BS reported that Steel Authority of India Limited and Larsen & Toubro Limited recently signed a MoU to jointly set up, develop, manage and own captive independent power plants at suitable locations to meet future power requirements of Sail.

The scope of agreement also includes exploration of opportunities to own captive thermal coal blocks to cater to the power plant requirements.

The MoU is a precursor to JV Agreement between SAIL and L&T for the purpose of incorporation of JV company. Both the parties plan to enter into a JV agreement within 3 months from the date of signing of MoU.

The JV shall strive to identify or locate potential thermal coal blocks which will facilitate in identifying a suitable location for the power project. Both the companies shall jointly set up a 1600 MW Greenfield coal based captive/independent power plant using super critical technology. The companies will keep the option to further expand capacity by 800 Mw or 1600 MW at the same or some other location.

The agreement is a significant strategic intervention. The power requirement for the Sail plants is currently being met primarily through captive power plants, including those with JV companies. The balance requirement is met through distribution companies of the respective grids. Sail's power requirement is likely to increase from the present level of 950 MW to about 1826 MW by 2010 and 4066 MW by 2020.

The domestic steel prices in India yet again started falling in anticipation of price reduction by major producers from 1st Oct. The Long Product Price Index fell by 37 points whereas the steel price index fell by 19 points:

LPPI – Long Product Price Index
FPPI – Flat Product Price Index
ISPI – Indian Steel Price Index

Long products

Flat products

To know more about these indices please visit
http://steelprices-india.com/spi_services/spi.html

If you want to know the prevailing prices and changes across the week on daily basis, please subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com

FE reported that SPS Steel & Power, an arm of Kolkata based SPS Group, has set up a steel plant at the Mini Industrial Growth Centre at Gwalthai in Himachal Pradesh. The plant was inaugurated by Prem Kumar Dhumal, the chief minister of Himachal Pradesh.

With this new plant, the company aims to scale up its present production capacity of 1.6 million tonne per annum to 2 million tonne per annum by 2010.

Mr Bipin Kumar Vohra chairman & MD of SPS group told FE that “The total capital investment for this plant stands at around INR 125 crore and the working capital requirement is around INR 160 crore. We are funding the expansion through internal accruals and debt. Earlier we had planned to dilute about 10% of our equity but looking at the slump in the market we instead raised INR 200 crore by joining hands with Kolkata based Surekha group.”

He further added that “We are targeting a turnover of INR 6,000 crore by the end of the fiscal year 2010-11. Last year we registered a turnover of INR 3,500 crore. While setting up this facility we acquired another company called Suraj Fabrics Industries (Steel division). This new plant is spread over two plots of 8 acres and 16 acres with production capacity of 0.3 million tonne billets per annum and 0.26 million tonne of rolled products per annum.”

He added that “We have approached the Himachal government for acquiring additional 10 acres for setting up a unit for structurals and another two acres for providing housing facilities to our employees. The unit for structurals will cost us about INR 60 crore. We are also mulling over setting up a cement plant as well as a multi-specialty hospital in Himachal Pradesh.”

SPS Group already has steel plants at Durgapur in West Bengal and Jharsuguda in Orissa. But to cater to the needs of the northern regions SPS has commissioned this plant.

It is reported that Indian Railways have decided to levy a busy season surcharge of 5% to 7% on transportation of all products. Under the decision, the transportation of goods on trains will be costlier by 5% to 7 % with effect from October 1st

According to a senior railway official, the imposition of busy season surcharge is an annual exercise and will remain in force from October to March 2009. While the levy of 5% is imposed on transportation of coal and coke, other products would be charged 7%.

Termed as dynamic pricing policy, the decision aims to overcome the effect of the recent fuel price increase. Diesel constitutes 17% of the railway’s total operating cost.

Following the diesel price hike in June this year, Railways had planned to hike freight charges for a host of commodities including ores and minerals, petro products, coke and coal, fertilizers and food grains by 5% to 7% by imposition of a special supplementary surcharge. However it had to rollback the special supplementary levy under pressure to keep in line with the government’s strategy of containing inflation.

Kolkata

Change is on Sept 30th as compared to Sept 29th
Change is in INR per tonne

Mandi

Change is on Sept 30th as compared to Sept 29th
Change is in INR per tonne

Kanpur

Change is on Sept 30th as compared to Sept 29th
Change is in INR per tonne

If you want to know the prevailing prices and changes across the week on daily basis, please subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com

BL reported that Graphite India Limited will expand graphite electrode capacity by 10,500 tonnes at a cost of INR 187.50 crore at its Durgapur plant.

Mr KK Bangur chairman of Graphite India Limited said that the expansion project would be complete within the next 18 to 24 months. He added that internal accruals will largely fund the project. Mr Bangu said that “We may also go in for short-term debts to part finance the project.”

Mr Bangu said that with a decent cash flow had sold some surplus property in Bangalore in 2006 for about INR 100 crore and invested the money in 3 year bonds which would mature next year. He said that “We do not need to draw on this fund.”

The expansion plan follows a surge in demand from the arc furnace steel sector locally and globally. Graphite India exports around 70% of its production. According to the management, the production of steel in the country is likely to go up by 4% points to 38% by 2010.

Graphite India Limited he company currently has a total electrode capacity of 78,000 tonnes, 60,000 tonnes in India and 18,000 tonnes in Germany.

What is important to take note of now, however, is that the Indian steel industry suddenly finds itself in a completely different context. In the world of steel, every player remains familiar with the cyclical nature of the growth. Therefore, the slowdown should not have surprised any in the industry. But, none really expected this to have happened so fast. The steel super cycle seems to have been ended abruptly or really?”

“India’s steel dream looks to be fading away” This is how we started our last year’s steel report. With the added uncertainty, the industry’s plans are in total disarray. There are no questions on the opportunities this country has offered in steel. From all points of view, these have been strong and credible ones.”

But the recent great years in steel have supported strong capacity growth in the steel industry in India. The more competitive Brownfield expansion projects have started delivering results and more are expected to come. What has been extraordinarily interesting to note in the past few years is the growth of very small to mid size capacities.

The Indian steel industry is in a peculiar fix. The capacity could not be raised immediately because of their own strategic problems. The limited capacity in the country and higher global prices provided to them all the opportunities to make sufficient money themselves and raise their credibility in the global capital market. However, an impulsive government, given the high political value attached to inflation in India, intervened in the steel business more than it needed to do.

Despite the fact that the capacity expansions in India have been of recent origin, a huge chunk of the existing capacity is technologically outdated or is uniquely backward.

It will be premature to write India’s steel ambition off despite all the bad news surrounding it currently.”

“Indian Steel Projects: Ground Reality, Strategic Issues and Opportunities” from Steel and Natural Resources Strategy Research analyses the context each significant producer is placed in and identifies their core problems. It makes an objective assessment of the strength and weakness of each of the major projects, when they are expected to be completed and at what cost.

It takes a macro view of the emerging steel supply scenario till 2021.

This 115 page report with 35 tables, 12 charts, a number of annexure, three maps and an appendix looks at the steel industry’s future in India from a strategic point of view to guide the investors in the industry, capital goods industry, steel traders, raw materials suppliers and the policy makers in the government in their own individual planning for the future.

Report Summary:
1. Published: Sep 2008
2. Format PDF File (Delivery by Email on receipt of payment)
3. Total no of pages – 115

Price: USD 1100 or INR 50,000
(Note: You can Save USD 100 if you order before October 15th 2008)
(Additional Charges would be levied for delivery of file on a CD or in printed form)
You can order your copy to reports@steelguru.com

The prices for input material showed overall decline with the sole exception of Mandi, owing to local factors.

Melting scrap
80:20
HMS

Change is on Sept 30th as compared to Sept 29th
Change is in INR per tonne

Sponge iron

Change is on Sept 30th as compared to Sept 29th
Change is in INR per tonne

Pencil ingot

Change is on Sept 30th as compared to Sept 29th
Change is in INR per tonne

If you want to know the prevailing prices and changes across the week on daily basis, please subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com

Ramsarup Industries announced that it has amalgamated with Ramsarup Lohh Udyog with effect from April 1st 2007. The high court at Calcutta has sanctioned this scheme of amalgamation on June 30th 2008.

The company manufactures wires and TMT bars and serves railways, housing, power, roads and bridges, water management, and defense sectors. It is one of the few manufacturers in India to provide the whole range of TMT products with size ranging from 8 millimeter to 40 millimeter. It has an installed capacity of 137,000 tonnes of wire drawing and 60,000 tonnes of galvanized wires per annum.

BL reported that the electricity trading platform would help bridge the overall demand supply mismatch situation in the sector in India.

Mr Sushi Kumar Shinde Indian power minister while formally launching the Indian Energy Exchange said that “Initial volumes of trade on the exchange are very encouraging and this is going to provide a stronger signal to the power sector.”

He added that Indian Energy Exchange has witnessed over a 2 fold increase in purchase bids since it began operations on June 27 with bids surging from slightly over 13,000 MW to upwards of 30,000 MW as on July 15th.

He said that “The establishment of the exchange is necessary for meeting the demand and supply gap of electricity that exists in the country adding that IEX placed the Indian power market at par with the most sophisticated exchanges in the world.”

Mr Shinde said that “The technology comes from an alliance between Financial Technologies Limited and OMX Technology of Sweden, the technology provider to the world’s leading power exchange, NORDPOOL which I believe is the most efficient power exchange in the world and also the most liquid in Europe.”

Besides Financial Technologies, the bourse has PTC India Limited, Infrastructure Development Finance Company, Adani Enterprises, Reliance Energy, Lanco Infratech, Rural Electrification Corporation and TATA Power as its stakeholders. Financial Technologies has a 90% share in IEX while the remaining is shared by the others.

Express News Service reported that the 42nd annual general meeting of the city electroplaters was held under Mr Joginder Kumar chairmanship and president of the Ludhiana Electroplaters Association.

Mr Chander Parkash Sabharwal general secretary of Association read out the minutes of the meeting while Mr Sukhdev Raj Sethi cashier of the association placed before the members accounts during the period April 2007 to March 2008 along with the balance sheet which was unanimously approved by the House.

Mr Joginder Kumar apprised the members that a cluster had been approved by the Central government. He said that the state government had directed PSIEC to set up new focal points for electroplating industry at Ladhowal.

He said that a deputation had a meeting with PS Bhide, revenue secretary last week in Delhi regarding the long pending issue of levy of service tax on electroplating and zinc plating under business auxiliary service.

Mr Manmohan Singh PM of India in a French newspaper interview said that the financial crisis in developed countries could spill over to the rest of the world.

Mr Singh told 'Le Figaro' newspaper that Indian exports could be hit if the crisis caused a recession in the world's largest economies.

Mr Singh said that “Even though the crisis is only affecting developing countries at the moment, it could extend to the rest of the world. He said that if the financial crisis starts a recession in the main economies that would compromise our exports.”

He said that India and China were important players in the world economy but alone could not pull the world economy out of its troubled period. He added that “The main responsibility is with the developed countries, but India and China can play a part in the solution.”

It is reported that Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam is planning to set up 2 power projects 900 MW Wangchu and 486 MW Kholangchu in Bhutan for which an agreement have already been signed between the company and the central government.

As per report, the DPR for these two projects is under process and is likely to be completed by end 2009 and end 2010 respectively.

BL reported that Shipping Corporation of India is likely to get the coveted status of Navratna companies in the country.

Sources said that SCI which at present has the status of being a mini Navratna company has been cleared by the apex committee on Navratna PSUs for inclusion in the list which is likely to be unveiled in the next few weeks.

The sources added that apart from SCI, the apex committee on Navratna PSUs which met last week has also cleared the name of Oil India. However the names of the 2 companies will still have to be cleared by different ministries in the Government, a process which is likely to take 3 weeks to a month.

For SCI graduating from a mini Navratna to a Navratna company will give it the required fuel to speed up its ambitious ship acquisition program lined up for the next 4 years. The up gradation in status will give it additional room to order ships without having to go through the cumbersome process of having to get the prior approval of the Government.

The source further added that “SCI complies with all the criteria required for gaining Navratna status. Right now, it has a mini Navratna status which gives autonomy to its board to take decisions that involve an expenditure of less than INR 500 crore. We cannot even acquire a VLCC with this money.”

About two years ago, SCI had unveiled a capital expenditure program of INR 15,000 crore for acquisition of 72 vessels up to 2011 this also includes replacement of some of its older vessels. Out of this, it has already spent close to INR 7,000 crore to buy 28 vessels in the last 5 years. The balance 44 vessels will be acquired during the next 3 years with 4 of them scheduled to join the SCI fleet within a month.

BL reported that Kerala government has come out with a policy setting the norms and regulations for establishing special economic zones in the State.

The policy, announced by Mr VS Achuthanandan CM of Kerala at the media briefing after a cabinet meeting, is binding on all SEZs that have been approved by the Centre and those seeking approval in future.

Mr Achuthanandan said that the population density in Kerala is higher than in other States which made SEZs needing large tracts of land non feasible in the state. The approval for SEZs will be given only after taking this fact into account.

As per report, the government will not allow filling up of paddy fields for purpose of setting up the zones. Also, private investors will not be permitted to acquire land for the zones, but can apply for space in the land being acquired by government agencies for setting up industrial parks.

It said that SEZs will not be exempted from paying electricity duty. Also, labor and trade union laws, Provident Fund laws, Factories Act and Gratuity Act, among others, will be applicable to SEZs.

The condition in the Central policy that the zones will be exempted from Chapter 5B of the Industrial Disputes Act will not be applicable to the zones in the State. The policy stipulates that 70% of the land earmarked for SEZs should be utilized for industrial purpose, while the remaining land can be used for allied facilities such as residential apartments, hotels, recreation space and roads.

The report added that the residential apartments should be exclusively for employees in the zones and not be sold to outsiders. The zones will come under the Panchayat Raj Act and nobody will be given exemption from Section 200 of the Act. The Single Window Clearance Act will be applicable to the zones.

It is reported that NTPC Limited has been adjudged the winner of Golden Peacock Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance for the year 2008 by the Golden Peacock Awards Jury under Mr PN Bhagwati chairmanship of Justice, former Chief Justice of India and Member UN Human Rights Commission.

BL reported that domestic auto parts suppliers banking on volumes from the production of the Nano to mitigate the impact of the slowdown in the domestic and global auto industry.

Suppliers said that the orders would be delayed by at least 2 to 3 months considering that Nano volumes may take a longer time to take off and due to capacity constraints in the backdrop of the Singur controversy. The volume is expected to be around 50% lower than anticipated.

One of the suppliers for the Nano project said that “This year, launches are getting delayed. With Nano volumes also likely to take a longer time to take off, our business could be impacted by 10% this year.”

Minda industries which make diversified auto components also said that while launches would be on time there could be some delay in its volumes. Mr NK Minda chairman of Minda Industries Limited said that “Margins are under pressure. It may take 2 to 3 months more before volumes pick up.”

According to Amtek Auto, the macro economic scenario is such that domestic and global auto makers would wait for a more strategic time to launch their models so that they can reap the maximum benefit. Mr Santosh Singhi CFO of Amtek Auto said that “With steel prices softening, pressure on margins could ease. But all calculations are going wrong for most suppliers. In the overseas market too with car sales at an all time low, foreign companies are deliberately delaying new launches to ensure that the situation has cooled off before they pan out their plans.”

In case of Rico Auto which has its business almost equally divided between 2 wheelers and 4 wheelers, it would prefer to wait and watch till the next month before it estimates its business outlook for the year. Mr Arvind Kapur MD of Rico Auto said that “The market is tight. We will wait till mid October to see what the order book for this year looks like. Currently with 40% to 45% of our business being in 2 wheelers and exports comprising smaller capacity engines, we are so far ok.”

It is reported that Bharat Heavy Electricals bagged an order worth INR 990 crore from Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam for setting up a 500 MW Chhabra thermal based power unit Phase-II in Baran district of Rajasthan.

BHEL's scope of work in the present contract envisages design, engineering, manufacture, supply, erection and commissioning of steam generators and steam turbine generators and associated auxiliaries with state of the art controls and instrumentation system. The equipment for the project shall be supplied by BHEL's Haridwar, Trichy, Ranipet and Bangalore plants while BHEL's power sector Northern Region will undertake erection and commissioning of the equipment.

BL reported that the Kandla based Jaisu Shipping Company has bagged the capital dredging contract at Kochi port to deepen and widen the channels for the Vallarpadam project. The contract will also combine the maintenance dredging in the port channel for the next 2 years.

However the award of the work would be subject to the approval of the Shipping Ministry as the clearance of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs and the Government sanction for capital dredging projects are yet to be received. Highly placed sources in the port said that “We have been taking every possible step to save time to meet the contractual obligation with the DP World.”

The sources said that Jaisu Shipping had quoted well within the estimated cost for the capital dredging. However the prices quoted by the firm for the third year maintenance dredging happened to be exorbitantly high taking the overall quote to INR 544 crore for the entire work which would be 14.86% higher than the indicated cost. The sources added that the port therefore mulling the possibility of not awarding the third year maintenance contract which would mean that the contract include only the capital dredging and first 2 years of maintenance dredging, thus keeping the prices near the estimated levels.

The capital dredging to deepen the channels for 14.5 meters of draught and maintenance dredging that coincides with the period of capital dredging had to be combined because of the physical inseparability of the works. It was also decided to include the maintenance dredging for a subsequent period of one year so that the contractor who carry out the capital dredging could be made responsible for maintaining the depth for the next 1 year, considering the uncertainties of siltation that the port channels are prone to immediately after the deepening.

It is reported that Kerala government is planning to spend about INR 10,000 crore for road development in Kerala in the coming years.

The tendering process is likely to begin soon. The state government has handed over at least 60% of land in a project area.

Under the development plan around 851 kilometer roads in Kerala will be developed into international standards by spending INR 5 crore to INR 6 crore per kilometer. 55 works of National Highway were in progress of which 30 will be completed by March 2009.

IANS reported that the Haldia docks may face severe problems in the coming winter starting this November as the depth of water in the Hooghly River has gone down since August.

The official said that this has forced authorities at Kolkata port under which the Haldia docks fall to send emergency requests to the Dredging Corp of India Limited and the shipping ministry to arrange for more dredgers.

Mr AK Chanda chairman of Kolkata Port Trust said that “An emergency meeting has been called with the shipping secretary to apprise the ministry of this impending crisis.”

Mr Chanda said that “A request has been made to provide one dredger by October and another by the middle of November to the DCI so that dredging is carried out on an emergency basis during the winter. An agreement has been reached with DCI to charter a foreign dredger for a 2 year period, the financial terms of which have already been decided upon.”

Mr AK Bagchi director of Kolkata port’s said that the draught water depth required by vessels to move of the Hoogly River has dropped to 3.9 meter at Jellingham Channel and 4.4 meter at Auckland Channel. The minimum level required by these two key points in the river are 5 meters and 5.5 meters respectively.

The river regulatory measure a comprehensive package of measures to improve navigability of the Hooghly River at INR 9.36 billion is yet to be cleared by the central government.

BL reported that National Highways Authority of India project to widen Rimuli-Roxy-Rajamunda stretch all the 6 short listed bidders have opted out where as from the Chandikhole-Dubari-Talcher project 5 of the 6 short listed bidders have withdrawn.

As per report, this is due to a rule recently introduced by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways that bars companies from bidding if they have been short listed in the technical qualification stage for 8 projects during a 2 month period or if they have won four projects during the specified period.

The report added that this is because companies have started withdrawing their bids from several projects which they consider relatively unattractive.

In 7 such projects, 4 short listed bidders have stepped back. The projects are widening of selected stretches between Ghaziabad-Aligarh, Amritsar-Pathankot, Tirupati-Tiruthani-Chennai, Jaipur-Reengus, Panikoili-Rimuli, Muzaffarnagar-Haridwar-Dehradun and Rohtak-Hissar.

The Road Ministry had directed NHAI to add this clause in the request for proposal for 53 NHAI projects, bids for which are under process when it faced severe opposition to the controversial competition limiting clause in the request for qualification stage. Incidentally, the Finance Ministry has now decided to delete the competition limiting clause for all highways projects prospectively.

So, bidding for 60 projects will continue as per the RFQ with the competition limiting clause and the new RFP rule. With this, out of 16 projects for which NHAI has invited the RFPs or financial bids, nine have now been affected on account of bid withdrawals.

It is repotted that Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation will float tenders by October 2008 for electrical traction system of 33 kilometer East- West and North - South rail corridors estimated at INR 728 crore.

By March 2009, BMRC is expected to spend INR 1211.54 crore towards land acquisition, utility shifting, afforestation, constructing the ducts and stations, traction, civil works etc. Three foreign consultants from France, US and Japan have begun their work to oversee the construction and implementation of the project.

The entire 33 kilometer phase one of metro network is scheduled to become operational by 2012. On completion of first phase, Bangalore Metro would be able to handle 40,000 passengers per hour. On any working day, the Bangalore Metro is being designed to handle 1.02 million people.

BMRC will also float tenders for constructing the MG Road and Trinity circle stations with an investment of Rs.16.5 crore each. For eight other stations including Tollgate, Hosahalli, Vijayanagara, Yeshwanthpura, Soap factory, Mahalakshmi, RV Road terminal and Jayanagar tendering has already been given approval.

Press Trust of India reported that Ambuja Cements plans to invest nearly INR 1,600 crore in the captive power generation which would have a capacity of 200 MW by 2010.

A company official said that “We plan 200 MW electricity generation capacity from our captive power plants in 3 years time. He added that we hope to have captive power plants attached to all our manufacturing units across the country.”

Ambuja Cements has 11 cement plants out of which 4 units have captive power plants attached to them including the one at Ropar in Punjab. The multi biomass co fired captive power plant of Ambuja cement at Ropar has developed a technology to operate on coal and a wide variety of biomass that reduces carbon dioxide emissions significantly.

The 30 MW captive power plant at Ropar which was commissioned in 2004 uses agricultural waste for power generation. The power plant can operate 100% on biomass and can produce 30 MW of power which completely fulfills the total electricity needs of the cement plant.

It is reported that Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee CM of West Bengal is scheduled to hold talks with Mr Ratan Tata chairman of TATA Group on Friday to discuss the future of the TATA Motors project at Singur.

Mr Bhattacharjee while addressing a press conference at the end of an all party meeting where a resolution was adopted requesting the TATA Motors and the ancillary industries to resume work at Singur as soon as possible. Mr Bhattacharjee said that “The project’s future does not depend only on the assurances of the State government for, there are various stakeholders involved. But there is no lacking in the sincerity of our efforts to ensure that work at the project site is resumed.”

He said that the resolution also focussed on the need to implement rehabilitation and compensation packages for the affected farmers as well as take initiatives for the development of the area.

The Tata Motors announced suspension of work on September 2 in view of continued confrontation and agitation at the site. This came in the wake of the “satyagraha” outside the project area by the Trinamool Congress from August 24 in support of its demand that 400 acres of land acquired for the project be returned to farmers who had not received compensation for their plots.

Mr Manoranjan Prasad TATA Steel head (safety) at a seminar on occupational health & safety in Jharkhand said that organisations that are not able to bring about a change in their people's behaviour towards safety practices are liable to face stringent compensation laws, like the recently enacted Corporate Manslaughter & Corporate Homicide Act 2007 in the UK and similar acts in some European countries.

Mr Prasad spoke on the importance of behavioural safety as a tool to manage people. He said the manslaughter & homicide Act, under which companies and other organisations can be prosecuted for failure to manage health and safety with fatal consequences, could soon be a reality in this country too.

He laid stress on safety as a behavioural issue that could not be put off. He said all injuries were preventable provided each person in the organisation behaved responsibly.

He said that it would be wise to implement safety practices in the workplace rather than pay huge compensation for fatal accidents, as recommended in the Corporate Manslaughter & Corporate Homicide Act. He added that the new European act was created to deal with very serious management failures.

Mr Prasad said that the offence is now considerably wider in scope than overcoming the two problems of common law that of identification and aggregation in relation to incorporated bodies, and it now includes liability for organizations which could not previously be prosecuted for manslaughter.

Project Today reported that Rajasthan government is planning to set up 1,320 MW thermal power plant on the banks of the Mahi river in Banswara district of Rajasthan.

As per report, the proposed plant in Banswara will be a coal based power station. The plant location is within 80 kilometer of Ratlam railway station in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh which will facilitate transportation of coal from western or south-eastern coalfields.

Banswara presently has only one power plant in the hydel sector which generates 140 MW. There are also plans to expand the capacity of the Suratgarh Super Thermal Power Plant by another 500 MW.

Statesman News Service reported that the first ever public hearing of the proposed Lanco power plant has reportedly failed to garner support with locals boycotting the meeting and demonstrating in front of the venue recently.

As per report the Lanco Baabandh power private Limited proposes to set up two plants at Kurunti and Khadakprasad and notices for the same had been issued by the concerned authorities. The villagers however alleged that the notices were not served in the proper manner and many of them were ignorant of such meeting till it started.

An irate villager explaining their absence from the meeting that “Holding a meeting suddenly will not solve the issue. The administration should have informed us earlier and taken our feedback.”

As per report, hundreds of villagers demonstrated in front of the venue and alleged that setting up of the plants would contribute only in raising the pollution level in the region.

A Protestor said that “There are many industries here and they hardly take any steps to preserve the environment. Besides the ecological balance of the river Brahmani may also get affected since it flows close to the proposed site,” alleging that the company has demanded the land near to the river.

BL reported that the Dredging Corporation of India has declared dividend of 150% for the third time including interim dividend of 75% paid in March for 2007-08 involving an amount of INR 42 crore.

The release said that the dividend was declared at the annual general meeting in New Delhi. A sum of INR 15.50 crore was transferred to the general reserve during the year.

During the year, the DCI recorded a turnover of INR 771.47 crore compared to INR 626.21 crore during the previous year. It included operational income of INR 705.32 crore against INR 572.89 crore for the previous year. The profit before tax was INR 150.77 crore against INR 206.39 crore in the past. The net profit for the year was INR 154.82 crore against INR 188.73 crore in the previous year. The earnings per share for 2007-08 was INR 55.29 compared to INR 67.40.

The release added that the dredging capacity available with the DCI as on March 31st was 798.50 million cubic meters. During the year, the quantity dredged under various contracts was 677.30 million cubic meters, 84.82% YoY of the capacity as compared to 95.65% YoY during the previous year.

BL reported that GVK Power & Infrastructure Limited recorded a total income of INR 141.37 crore with profit of INR 40.55 crore for the Q1 ended June 30th 2008 as against an income of INR 101.83 crore and profit of INR 13.17 crore for the corresponding quarter last year. This reflects a growth of 39% in revenues and more than 3 fold rise in profit over corresponding quarter last year.

During the quarter the company acquired the entire equity share of GVK Energy and GVK Development Projects both of which have become wholly owned subsidiaries.

Reuter reported that Dynamatic Technologies has acquired a 12 MW wind farm from Tamilnadu Petro products Limited.

It said that the wind farm will generate around 18 million units of power annually and help reduce monthly energy costs by 85 at its Chennai complex.

BS reported that Ashok Leyland has signed a JV agreement with John Deere for manufacturing and marketing of construction equipment's.

According to a release sent by Ashok Leyland to the Bombay Stock Exchange, the JV will seek to commence production by early 2010 and will initially roll out backhoes and four wheel drive loaders. The range will subsequently be expanded to include a full line of construction equipment. Its products will also be exported to markets of both the respective players internationally.

The 50:50 JV will bring together Ashok Leyland's expertise in the automotive sector, it's marketing and distribution strength and John Deere's technical know how and experience in the construction equipment business. The JV is will set up a facility in India and is currently evaluating site locations.

John Deere is one of the world's leading providers of products in the agriculture and construction sector.

BL reported that Pipavav Shipyard promoted by SKIL Infrastructure is having second thoughts on going ahead with its proposed USD 150 million IPO in the wake of the recent tremors on Wall Street that continues to rattle global and Indian markets.

As per report, Pipavav Shipyard in which Punj Lloyd holds about 24% stake will be studying the market situation for the next three months before taking a final call on its IPO plans.

Mr Ray Stewart CEO of Pipavav Shipyard said that “We have not yet shelved our IPO plans, but we are studying the market movements closely. If we go ahead with the IPO, it will happen in the next three months.”

Mr Stewart said that in the event of the company not taking up its IPO plans immediately it will consider other alternatives to raise the money. Without elaborating on the other options, he also indicated that there were many investors, both global and Indian, who were willing to invest in the company.

The report added that its present private equity investors include 2i Capital PCC, New York Life Investment Management India Fund, Merrill Lynch International, Deutsche Bank AG and ABN-Amro Asia Merchant Bank.

The company plans to invest part of the funds to finance its expansion program that will involve building of more sophisticated and bigger ships. Currently the shipyard which became operational recently builds bulk carriers with an order book of 22 ships involving a cost of about USD 1 billion.

Areva T&D India and GE Consumer and Industrial India announced a strategic alliance to focus on turnkey electrical solutions.

An official statement said that the alliance would focus on turnkey electrical solutions in the power generation, metals, mining, minerals and materials handling markets. The objective of this alliance is to provide 1 stop solution for customer needs such as power distribution, control and automation.

Mr Rathin Basu president and MD of Areva T&D India Country said that “To this alliance, GE brings low voltage and light products’ expertise while Areva T&D brings proven expertise in the complete range of high and medium voltage products and systems.”

Chitranjan Locomotive Works produced 66 electric locomotives against the target of 66 electronic locomotives and Diesel Locomotive Works produced 102 diesel locomotives against the target of 100 diesel locomotives during April to August 2008.

Rail Coach Factory produced 680 coaches against the target of 656 coaches where as Integral Coach Factory produced 455 coaches against the targets of 461 coaches during the same period. Rail Wheel Factory produced 79068 wheels and 34882 axles during the same period against the target of 76344 wheels and 29296 axles during April-August 2008.

During the month of August 2008, CLW, DLW, ICF, RCF and RWF have produced 17 electric locomotives, 15 diesel locomotive, 129 coaches, 132 coaches, 16791 wheels and 7348 axles respectively against the target of 17 electric locomotives, 21 diesel locomotive, 119 coaches, 130 coaches, 15334 wheels and 5817 axels.

The punctuality percentage of mail/express trains was 93.4% in Broad Gauge and 99.2% in Metre Gauge during the month of August 2008 compared to 93.6% and 99.5% respectively during the same period last year.

Bloomberg reported that ArcelorMittal South Africa will cut prices for the second time this year, reducing key long and flat products by an average 10% as global demand weakens.

ArcelorMittal South Africa in a letter to customers said that “The base price will fall by ZAR 1,000 (USD 120) per tonne from November 1st 2008.”

Mr Sven Lunsche, a spokesman for the company, said by phone from Vanderbijlpark that “There's obviously a softening in demand globally, particularly in consumer orientated industries that affect us, such as automotive and appliances.”

Mr Lunsche said “In South Africa, there is still a bit of a stop-gap as a result of the vast infrastructure spending.”

UK based MEPS said that "In the US, underlying demand from the manufacturing and building industries is weak. Customers started to hold back from placing orders in August, expecting transaction prices to erode. Certainly, some decreases were noted during that month and the majority of steelmakers rescinded the rises announced earlier for September deliveries. More recently, as scrap costs have dropped, steel transaction values have fallen quite rapidly. Meanwhile, there is little competition from imports whilst domestic mills are benefiting from a rise in export business."

It added that "Canadian transaction values fell during August and again in early September. Buyers are being very cautious and it is likely that this slowdown in demand will cause further price erosion through the rest of this month and into October. Scrap costs are also down and expected to drop even more. Domestic mill order books are weak. Sales are sluggish due to extended automotive shutdowns and a declining manufacturing base. For now, there are no signs of growing import volumes and the material available is very similarly priced to the local product."

MEPS said that in China, the price trend turned quite negative over the summer. Steelmakers have started to cut production to try to stem the fall. Overall, market sentiment has weakened as customers worry about future growth prospects. Steel orders from manufacturing and exports continue to be high in Japan. However, dealers' shipments remain slow due to poor building demand. Nevertheless, inventories of strip mill products held by domestic mills and distributors, at end July 2008, moved down by 0.5% as compared to June 2008. Quayside stocks of imported flat products fell by 9.9% in the same time frame. Domestic supply is expected to tighten towards the end of the year when Nippon Steel will start to build stocks ahead of the blast furnace reline at its Oita works."

South Korea's POSCO has said that there are no plans to change prices for the final quarter 2008. In Taiwan, CSC has released its domestic price list for period four. Inline with market expectations, the company raised values by an average of TWD 1170 per tonne. Meanwhile, the market has weakened over the summer and our current figures are below those reported in July 2008. However, supply is expected to remain restricted in the final trimester as maintenance will be carried out on blast furnaces in China, Japan and South Korea during that period.

MEPS said that "Although producers gained some small price advances for third quarter business in Poland, strip mill product sales fell during August due to bloated inventories. Demand has also been slow in early September. The strong zloty is starting to hurt the Polish export sector. In the Czech Slovak markets, manufacturers are coping so far with the problems of strong currencies, high energy prices and escalating raw material costs. Steel supply remains tight with stocks at minimum levels."

It further added that "In Western Europe, there has been very little movement in strip mill prices since July. However, demand over the holiday period was slower than normal for that time of year because of the poor economic climate. Most companies have sufficient inventories for the near term and are in no rush to conclude new business. The mills are likely to reduce capacity rather than chase orders for the fourth quarter by lowering prices. So far, there is no evidence of severe downward pressure from