BHEL looks at doubling turnover by 2020

With an order book exceeding Rs 1,50,000 crore, state-owned engineering major BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited) is likely to double its turnover in the next 10 years and hit the Rs 50,000 crore mark, the Department of Heavy Industries has indicated.

“Currently, BHEL's turnover is about $6 billion (Rs 27,600 crore) and by 2020, this number should reach about Rs 50,000 crore,” Department of Heavy Industries secretary Satyanarayana Dash said.

The Department, which overseas the functioning of BHEL along with 22 other public sector undertakings, is confident that the firm's foray into a number of new sectors will prove profitable.

For instance, the engineering major is currently bullish on the solar energy business and is scouting for partners, both domestic and international, to create an integrated facility with a possible investment of Rs 7,000 crore.

The facility is expected to bridge the present gap in domestic technology for the production of silicon wafers from silica sand.

“There is a certain amount of indigenous technology that is available with companies like Bharat Electronics Limited, with whom BHEL is in talks for a possible joint venture. BHEL is also looking at foreign partners in this sector,” Dash said.

Moreover, BHEL recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Japan's Toshiba with an eye on entering the high capacity transmission and distribution business, apart from other technology transfer agreement with UK's Sheffield Forgemasters for heavy forgings that are used for nuclear plants, Dash said.

As for BHEL's core domestic mainstay, Dash said that he expected the firm to secure “at least five” of the 11 tenders that have been floated by India's biggest power generator NTPC for its proposed supercritical units.