NTPC-BHEL JV should focus on BOP equipment: Shinde

Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde today said the joint venture between state-run NTPC and BHEL should focus on building equipment other than boilers, turbines and generators, as there is a dearth of companies engaged in the construction of such machinery in the country.

"There is a shortage of balance of plant (BOP) equipment in the market. Lot of companies are developing boilers, turbines and generators," Shinde said at the Operational Performance and excellence awards organised by NTPC.

"For sometime, NTPC-BHEL JV company should do only the balance of plant equipment, after that, they may go BTG sets," he added.

NTPC-BHEL Power Projects is a 50:50 JV firm formed in April, 2008, with a focus on engineering, procurement and construction contracts, besides the manufacture and supply of equipment for power plants.

The JV has an order book of about Rs 450 crore. It is targeting an order book of Rs 7,000 crore by the end of the current fiscal (2010-11).

At present, NBPPL is working on the 100-MW Namrup Power Station in Assam and the 726-MW combined cycle power plant being set up by ONGC Tripura Power Corporation at Palatana, in Tripura.

It is also executing the 500-MW Singrauli thermal power plant and the 600-MW thermal power plant of Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation (APGENCO) at Rayalseema.

Meanwhile, the JV firm is also looking for a global technology provider and may offer them a minority stake in the company.

NTPC-BHEL Power Projects falls under the administrative control of the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Industries.

The Ministry of Power has set a target for adding 62,000 MW of power generation capacity during the ongoing XI Five-Year Plan Period (2007-12).

The minister also said, "We would be able to add 15,000 MW by March 31, 2011."