BHEL Bhopal touches 2,500 Mw capacity

The Bhopal unit of Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd has joined the big league of the hydro-turbine segment by touching a 2,500-Mw capacity.

Under its ambitious expansion plan, the Navaratna company today started commercial production of its new hydro-block expansion unit.

Ashok K Puri, chairman & managing director, BHEL, inaugurated the commencement of the production in the block christened as 'Swarna Jayanti Block'.

He also laid the foundation stone of a new transformer block. "With this huge facility, BHEL has become the single largest company in the hydro power segment in India," a BHEL spokesperson told Business Standard.

The unit has a new CNC block (computer numerically controlled machines) and a new transformer block. The BHEL will now boast of an increased capacity of transformer production at 30,000 MVA per annum.

The public sector giant, which has Rs 400-crore worth orders from hydropower segment in hand, has invested Rs 180 crore in the block though the completion is behind schedule.

The unit was scheduled to start commercial production in October last year, but slow pace of civil work made the progress tardy. The company, however, claims to achieve the targets in hand. "We will achieve our target of Rs 400 crore in the segment," said a BHEL spokesperson.

This new unit has created 150 direct and 100 indirect jobs of the total headcount added this year. "We have plans to add 600 more jobs during 2008-09," the spokesperson added.