Thaindian News

Chennai, Jan 22 (IANS) The Rs.800 crore, 3,000 MW steam turbine and generator project of Toshiba JSW Turbine and Generator Pvt. Ltd. coming up here is expected to start production in July this year, a top company official said Saturday.”The turbine and generator project is on track and production is expected to start in July. About 75 percent of the work is over. Initially the component facility will start operations and it will be followed by the steam turbine and generator plant,” said Itaru Ishibashi, managing director.

The company is a 75:25 venture between $73 billion Toshiba and the $3.7 billion Jindal Steel Works Group

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a seminar on Core Nodal Development in Chennai, Ishibashi said: “Our concern is the strength of the bridges and the roads leading to the Ennore port from our plant. They need to be strengthened or even rebuilt so that they can bear the weight of our turbines and generators.”

The seminar was organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Japan External Trade Organisation, Japan’s economy, trade and industry ministry and Tamil Nadu government.

According to Ishibashi, the turbine and generators would weigh around 450 tonnes and they will be transported to the Ennore port by trailers from where it would be shipped to the client locations.

Queried about the emerging competition with other companies - Mitsubishi, Hitachi, Alstom- setting up fresh capacities to the tune of around 12,000 MW and the home grown giant Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) expanding its capacity to 20,000 MW, Ishibashi said: “The competition is there and there may be pricing pressure.”

Asked about the absence of boilers in their portfolio, he said: “In Japan we work together with IHI for boilers and I am suggesting to that company to set up a facility in India.”

IHI and Toshiba in Japan formed a joint venture to steam turbine parts for nuclear power plants for domestic and export markets and the latter is also looking for opportunity in the growing Indian nuclear power field but Ishibashi declined to comment on this aspect.

“Nuclear business is outside my purview and I cannot comment on that part,” he said.

As per plans announced earlier Toshiba JSW is targeting a turnover of $400-million by 2015.

By 2014, the plant will achieve a production capacity of 3,000 MW of steam turbine generators, employing around 500 people.

According to Ishibashi, the company has around 100 people now and getting suitable hands is a challenge now.

“Only BHEL has the trained hands and we cannot poach there. We provide training to our employees in Japan,” he said.