Pune-based cable manufacturer Finolex Cables Ltd plans to make inroads into commercial power generation through a mega power plant at Ratnagiri, Maharashtra.
Plans 1000 mw thermal plant in Ratnagiri
MUMBAI: Pune-based cable manufacturer Finolex Cables Ltd plans to make inroads into commercial power generation through a mega power plant at Ratnagiri, Maharashtra.
The company is planning to set up a 1000 mw thermal power plant on land held by its sister company, Finolex Industries Ltd.
A source close to the development said: “Though Finolex Group had been contemplating diversifying into commercial power generation for a long time, it was earlier being planed under Finolex Industries. But now, the deck has been cleared and it will be Finolex Cables that will take the plans ahead.”
The venture is still in the planning stage, but a move into commercial power generation has been decided.
It is currently building a 43 mw power plant at Ratnagiri near its PVC manufacturing plant. The first phase, under which the company would generate close to 22 mw of power, is expected to be complete by June this year. The second phase of 21 mw will take another six months. The plant is based on imported coal sourced from Indonesia.
It is not known why the group opted for Finolex Cables to spearhead its commercial power generation foray over Finolex Industries. Source said, both the companies will work in tandem for the 1000 mw power plant.
“While Finolex Cables would be implementing the plant plan, Finolex Industries would convert its fair-weather port into an all-season port,” the source said. The company has hired the services of infrastructure financier IDFC Ltd to do a study on port development.
“Once the port is converted into a fair weather port, raw material for the plant could be imported all through the year,” the source said.
The new plant too will be based on 100% imported coal likely to be sourced from Indonesia and will come up on the 600 acres of Finolex Industries land.
A company official had told DNA Money in September 2007 that diversifying into power for commercial purposes was part of a long-term plan. “We have expertise in building a plant and once the captive plant is operational, we will have experience of running it too,” he had said.
Currently, the company is investing approximately Rs170 crore in the power plant for Finolex Industries, in two parts of Rs 100 crore and Rs 70 crore. The company’s captive requirement will be met completely with the first phase, and it plans to sell the power generated by the second phase of the plant.
Finolex Cables has already applied for approvals and is waiting for regulatory go-ahead.
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