MONEYMAKERS
coal project: The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) will sign the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Videocon Power Ltd for its coal-based project in Chennai. The cost of the project is Rs 4,423.80 crore. The Department of Coal has allotted a mining block in the Talcher coalfields to Videocon for captive mining. However, to bring down the ash content to 30 per cent as specified by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, the company plans to import coal and blend it with indigenous coal.
medical venture: Hyderabad-based Sangam Healthcare Products (SHP) in collaboration with Boin Medica of Korea will strengthen its presence in the Indian biomedical healthcare market. The joint venture manufactured disposable IV sets, needles, blood bags, BT sets and disposable syringes last year. The joint venture is worth Rs 17 crore and has a capacity to produce one billion needles, 40 million pieces of IV sets and 50 million syringes per year. The us $1.5 billion Korean firm has a 20 per cent stake in the company with Sangam Healthcare holding 40 per cent and the balance with public and financial institutions.
gas supply: Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) will commission its first natural gas supply in Delhi for the domestic purpose of residents. The corporation has already conducted several trial runs for this three crore project. The pilot-project is a joint venture among GAIL, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd and the state government. The pilot project will supply gas to the residents of Sundar Nagar and Kaka Nagar and to other localities in south Delhi.
desalination unit: Reliance Petroleum Ltd will be setting up a desalination plant costing Rs 200 crore at Jamnagar in Gujarat, to supply fresh water to its integrated refinery-cum petrochemical complex. According to the company, the complex needs about 12.5 million gallons of fresh water per day for its various purposes. As the plant is being set up in Saurashtra, which receives scanty rainfall, the company would be opting for the desalination system.
wind power: NEPC India Ltd plans to set up a 100 MW wind power project in Karnataka. The project is expected to start in November this year and will be completed by December 1998. The vice-chairman of the group, Raj Kumar Khemka said that project would supply 5 MW to the Karnataka grid by January 1998 with an additional 5 MW added every month. The project would entail setting up 167 machines of 600 MW each at Chikodi, near Belgaum and other areas with potential for wind farms in Karnataka. The company would also be selling power directly to third parties situated in the indus-trial belts of Karnataka. Industries opting to buy power from the company have been assured a 24-hour power supply.
electric cars: US-based General Motors Corp will begin producing a new battery for its EV1 electric car that will double the range of the rounded coupe to up to 140 miles. Owners will be able to get combined highway and city driving range of 120-140 miles on a single charge. The only other electrically-powered car now offered to retail buyers is Honda Motor Co Ltd's EV Plus. EV Plus also uses the more efficient nickel-metal hydride battery, but it is a heavier vehicle that seats four people.