Chennai, Feb 1 (IANS) The steam turbine and power generation venture between Toshiba of Japan and Jindal Steel Works is proposing to start initial production next year with a targeted turnover of $400-million by 2015, top officials said here Monday.
“Our plant will start manufacturing turbine generator components next year and the full steam turbine and power generation sets in 2012,” Itaru Ishibashi, managing director of the venture, said at a ceremony to lay the cornerstone for the plant near here.

“By 2014, the plant will achieve a production capacity of 3,000 MW of steam turbine generators, employing around 500 people. The company will achieve a turnover of $400 million in 2015,” Ishibashi added.

The company is a 75:25 venture between $73 billion Toshiba and the $3.7 billion Jindal Steel Works Group to make steam turbine and power generation sets. It is also the third venture for the Japanese company in India.

Speaking about the Indigenisation efforts, Ishibashi said the plant will initially have a local content of around 20 percentm, which will go up to 50 percent by 2012.

“Localisation of components involves two activities, material and capability. While the second factor will be taken care by Toshiba by training Indian employees in Japan, we hope Indian companies can to manufacture the required kind of steel,” he said.

“Oterwise we may import the steel from Japan or Europe,” he said, adding the venture will give preference to JSW Group’s power projects in terms of supplies and price.

According to V.K. Dhanuka, senior vice president with JSW Energy, the joint venture will increase its power generation capacity to 3,140 MW by 2011 from the present 995 MW and to 11,390 MW by 2014.

Speaking about the Japanese major’s India operations, its vice president Atsuhiko Izumi said a group company, Toshiba Thermal and Hydro Power Systems based at Gurgaon near New Delhi, looks after sales and plant engineering.