Construction Billionaires P.P. Reddy And P.V. Krishna Reddy Are On A Green Drive

This story is part of Forbes’ coverage of India’s Richest 2023. See the full list here.

Infrastructure billionaire P.P. Reddy’s Megha Engineering & Infrastructures (MEIL), best best known for building dams and roads, has become a leading maker of electric buses in India through its listed subsidiary Olectra Greentech. Olectra was in the news recently when its planned expansion into electric cars in partnership with Chinese automaker BYD was derailed. Their proposal to invest $1 billion to make electric cars in Telangana state and set up charging stations across India was reportedly rejected by New Delhi, which has become increasingly watchful of Chinese investments following border tensions between the two countries. A 2020 regulation made it mandatory for investments from countries sharing a border with India to get government approval. MEIL did not respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, Olectra has seen strong sales of electric buses it makes in a technological partnership with BYD. The company sold 563 such buses, mostly to state-owned transport services, in the year ended March 2023, more than double from a year earlier. Olectra, which competes with the likes of Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland, has an order book of 3,239 buses.

In February, Olectra announced it had developed a prototype of a hydrogen-powered bus in technical partnership with billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries and plans to launch it commercially within a year. The company’s EV ambitions align with the Indian government’s target of having 40% of buses electric by 2030. India’s emissions-reduction targets “will drive future growth for the company,” Saji John, research analyst at Geojit Financial Services, wrote in an April report.

Founded in 1989 by Reddy, a farmer’s son, MEIL started out with small irrigation and drinking water projects. Eventually it began winning complex infrastructure construction contracts. Five years ago it diversified into e-buses by acquiring a majority stake in Olectra. Reddy is MEIL’s chairman, while his nephew P.V. Krishna Reddy, who joined him in 1991, is managing director. The duo have a combined wealth of $4.05 billion.