Videocon to invest $5 bn for power plants

Videocon Industries, the country's consumer-electronics maker and oil explorer, plans to invest $5 billion on building three power plants, said Chairman Venugopal Dhoot today.

The company plans 5,000 MW of electricity generation capacity in Gujarat, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh along with an international player. India, which faces a 13 per cent shortage during peak hours, plans to add 210,907 MW in the next five years.

"We will increase our investments in setting up power projects as we get more coal linkages and land. India needs electricity and there's very good scope in power," Dhoot said in a phone interview in Mumbai. "This is just the beginning.''

Videocon today called for bids from global engineering companies for two units of 800 MW each at Pipavav in the western state of Gujarat.

The plant will use coal from Indonesia, where the company owns stakes in a coalmine, he said. Contractors for the project, to be implemented on a single turnkey basis, would be selected through international competitive bidding, it added. The last date for submission of bids is June 9, 2008.

The company has formed an energy division to implement the power projects, said Dhoot. It plans to separate its power, oil and gas and mining businesses, Videocon said on December 17.

Videocon may consider raising funds for the units by selling shares to private investors or partners, Videocon told the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Videocon Industries is a $5 billion group with presence in energy, oil and gas and coal mining verticals.