The Hindu Business Line : SPS Steel & Power to bid for Hirakud Industrial

SPS Steel and Power Ltd, which is setting up a steel plant at Jharsuguda in Orissa at an estimated investment of Rs 900 crore, has decided to bid for Hirakud Industrial Works, a sick State Government-owned unit that is being divested as part of the public sector unit's restructuring programme funded by the Department for International Development of the UK.

This follows the State Government's decision to cancel the earlier tender awarded to the Kolkata-based Varsha Fabrics, a Pawan Ruia group company. The Orissa Government has invited fresh tenders after Varsha Fabrics failed to make the committed payment within the stipulated timeframe. The last date for submitting fresh tenders has been fixed for April 17.

According to Mr G.C. Pati, Industry Secretary, Government of Orissa, and Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Industrial Development Corporation of Orissa Ltd, several parties are keen to bid for Hirakud Industrial Works, a 34-year-old unit equipped to manufacture machinery components, aluminium conductors and transmission line towers. Mr Pati said the State Government was hopeful of receiving bids on or just before the last date for submission of the tenders.

A few days ago, Mr Bipin Kumar Vohra, Chairman and Managing Director of SPS Group of companies, visited Orissa and met representatives of the workers' unions of Hirakud Industrial Works.

He assured them that in the event of SPS Steel and Power bidding successfully for the unit, none of the 1,400 workers would be retrenched and their service conditions would remain unchanged.

On their part, the workers' union representatives assured full co-operation and productivity without any preconditions, said Mr Vohra. "The workers' representatives expressed their confidence on our ability to turn round the sick unit, as we have done in the Durgapur-based Melcast India Ltd, which has now been renamed," he said.

More Stories on : Mergers & Acquisitions | Disinvestment | Steel | Sick Units

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