ITT bags $22 mn contract for irrigation systems

ITT Corporation, a provider of pumps and systems for transporting and treating water, has been awarded a contract to supply a number of high-end water pumps for two irrigation systems to the Andhra Pradesh irrigation project, which is the largest in India. Combined, these two systems will irrigate more than 250,000 acres of farmland. In addition to the pumps, the contract also calls for ITT to complete sump and pump modeling and supervision of installation, with delivery slated for late 2010. The contract is valued at $22 million.

ITT is aiming to manufacture about ninety per cent of these products locally from its recently inaugrated facility near Vadodara in Gujarat - the group's sole manufacturing facility in the country, said sources familiar with the development.

"This significant order demonstrates the need for ITT’s irrigation products and technology in our country," said Sam Yamdagni, managing director of ITT India. Andhra Pradesh is known as the 'rice bowl of India’ and these projects enable us to make a vital contribution by bringing water where it is needed and growing Indian agricultural production, he added.

The contract involves two irrigation projects for the Andhra Pradesh Irrigation & Command Area Development Department, which manages the largest irrigation project in India and is recognised as one of the largest in the world. At the Pranahita Chevella lift irrigation system, ITT pumps will lift 79 cubic meters of water per second from Thipparam Reservoir to the Chevella Reservoir. At the Chintalpudi system, the pumps will lift 56 cubic meters of water per second from the Godavari River to the Jaleru Reservoir in three stages.

"Low maintenance, high-efficiency pumps play a significant role in the success of a lift irrigation project and we aim to leverage ITT's expertise in this domain," said B Srinivasa Reddy, vice president, projects and business development, Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited (MEIL), consortium partner for these projects.