Thaindian News

Chennai, April 4 (IANS) Industrial infrastructure developer, GK Industrial Park Pvt plans to woo overseas engineering fabricators wanting to set up shop in India to its 600 acre park being developed near Tiruchirappalli (Trichy).
“We are looking at tying up with overseas engineering fabricating clusters serving oil and energy sectors. With Indian oil and power equipment sector expected to grow, we will be targeting fabricators currently serving the global companies,” its director K.G. Muralidharan told IANS.

The first privately promoted engineering fabrication industrial estate in Tamil Nadu, 25 km from Tiruchirappalli, has got two clients - one serving the oil and petrochemical sector and the other, the power equipment sector.

“Kavin Engineering is our first outside client. Our group company has also decided to house its fabrication unit here,” he added.

Muralidharan also expects some of the 500 Trichy based fabricators, wanting to expand to cater to Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd’s (BHEL) boiler division but constrained by space, to house their units in the park.

With demand for its boilers increasing, BHEL has decided to increase the level of steel fabrication outsourcing to 700,000 tonnes per annum in two years time from last year’s level of 400,000 tonnes.

Muralidharan said that the Rs.89 crore equity of GK Industrial Park is shared between IL&FS Private Equity holding 82 percent and GK Sons, the balance 18 percent.

“Punjab National Bank has sanctioned a loan of Rs.77 crore which will be drawn in phases.”

Queried about the exit route for IL&FS, he said: “As per the deal, the private equity will exit at the end of seventh year, selling its stake to interested parties.”

Unlike other estates where the plots are leased out, at GK Industrial Parks, the plots are sold outright to the investors.

While big units will be offered plots from 2 acres to 10 acres, small fabricators serving the bigger units are offered one acre plots.