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Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are set to place orders worth ₹12,000 crore with Central public sector enterprise, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), which already has five orders worth ₹12,337 crore so far this year.
Also, the Heavy Industry Ministry is working on a Cabinet note for setting up of a new project by BHEL in Maharashtra to produce solar power project equipment. These two measures are expected to prop up the balance sheet of this public sector ‘Maharatna.’
Almost final“Talks with Telangana Government are almost finalised, while discussions are ongoing with Andhra Pradesh,” a Central Government official told BusinessLine . BHEL is an integrated power plant equipment manufacturer engaged in the design, engineering, manufacture, construction, testing, commissioning and servicing of products and services for core sectors, such as power, transmission, industry, transportation (Railway), renewable energy, oil and gas, and defence.
However, the company is facing a tough time due to fewer projects, feed stock issues and cheaper imports from China. The situation was so bad that it got its first order in power sector only in September this year. So far, in the current fiscal, it has got five orders worth ₹12,337 crore in the power sector.
Target setThis does not include orders received by the international, industrial operation divisions or others. The outstanding order book position, as on March 31, 2014, was over ₹1.01 lakh crore, while it was ₹97,400 crore on June 30 and ₹1,03,700 crore on September 30. It is expected that with the power sector resolving the fuel supply issue new power projects will be planned soon. The Government has set a target of 17,830 MW (including 2,000 MW of nuclear capacity addition for this fiscal). Between April and October, over 9,500 MW capacity was added.
New projectThe Heavy Industry Ministry plans to approach the Cabinet for a ₹3,700-crore new solar power project to be set by BHEL.
“The plan is to complete the project in two phases. The first phase, with investment of ₹1,700, involves production of solar module, while around ₹2,000 crore investment is to be made in the second phase for production of solar cells,” the official said.
The capacity of the proposed plant will be around 500 MW and it is likely to get 40 per cent of fund requirements from the National Clean Energy Fund.
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