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GVK Power and Infrastructure Ltd., (GVKPIL), has redrawn its business strategy after the recent buyout of Hancock coal mining assets based in Galilee basin in Australia.
It now plans to focus on thermal power projects — its own and through buyouts. Gas-based expansion projects will be put on the backburner for now due to the lack of firm allotment of fuel (gas supplies). It will also expedite the implementation of hydel projects.
The Chairman of GVKPIL and the GVK Group, Mr G.V.K. Reddy, said: “We now have a firm commitment of supply of about 20 million tonnes a year from the Hancock mining projects — sufficient to manage thermal capacity of about 7,500 MW. The focus is on developing our own project at Goindwal Sahib (Amritsar) in Punjab; take up its expansion, and scout for thermal assets for acquisition.”
In an exclusive interaction with Business Line , Mr Reddy said the company does not want to go through the cumbersome process of competitive bids, land acquisition challenges; then, follow this up with various clearances (including environmental), which are all time consuming. Instead, it plans to acquire under-implementation thermal power project assets that are having a tough time freezing their coal requirements.
The 540-MW Goindwal Sahib project has permission to expand by another 1,320 MW. Work on the captive coal mines at Tokisud in Jharkhand is set to commence by the end of the year. This is likely to see an investment of about Rs 350 crore.
NATURAL GAS
The company management has taken a conscious decision to go slow on the expansion projects of gas-based plants at Jegurupadu and Samalkot due to a lack of firm commitment on fuel supplies.
“While we have confirmed supplies of 900 MW for installed gas-based projects, we do not want to risk finances by going ahead with the project. Therefore, we are delaying their implementation by about 6-12 months. However, once we manage to secure gas supplies, we will go ahead with expansion of gas plants,” he said.
HYDEL ASSETS
The work on hydel assets including 340 MW on Alakananda and 370 MW Goriganga would be completed in the next couple of years. The company also plans to commence work on the 850-MW Rattle project in Jammu & Kashmir.
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