The Hindu Business Line : HCC eyes setting up more nuclear reactors

Mumbai April 14 Hindustan Construction Company (HCC), the infrastructure development player that has set its eyes on becoming a $1 billion company by 2010, sees a huge opportunity in development of nuclear power projects following the agreement between India and the US.

The company, which has built seven out of 14 reactors in various nuclear power plants, feels that the agreement would result in setting up of more nuclear plants. "We see a good opportunity for the company in that," said Mr S.K. Dharmadhikari, Senior Vice-President (Marketing and Tendering).

He told a group of visiting journalists from Hyderabad that the company currently handled construction of reactor buildings and tunnels for the Koodankulum Nuclear Power Plant of 1,000 MW each in Tamil Nadu.

HCC, which registered a turnover of Rs 2,028.20 crore in 2005-06, now held an order book worth Rs 9,604 crore in sectors such as transportation, nuclear and hydro power generation, water supply and irrigation.

For the third quarter ended December 31, the company registered a turnover of Rs 540.65 crore against Rs 461.87 crore in the corresponding quarter last year, showing a growth of 17 per cent.

Opportunities in AP

HCC has identified Andhra Pradesh as one of the focus areas, with the State going in for infrastructure development in different areas such as irrigation and road construction.

The company, which had already taken up two lift irrigation projects on Godavari and a North-South national highway project in Andhra Pradesh, had two more jobs in the pipeline. It was taking up Rs 700-crore Velugodu tunnel and Rs 320-crore Dummugudem water supply project, Mr Dharmadhikari said.

Mumbai sea link

HCC, which had bagged the Package 4 of the Rs 1,306-crore Bandra-Worli Sea Link Project of Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, is hopeful of completing the crucial part after monsoon in 2008.

Envisaged as a solution to the traffic congestion along the 7.7-km stretch, the eight-lane sea link would reduce the distance to 4.7 km and number of traffic signals to four from 23. This would result in cutting down the travel time to just six minutes from about an hour during the peak hours. Considered to be an engineering marvel, the sea link comprises two cable-stayed bridges with lengths of 600 and 300 metres, giving the local fishermen smooth access to the bay.

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