![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dazzling-chebyshev.103-73-189-254.plesk.page\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Cover-Story-Pict-I.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nEKK tells the transitional story of a typical PWD contractor firm into a mid-sized infrastructure company that builds safe roads and pursues safe business in its traditional areas, and gradually, in its other core areas of competence. Behind every action and new entry plan, there has been a philosophy that nothing remains perpetual. Even durable assets need upgradation and capacity enhancement as the load on them increases. Everything has an age, hence it needs a different approach according to the changing times. The new-age business thrives on the changing needs of the new age. This is the philosophy that drives diversification, making entrepreneurship a meaningful term. It is here one can see the transformation of a PWD contracting firm of Kerala into a professional enterprise with diversified interests, says Sanju Muhammed, Managing Director of EKK Infrastructure Ltd and the eldest son of EKK Muhammed, the founder of EKK & Co. \u00a0\u201cEntrepreneurship is like a voyage, he says. \u201cOurs is a long journey,\u201d he adds as he reflects on EKK’s history, business philosophy, and his view on talent availability in India\u2019s fast-growing<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sanju invested in a financial technology start-up and exited it after Paytm acquired it. He has also invested in an early-stage edutech start-up, Ecctra, that utilises psychometric analysis to identify the talents of children at an early age, enabling them to receive better training in their areas of strength. Although there are more than 8,000 streams of professions available, an average person is aware of fewer than 10 job variants. The integrated platform has systems to identify one’s talent and suggest suitable jobs to secure an early position, as well as recommend the right training opportunities, etc. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n economy. In 1972, EKK Muhammed started a sole proprietorship firm named EKK & Co. During the transformation, many things fell into place, and many factors worked together harmoniously to create synergy between departments and verticals. However, that was not enough for an infrastructure company that needed to negotiate with wisdom and resolve under the ever-changing atmosphere where cutting-edge talent determines the survival and success. Sanju was aware of the fact and broadly aware of all the possible challenges which an average infrastructure company faced while growing. India saw new generation highways emerging at a fast pace, with endless streams of vehicles smoothly moving through, transforming the country’s landscape and reflecting all the features of a modern economy. India adopted a rapid pace in building magnificent new highways at the dawn of the present millennium.\u00a0 But, contrary to capitalising on the thriving new opportunities, EKK & Co., as a road contracting company, was about to close its activities after the founder suffered a stroke. The hard decision also sounded unnatural for a company with more than three decades of existence in the sector at that time. Sanju, then aged 20, had set a different goal. He dreamt of settling abroad after an MBA from the London School of Economics (LSE).<\/p>\n\n\n\n At home, life wasn\u2019t luxurious, though there was no hardship, recalls Sanju. There was no compulsion to join his father\u2019s business. \u201cInitially, there was no plan to inherit my father\u2019s mostly PWD contract business legacy, nor any business goal in mind beyond finding a well-paid executive job,\u201d Sanju recalls at the prelude of his revisit to the beginning of his entrepreneurship. One day, EKK & Co. advertised the sales of its construction equipment and other assets. Seeing the advertisement, Rajesh Bai, a Gujarati friend of the EKK family, called up and asked, \u201cWhen everyone is planning to drive on the new road and contractors are finding big opportunities, how can you drop out of the smooth highway?\u201d That could be an imprudent idea and unacceptable. \u201cDon\u2019t turn your back on the opportunities,\u201d the Gujarati friend suggested. He wanted EKK to withdraw the decision. Sanju had to rethink and redraw his career plan after Rajesh\u00a0 Bai said, \u201cYou can have no better MBA than using your skill to capitalise on the emerging opportunities in India.\u201d Though inheriting a business from parents is incidental, the moment that made one reverse the decision to carry on the family legacy was accidental. The alert by a There are concerns of significant wastage of manpower in the Indian economy, especially when compared to the average man-hour productivity of larger economies. There is substantial scope for improvement in knowledge and skills across every industry. There is a significant difference in the quality of manpower between developed and developing economies. <\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Rajesh Bai was the owner of the former Tikitar, a manufacturer of bitumen emulsion. Shell later acquired Tikitar and rebranded it as Tiki Tar and Shell India Pvt. Ltd. Rajesh Bai\u2019s influence and judicious advice struck deep in his mind. Winding up a three-decade-old business at the very time the segment that EKK toiled in was set for a take-off could be a bad idea, Sanju was convinced. Relinquishing the gains of over three decades, all of a sudden, spelt a self-imposed doom, Rajesh Bai warned again. India\u2019s road segment was undergoing a massive change, he reminded, showing examples of massive road-building activities underway in Gujarat. Sanju also saw it directly on his occasional Gujarat visit.<\/p>\n\n\n That was the time the talks of the National Highways Development Project (NHDP) and the Golden Quadrilateral project, which started in\u00a02001, were thick in the air. \u00a0By the time Gujarat had begun to show massive changes. The other part of the country also would see a similar change, Raju bai opined. \u201cYes, that wasn\u2019t an exaggeration. I was convinced about what was ensuing for the rest of the country,\u201d Sanju, who ultimately joined the family business in 2004, recalled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon, new generation roads began to emerge in Kerala, reflecting the changes set in other parts of India. But for EKK & Co to move out of the legacy of PWD contracting and to be eligible to bid for highway projects, it required drastic changes within. The company then did not have the necessary engineering skills, machinery, capital and capacity to bid for new generation roads of futuristic specification. Qualification at the bidding round was a concern. In the early days, there were challenges in making EKK a qualified bidder for the government road project. Rajesh Bai promised all help in every way to arrange the necessary skills, technical expertise, and organised machinery, manpower and working capital. Subsequently, EKK secured the four-lane Thanjavur-Nagapattinam-Tiruvarur project worth \u20b918 crore in Tamil Nadu, the first project out of the PWD circle. The next challenge was to find the working capital. That concern also vanished with the generous help of Rajesh Bai. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Every time Sanju visited Gujarat, he used to carry spices from Kerala and return with a Gujarati special refilled in the baggage. In one of the trips, Rajsh Bai gave a \u201cbag\u201d of capital unsought and advisories about what was ensuing in India\u2019s infrastructure segment and how to position EKK to capitalise on the opportunities. The amount was equivalent to the then turnover of EKK. That was enough to cover the working capital needs of one full year of work that EKK had in hand at that time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sanju felt compelled to go by the words of his generous mentor and worked religiously with faith in himself. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t have been careful of disciplining myself had the capital come from my family source,\u201d he said. No one else would have given such a large sum so generously without a guarantee. That showed the mentor\u2019s trust in him and his capabilities. When Sanju asked him about what made him risk so much generosity, he retold his story of business success. Rajesh Bai said it was with someone\u2019s help that he built his fortune, and he passed the generosity on to another one as a natural corollary; that\u2019s all. The trust that Rajesh Bai had shown should be reciprocated, Sanju determined. Rajesh Bai also left a message along with the financial support – \u201cHelp others also the same way.\u201d \u00a0Along with the financial support, he also sent an expert and trustworthy manager to support EKK at all operational levels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Initially, he felt burdened with a big liability. He had no choice but to continue the contract business and earn money to repay his debts. \u201cI thought I should not misuse others\u2019 money and ride carelessly on others\u2019 generosity. I must repay it and prove that the help was meaningful with a domino effect,\u201d Sanju recalls. Sanju began to focus seriously on the business with the primary goal of repaying his debt. It demonstrated his honesty, an essential quality for anyone who borrows money. At his age, many people might have misused the funds. But Sanju was responsible for the money he borrowed, understanding that it represented a liability until fully repaid, along with any associated charges. He successfully repaid the loan as soon as he completed his first contract. EKK consistently ensured that they avoided excessive debt while maintaining cash liquidity, which facilitated smooth project progress and timely completion. This experience taught Sanju valuable lessons about debt management and the true meaning of running a business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Without greed, Sanju picked up speed and moved with the wind, but chose quality business and swallowed only what was digestible. That is the culture he inherited and maintained throughout his entrepreneurship, as having decent gruel three times a day to maintain a healthy life. \u201cWe have always been happy with it. Even now, we are healthy enough to have the gruel three times a day,\u201d he points out metaphorically. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In business, EKK also maintained the same philosophy \u2013 the philosophy of \u2018swallow what is healthy and easily digestible.\u2019 \u201cThat is the reason I am comfortable with my position in our core business now and capable of diversifying into other ventures. There is a big space for scalability and volume expansion in the infrastructure segment, but with equally big challenges,\u201d he chips in. \u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Pushing the current turnover of \u20b91200 crore by as many folds as the management desires would no longer be a task in the current phase of infra growth in India. Yet EKK does not want to scale the business recklessly, but maintains checks and balances, and manages only the projects that can satisfy the client with quality and execution schedule. The liquidity management, keeping it well-capitalised through all phases of every project it implements, and manpower management help EKK maintain its position stronger. EKK has completed over 150 projects throughout its history. In the past five years, the company has finished 23 major projects valued at approximately \u20b93900 crore. The completed project includes the Four-laning of Thalassery-Mahe Bypass project of \u20b91024 crore, the single biggest infra project any company has implemented to date. Currently, the company is executing 13 projects worth an aggregate of \u20b94270 crore, mostly of a larger size than it has completed, in various parts of the country. The sweat that the management gushed to achieve these edges cannot go unnoticed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But the challenges lie elsewhere. \u201cWe know even if funds are available with a good credit rating and internal accrual through efficient financial management, efficient manpower availability remains edgy,\u201d Sanju says. Every contract work, especially government contracts, requires working capital and patience to wait for bills to be cleared, as they move from one table to another for approval before payments are made. Why pursue such work and become entangled in complexities like sufficient cash flow and suitable labour availability? This question once haunted Sanju. But for an entrepreneur with good common sense, a cool mind with a resolute and diplomatic approach, nothing is impossible, as Sanju himself could prove. He takes every decision by heart, not by mouth or words. He refrains from wrong bets and is cautious not to chase wild dreams without being overcautious to lose any deserving opportunity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Labour efficiency determines the feasibility of a construction project as importantly as the cost of materials. A fast-growing economy, as India’s, has this problem universally, especially in the labour-intensive infrastructure industry. In the Indian context, it is more acute. There is a vast difference between the usual factory labour force and the labour force on the construction site. The rate of attrition on construction sites is very high. Workers often leave after gaining experience by the end of a project, either returning to their hometowns to seek other employment opportunities or moving on to new job opportunities elsewhere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Moreover, most workers on construction sites are temporary and non- committed. Construction sites are stopgap work sites for farm workers during lean seasons. The concerns of efficiency are bound to not labourers alone. That is common across the cadres of white, blue and all collars. EKK takes care of its workers, and there are long-serving workers with payment on par with engineers. The company has a presence in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, Nepal and Muscat. In 2012, EKK expanded into Muscat as part of its geographical diversification strategy. It revamped the Muscat operation three years ago.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2015, EKK & Co., a proprietorship firm, was transformed into a private limited company, and three years later, it became a public limited entity.\u00a0 Today, EKK Infrastructure is a leading engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) company in India with a base in Ernakulam, Kerala. It carried out Kerala\u2019s largest road construction project \u2013 Thalassery-Mahe Bypass \u2013 at a cost of over \u20b91000 crore, the biggest single project ever assigned to any construction company in the State. In addition to roads, the company has completed numerous bridges, airports, and water irrigation systems.\u00a0 While its primary focus is currently on construction, it also emphasises irrigation, solar energy, energy storage, and commercial building construction. EKK is executing the construction of Foxconn’s new manufacturing plant near Chennai. The company\u2019s entry into the solar segment is part of its strategy to capitalise on the growing demand for carbon neutrality. Once the ongoing tariff war resolves, India is expected to witness a boom in the production of solar panels and storage batteries.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n The presence of inadequately trained personnel in the industrial production process significantly impacts the quality of economic growth and the pursuit of innovation, especially as we experience exponential growth. Even with a high level of mechanisation, some level of labour intervention remains unavoidable. <\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Over the past decade, the company has made significant progress with a proven track record in constructing airports, bridges, reinforced earth walls for mining and industrial structures, water irrigation projects, factories, commercial buildings, solar energy installations, and more. Some of the major projects EKK has completed include Cochin Airport, Thalasseri-Mahe bypass (NHAI) project, Thodupuzha Pala Ponkunnam Road Project, Flood Mitigation Projects (Kuttanad Package), RICK Project (on an annuity basis), and others. EKK built the world\u2019s longest man-made bund\u2014the 13-KM stretch of the Kuttanad Bund\u2014which regulates water levels and prevents saltwater intrusion due to the region’s below-sea-level farming system. This stands as the most successful irrigation project carried out as part of the Kuttanad package. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sanju is the owner of Calicut Globstars, a franchise league run by Kerala Cricket Association under BCCI. It is like an IPL. There are about 20 leagues in India, and the Kerala Cricket League is one of them. Calicut Globstars, which represents the Malabar region, is one of the cricket teams. Last year, in the first season, Globstars was the runner-up. Sanju came into it with funding, a realistic approach and superior \u2018analytical\u2019 support as a sponsor to encourage the sportsmen and sports lovers, says Achuthan, who is confident of Calicut Globstars coming out with flying colours in the coming season. As of now, 95 per cent of the judgments of Sanju have been right. Calicut Globstars has a strong team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Business growth in its core areas of highway construction occurs naturally. However, the management is exploring diversification into solar energy and battery energy management systems. Besides these, the company is also working on a waste recycling project with Shell and another with a Korean firm on Malaysian bridge technology, called Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC). It is an advanced material used in bridge construction and repair for superior strength, durability, and resistance to environmental factors. This will make bridges three times stronger than those built with conventional methods. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Infrastructure is a durable asset that can endure climate change and overwhelming public use. Quality is a critical concern, and EKK prioritises it highly. The management believes that an infrastructure company must operate professionally, with an efficient system in place to ensure it is a competitive firm. That is the only way to succeed in the stiffly competitive business. Sanju never favoured working on the PWD work standard, but on the global standard. Incidentally, most of the projects he procured were externally aided, including the World Bank-aided projects. In all these projects, there were international consultants also. Working with them gradually enabled EKK Infrastructure to acquire their operational and quality standard. For an average company based in Kerala, adopting the international standard and budget management was difficult in those days. The consultant sent by Rajesh Bai used to advise the need for hiring professionals who work honestly for the growth of the company, instead of resorting to filling in with kith and kin. It may be a family business, but in the long run, it will be professionalism that determines the success and value creation. Sanju got actionable advice. This way, EKK could build a name for a professional business house with guaranteed quality in every work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In many road projects in Kerala, the home state of EKK, these projects, which are proportionately larger compared to others in the region, are weather resilient and have displayed no impact from geological concerns. The company has brilliant engineers and workers who do not resort to shortcuts and never compromise on quality aspects. When climate change and floods proved to be a disaster for many road projects in Kerala, EKK had nothing to worry about. \u201cHitherto, our project faced no issue of quality. We take special care at vulnerable spots,\u201d Sanju points out while mentioning a 150-meter bridge EKK constructed at Dharmadam on its prestigious Thalassery-Mahe bypass. The company submitted recommendations, along with a study report, to the Government of Kerala, stating that no construction work involving soil refilling should take place near rivers for any road project. The state government accepted this suggestion as a regulation. In light of recent disasters from projects executed by other parties in Kerala, EKK’s study report and recommendations have become a guiding principle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In business, rivalry and competition are common. In competition, one strives to be more efficient, and in rivalry, a proactive entrepreneur learns new lessons. When a rival company attempted to undermine EKK by trying to force it out of the business through various means, including false allegations, the management viewed this as a valuable learning experience. \u201cEven at the time of near bankruptcy due to withholding of \u20b9200 crore when the turnover was \u20b9400 crore, that created a cash crunch and withholding of payments, we remained observant. He understood one important thing: no crisis lasts a lifetime. Crises are transient. \u201cMoreover, I could learn valuable lessons in crisis management from rivalry,\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sanju reminisces. Sanju\u2019s wife, Mirfath, focuses on managing allied products and HR management. Sachin\u2019s wife, Sajna, runs a boutique. \u201cOur success also owes greatly to the staunch support of families. We never felt family pressure for not having spent time with them. They have been extremely cooperative, even in my father\u2019s experience,\u201d Sanju remembers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The founder and Chairman of the company, EKK Muhmmed, continues to be the mentor and visionary of the group. Even now, he is active, in a way, as a responsible regulator of the overall functioning of EKK Infrastructure. Sanju has continued to uphold the message left by Rajesh Bai and has supported numerous small initiatives with seed capital and financial aid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Infra and beyond There could be no space on the 300-Km Kochi to Kasargod National Highway stretch of Kerala that EKK Muhammed,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6613,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cover-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dazzling-chebyshev.103-73-189-254.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6603","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dazzling-chebyshev.103-73-189-254.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dazzling-chebyshev.103-73-189-254.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dazzling-chebyshev.103-73-189-254.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dazzling-chebyshev.103-73-189-254.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6603"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/dazzling-chebyshev.103-73-189-254.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6603\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6623,"href":"https:\/\/dazzling-chebyshev.103-73-189-254.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6603\/revisions\/6623"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dazzling-chebyshev.103-73-189-254.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dazzling-chebyshev.103-73-189-254.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dazzling-chebyshev.103-73-189-254.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dazzling-chebyshev.103-73-189-254.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
man of good heart, whom Sanju calls his godfather, was irresistible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dazzling-chebyshev.103-73-189-254.plesk.page\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Cover-Story-Pict-C.jpg\")
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