,146.71 Total value of ADB contribution: $21,957,343.76 This Sri Lankan company specializing in civil works was awarded contracts for the rehabilitation and improvement of several kilometers of rural roads. Managed by the Ministry of Higher Education and Highways, it won a total of $61.16 million for the projects, of which $17 million came from the ADB. They will also be providing wastewater management and sanitation solutions in Sri Lanka for $14 million. 8. Kec International Limited Headquarters: India Number of ADB awards in 2017 as primary partner: 6 Total value of the awards: $158,167,417.48 Total value of ADB contribution: $140,605,942.00 The global Indian infrastructure contractor was awarded $158.17 million in electricity transmission contracts in Afghanistan, India, and Sri Lanka in 2017. The three contracts under the energy supply investment program in Afghanistan amount to $103.8 million, and are fully funded by the ADB through a grant. KEC will be the provider of goods in a $175 million solar energy project in India, with a contract worth $35.8 million. They will also participate in the green energy corridor in Sri Lanka through two actions worth $18.5 million in total. 9. Uzbekistan Ministry Of Finance Headquarters: Uzbekistan Number of ADB awards in 2017 as primary partner: 6 Total value of the awards: $89,800,000 Total value of ADB contribution: $89,800,000 Under the affordable rural housing program in Uzbekistan executed by the Ministry of Economy, its Ministry of Finance was awarded six contracts in the range of $5 million to $20 million. 10. Retro Holding Headquarters: Azerbaijan Number of ADB awards in 2017 as primary partner: 6 Total value of the awards: $49,080,934.80 Total value of ADB contribution: $41,594,012.81 This Azerbaijani company is in charge of the design, supply, and installation of several substations for a value of $49 million. The six contracts fall under the $250 million ADB-funded power distribution enhancement investment program to improve the reliability and efficiency of power supply in Azerbaijan. Find out about ADB’s top 2017 contractors for consulting services and explore the data further with Devex’s interactive visualization. Keep an eye out for the final part of the series, coming soon, where we’ll explore trends in ADB contracting. Do you have questions about our methodology or data insights? Reach out to our experts at analysts@devex.com for more information.