Construction industry leader Maga Engineering (Maga) has projects worth nearly Rs.30 billion to be initiated in the coming months, which could exceed Rs.80 billion before the end of the financial year.“We’ve submitted a proposal to the government to undertake a 28 kilometre stretch of the Northern Highway. It’s worth Rs.54 billion,” Maga Development Director Mega Kularatne said.

According to him, for the financial year 2014/15, the company has so far attracted over Rs.26 billion in contracts.Mega Kularatne said that the company has been growing between 15-20 percent annually for the past decade, while Maga Chairman and Managing Director M.G. Kularatne said immediately past years have seen a growth of 20 to 25 percent.Yet, with the incoming Chinese investments for construction, the industry has only seen an annual growth of 13 to 15 percent.Mega Kularatne said that the industry can contribute towards sustainable growth of the country and escape the middle-income trap.“The industry will have to work on research and development (R&D) and innovation.

It must plan to invest heavily on people and conduct continual professional development to reduce the brain drain,” he said.He also said t hat while t he industry has i mproved i n road construction, energy generation and air/sea port construction are lagging behind.“Ports, airports and power generation need to acquire cuttingedge technology and expertise via joint ventures with foreigners,” he said.Meanwhile, M.G. Kularatne said that the company is attempting to expand, not through diversification into a conglomerate but across borders.“Not going for it (diversification) has helped us grow by investing the profits intelligently into our specialization. Next year, we are going for overseas tenders,” M.G. Kularatne said.The company will be targeting Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa.Maga is currently involved in constructing the AmbepussaGalewela and AnuradhapuraTrincomalee roads.It just completed the 47-storey Clearpoint Residencies in Rajagiriya for Rs.6 billion and is constructing the 47-storey Grand Hyatt Colombo Hotel for Rs.10 billion, which when completed would be the tallest building in the country, and the NSBM Green University Town, South Asia’s first green campus for Rs.8.75 billion.

It also completed MAS Thurulie factory in 2008, the world’s first purpose-built carbon-neutral plant.“Through t hese, we are not just contributing to green or corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities but also towards the sustainability of the country,” Mega Kularatne said.The comments were made during the 30th anniversary celebrations of Maga, at Hilton Colombo.The company’s workforce exceeds 14,000 and has been awarded over 78 national construction awards and has also been recognized as the fourth in Sri Lanka’s Corporate Accountability Index.