As part of its plans to become a major player in power sector, diversified conglomerate Hinduja group today said it had joined hands with German energy giant STEAG to form a joint venture for operations and maintenance of various power projects in India.
As per the agreement, Hinduja group's power sector holding company Hinduja Energy India Ltd will set up the JV with STEAG Energy Services (India) Pvt Ltd, Indian subsidiary of the German major.
Besides, STEAG has also acquired five per cent stake in Hinduja National Power Corporation Ltd (HNPCL) through its subsidiary STEAG Energy Services GmbH and would have the option to invest in future power projects of the group.
The joint venture will operate the Visakhapatnam plant of HNPCL and would also carry out operations and maintenance activities of new power projects in India. HNPCL's 1,040 MW coal-based thermal power plant is currently in advanced stages of construction for commissioning in 2013.
Hinduja group has previously announced plans to set up 10,000 megawatts of power generation capacity over the next 7-8 years with an estimated investment of about Rs 1,200-1,400 crore.
The group said in a statement that the new JV would back its plans to become a major power sector player in India.
Commenting on the new joint venture, HNPCL Chairman Ashok P Hinduja said that the groups sees power sector as a key driver to India's economic growth and he anticipates a successful partnership with STEAG.
STEAG's Executive Board Chairman Joachim Rumstadt said that the group was expanding its commitment to international power plant business through its cooperation with its Indian partner in the JV.
Hinduja group said that STEAG would be an important technology partner for it and could be a preferred partner in new power projects on the anvil.
"The technical expertise and experience of STEAG and their coming on board well ahead of commissioning will greatly benefit the operations of the project," HNPCL's Managing Director A K Puri said.
Founded in 1914, the group has presence across a number of sectors such as financial services, automobile, media and entertainment, infrastructure, oil and gas and power across 35 countries, including India. The group has identified power as one of its focus areas of business.
STEAG GmbH, the fifth largest electricity producer in Germany with annual sales of about 2.8 billion euro, has been active in power generation business for more than 70 years. Globally, it has power plants in Colombia, Turkey and the Philippines.
