The Hindu Business Line : Skoda Power to set up facility for steam turbines

Hyderabad, Dec. 3 Skoda Power, a maker of power generation equipment, has decided not to bid for large power projects in the country, till certain ticklish issues are ironed out.

Mr Jiri Zapletal, Chairman of the board and Chief Executive Officer of Skoda Holding, the parent company, said, “We are closely looking forward to more liberalisation in the power sector, which would ensure that disadvantages for foreign companies are removed.”

At present, contractual conditions in the tenders are favourable to Indian companies. There is additional loading on imported parts in the form of higher import duties, which is also working against global companies, he told Business Line here.

Skoda Power recently lost out on a project for executing 2x500 MW units, though it had quoted competitively, Mr Zapletal, who is here with a business delegation from Czech Republic, explained.

Expressing dissatisfaction that Skoda Power could not succeed with the Indian power major, NTPC, Mr Zapletal said: “We are talking to independent power producers, even for big power projects in the future.”

Manufacturing base

On the company’s plans to set up a manufacturing base in India, he said a construction and manufacturing facility for steam turbines will be established on the outskirts of Hyderabad, with investments of tens of million euros.

The land acquisition has been completed. The project would be implemented in four phases, with investments staggered depending on the market opportunities for the company in India, he said.

The big plan is to make Hyderabad, the hub for steam turbine manufacture for the Indian market. Further down the line, make it the hub for meeting the demands of the Asian market, though the company has a joint venture in China, Mr Zapletal said.

The Indian venture would be fully owned by Skoda Power and focus on manufacture of steam turbines up to 150 MW power plants. It would also meet the small turbine demands for our global projects in Europe and the US, he said.

Mr Zapletal said the company has been a big player in the Indian power sector with installation of steam turbines that generate thousands of MW. It is also a major partner for retrofitting, modernisation and supply of spare part to NTPC.

The company recently signed a contract with the Konaseema Gas Power for the delivery of steam turbines for the proposed 2x145 MW gas-based power plants.

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