Corrtech, Arabian Port Co. form 50:50 JV for pipeline projects

Ahmedabad-based Corrtech International, which has interests in oil and gas business, has entered into a joint venture with Arabian Port Company of Saudi Arabia for pipeline projects that will garner business of about Rs 4000 crore over a period of five years.

“The agreement was signed in June this year and it will be a 50:50 JV. The investment and other financial details are still being worked out,” said Amit Mittal, managing director of Corrtech International.

The project includes laying of pipelines, station piping work, cathodic protection work and metering skids.

Corrtech is a Rs 150-crore company is into laying oil and gas pipelines, providing specialist corrosion protection solution, maintenance of heavy duty industrial gas turbines and building city gas distribution networks. Recently, Axis Private Equity, an arm of Axis Bank, has picked up 26% stake in the company for an investment of Rs 67 crore.

The company recently inaugurated a gas turbine compressor blades manufacturing unit in Changodar with a capacity to manufacture 30,000 blades a year. "We aim to enhance the production capacity to two lakh blades and for this we aim to pump in Rs 40 crore in the next one year," said Sandeep Mittal, joint MD of Corrtech.

The company produces gas turbine blades based on GE design that are used to generate 20-100 MW of power.

"With companies like Reliance and GSPC all set to pump gas from the newly-discovered gas reserves, most of the gas will be utilised for power generation. The Indian market for gas turbine blades and related components is about $ 150 million whereas the global size is pegged at $ 3-5 billion.

Corrtech is also aiming to diversify into electric cables and is setting up a Rs 7-8 crore facility in Changodar that can generate upto 11 KV.

With a current order book of Rs 150 crore the company aims to garner Rs 300 crore in 2008-09. Corrtech has also secured its maiden overseas construction project - a $ 7.4 million contract for installing a horizontal directional drilling project spread across 3 rivers in Madagascar.