The Hindu Business Line : Kanika Info appoints consultant for proposed infrastructure projects

KANIKA Infocom has appointed M.N. Dastur & Co as consultant for its proposed Rs 160-crore project that will ensure its diversification into infrastructure development.

The company, which is set to change its name to Kanifa Infrastructure and Power Ltd, has identified three projects in West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh.

The consultant's report will help the company promote a 2x6-MW hydel power station in Himachal Pradesh and a 2x7.5-MW rice husk-based power plant in Chhattisgarh. Their costs are pegged at roughly Rs 70 crore and Rs 60 crore respectively. Also, Kanika plans to set up a solar cell unit in West Bengal at an investment of Rs 30 crore.

The company has proposed a Rs 20-crore resource-mobilisation drive, aimed at financing the rice husk-based power project. This may be done by way of private placement of equity or through a rights issue, subject to regulatory approvals. Tie-ups with financial institutions may be worked out as well.

Kanika, in a note to shareholders, has referred to the possibility of selling power to industrial units in States such as Orissa, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh; the States surrounding Chhattisgarh are power deficit, it has pointed out.

The company can also sell power to a "group associate" which is coming up with a steel unit at Raigarh in Chhattisgarh. Incidentally, it has submitted a reverse merger proposal involving Sunil Sponge Iron Ltd, which is working out the steel project.

The company, a BSE-listed entity, is in the process of shedding its Infocom tag and is seeking shareholders' approval for changing its object clause. The latter is being done to include a host of infrastructure-related activities.

The new-look Memorandum of Association will include the following: Construction and development of electricity transmission lines, canals, telecommunication systems and all forms of energy, including solar, hydel and husk-based. Also, Kanika will be free to enter into a number of new businesses. These include restaurants, food import and entertainment.

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