Videocon to foray into hospitality, hydropower

"We are certainly interested in the hydropower and hotel sectors, and are ready to invest in Uttarakhand," said Dhoot on the sidelines of a Assocham meeting here.

Dhoot, who is the Assocham president, said his executives were in talks with the Uttarakhand government for projects in both sectors. Videocon has already invested Rs 400 crore in a manufacturing plant at Kashipur, a town in the state's Kumaon region.

In the hotel sector, Dhoot said Videocon, which has a Rs 20,000 crore turnover, is ready to invest Rs 600 crore in Uttarakhand alone. A five star hotel and construction of a Dehra Dun-Mussoorie ropeway are the immediate proposals of the company in the hill state. Besides this, Videocon is also interested in acquiring a heritage building in a Mussoorie hill resort.

Videocon is eyeing for ten acres of land for the construction of five or seven star hotel on the foothills of Mussoorie, said an executive accompanying Dhoot. An amusement park is also on the cards near the proposed hotel.

As far as hydropower is concerned, Videocon expects to produce nearly 2,000 mw in the first phase of the plan. Already, company officials have held talks with the top state government authorities. The company has also held talks with the Uttarakhand Power Corporation (UPCL) for selling the power.

"We are identifying various sites for hydropower in Uttarakhand," said the official.

Videocon recently came up with a proposal to set up a thermal power plant in the West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. Besides this, Videocon is also getting into telecom a big way. The company has bagged licences for 22 telecom circles in India. In addition, the company is also working on gas-based power plant in Rawa, Andhra Pradesh.