Skipper picks 50pc in drip irrigation foray with Israeli co

City-based Skipper Ltd today said it has formed an equal joint venture with Israel's Metzerplas for foraying into the Rs 5,000 crore micro irrigation market of India.
The new 50:50 special purpose vehicle, Skipper-Metzer India LLP, will be having its first micro-irrigation products plant at Hyderabad at an initial cost of USD 8 million.
"The debt equity will be 70:30 for the project. We're expecting Rs 500 crore revenue from this plant by 2024," Skipper director Devesh Bansal said here today.
Based on the response, the SPV may go for a second plant in western India, possibily in Ahmedabad, he said.

The project will boost Skipper's existing PVC pipes business, as the proposed company will source about 30 per cent input materials.
The PVC vertical generates nearly 15 per cent of its revenue, while the rest comes from power transmission and distribution operations.
The domestic industry size of drip irrigation (most used method in micro-irrigation) is estimated at over Rs 5,000 crore, and the company expects this sector to grow at a robust pace in the next few years given the impetus by the government is giving in irrigation under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana.