SkyscraperCity Forum banner

Gujarat - Projects and Development

Tags
gujarat
615K views 2K replies 176 participants last post by  gandhi.rushabh1992 
#1 ·
Gujarat is one of India's leading Industrialized states and attracts the most FDI compared to any state in India.




Gujarat wants to go the whole hog with SEZ

The land factor In Gujarat, over 15 per cent of land is infertile, so land acqui- sition is not a problem. The state has 46 running or approved SEZs – the largest in the country In Bengal, the demand is to fix land ceiling between 400 and 1000 hectares for multi-prod- uct SEZs. The state also wants steps to prevent IT firms from misusing the tax


ONE OF the leading industrialised states in the country, Gujarat, wants the entire state declared as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) so that it can attract more investment, according to a senior state government official.

The official was speaking at a meeting of the standing committee on commerce, looking into the SEZ issue, on Wednesday. The committee, for the first time, invited political parties and organisations, state governments and corporate houses, like the Tata Group, Infosys and Mahindra and Mahindra, for their views on SEZs.

The previous two such meetings saw various ministries and government departments sharing their views. Bharatiya Janata Party leader Murli Manohar Joshi chairs the 40-member committee.
via HT Delhi
 
See less See more
1
#2 ·
L&T lays foundation stone for Gujarat’s Tech Park

The state of Gujarat took its first major step on the Technology superhighway with a proposed Technology Park in Baroda. Mr. A. M. Naik, Chairman & Managing Director, L&T, performed the ground breaking and foundation stone laying ceremony for this new facility being set up by Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T).

In his address, Mr. A.M. Naik urged upon the employees to leverage the Technology Park to create value for the country and build one strong economic India.

This new facility, only one of its kind in the whole of Gujarat, will be called ‘L&T Technology Park’. It is to be set up in an area of 112 acres between the Ajwa and Waghodia crossings on Ahmedabad-Mumbai Highway (NH-8). It will entail an investment of Rs.500 crores in infrastructure and building alone from L&T, spread over a period of 5 years. The draft Zonal Plan (General Development Plan for Vadodara) has identified this area as L&T Technology Park.


11 buildings will be constructed in the first phase which will house offices of L&T’s e-Engineering Solutions, EPC Businesses, L&T-Sargent & Lundy, and L&T Chiyoda. Other facilities planned are Project Management Institute, Convention Centre, Employees Hostel, Residential Colony, Food Courts and Entertainment Facilities.



At this set up, L&T is expected to employ around 6000 employees when it is fully functional, mostly engineers, and create, in addition to the above, indirect employment to a large section of local people.
Source
 
#6 ·
Summit has shot Gujarat into high-growth orbit’

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that the massive investment tally in the recent investment summit was a big thumbs up for the state as an ideal investment destination.

"Gujarat has risen as a strategic economic power to India's advantage, with strong fundamentals of international economic benchmarks," Modi said in a news conference here.

Advertisement
According to him, the 'Vibrant Gujarat' summit has put Gujarat firmly on an exciting high growth orbit that will not only help realise the dream of a Golden Gujarat by 2010 — when Gujarat will turn 50 as a state — but will also stand counted as one among the developed economies of South East Asia.

He said a total of 363 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were inked and announcements made indicating investments to the tune of Rs 4,61,835 crore (US $ 100 billion) and prospects for the generation of employment for 1.3 million people. At the IT summit that preceded the investors' summit, MoUs were signed for investment worth US$ 2 billion. In the two previous summits held in 2003 and 2005, a total of 302 MoUs were inked involving an investment of Rs 1,72,000 crore.
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=219309
 
#7 ·
Make entire Gujarat an SEZ, requests official

One of the leading industrialised states in the country, Gujarat, wants the entire state to be declared as a special economic zone (SEZ) so that it can attract more investment.

This request was put up by a senior Gujarat Government official to the Standing Committee on Commerce looking into the SEZ issue on Wednesday. The committee, for the first time, had invited political parties and organisations, state governments and corporate houses, like the Tata Group, Infosys and Mahindra and Mahindra, to give their views and share their experiences on SEZs.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1910942,000900040003.htm
 
#13 ·
Hotels to put Rs 10,635 cr in Gujarat

Tourism in Gujarat is attracting dozens of hoteliers, with more than 30 players signing MoUs with the state government for setting up hotels, resorts and tourism projects. As per government officials, the proposed 32 projects would bring in an investment of Rs 10,635 crore, providing employment to close to 26,370 people. The MoUs were signed at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investor’s Summit held last month in Ahmedabad.

Interestingly, this time it is not only Ahmedabad that has caught the fancy of hoteliers, but also cities like Surat, Morbi and Kutch region. Gujarat Heritage has proposed an investment of Rs 327.50 crore for setting up beach and heritage hotels in Kutch and Morbi. For a five-star hotel, Hotel Crown will invest Rs 325 crore, while Divisions DLF will infuse Rs 250 crore for business hotels at four locations. Royal Manor Hotel plans to expand Taj Umed hotel and set up another five-start hotel in the state. New Jersey-based Apex Hospitality and Mohit Industry propose to invest Rs 100 crore each for five-star hotels in Gujarat, while the latter also has similar plans for Surat. Florida Metal Trading has also entered into a MoU to set up golf hotels and village hotels in Surat at a cost of Rs 355 crore. In addition to this, Bangalore-based Itina Filmcity plans to invest Rs 2,240 crore for setting up a film city, while Pleasure Park will infuse Rs 330 core for an entertainment park in the state.

First private sector textile park to come up near Ahmedabad


_______________

Pradip Overseas Ltd, an exporter of household linen, will establish India's first private sector integrated textile park. The park, to be called `Greenfield Textile Park', will be set up on a 115-hectare plot near Ahmedabad with an investment of Rs1,200 crore over 2008-2012.

The park, when fully operational, will have a capacity to produce five lakh metres of cloth per day and facilities for spinning, weaving, processing, stitching, packaging and dispatching.

Pradip Overseas will finance the project with a debt-equity ratio of 60:40 and proposes to raise 20 percent of the funds through a public issue in 2007. The park is expected to generate employment opportunities for 20,000 people, when fully operational.
 
#14 ·
Mundra port expansion

Rs 2,000 cr. Mundra port expansion starts in 2008

In the light of National Maritime Development Programme, Mundra Port & SEZ Ltd (promoted by Adani group) has announced capacity augmentation. The project would cost nearly Rs. 2,000 crore. The port is handling 25 millions tonnes of traffic, and the company's target is to handle traffic of 50 million tonnes in 2010 and 100 million tonnes by 2015.
"The expansion plan includes development of 15 berths which will have draft of 17.5 meters to 18 meters to handle cape size vessels," said an official at Mundra Port & SEZ Ltd. "Gujarat is seeing a lot of investment in the state, and with ultra mega power projects coming up at Mundra we expect enough traffic at our port," he added.
For handling UMPP requirements the company plans two dedicated coal jetties. The total capacity of the two coal jetties would be 1.2 lakh tonnes a day. It is estimated that annual coal requirement for UMPP will be around 20 million tonnes which will be imported through Mundra Port. A preliminary survey on the projects is in progress. Work is likely to start early next year after obtaining necessary clearance.


 
#15 ·
Greenfield airport for Ahmedabad

Gujarat wants greenfield airport for Ahmedabad

he rush for new international airports in India continues. After Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra, it is now Gujarat's turn to push for a greenfield international airport on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.

The state government wants a state-of-the-art international airport, on the lines of Singapore's Changi airport, in proximity of its commercial capital. And unlike West Bengal, Gujarat has no problems if the airport were to be privately built.

With non-resident Gujaratis settled all around the world, cities like Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot, and even Bhuj witness a huge traffic of expatriates who come home every year or two on holidays. Many international airlines have their offices in Ahmedabad and other cities, and there have been calls for a modern international airport for the city.

The state government is now looking at the possibility of a greenfield airport, costing around Rs8,000 crore on 4,000 hectares of land, in Mehmedabad, Dholera, or Sanand, on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.

The central government had earlier turned down a proposal for an international airport near Ahmedabad, as the site was not found favourable. The Airport Authority of India has proposed a Rs300 crore modernisation of the existing airport in Ahmedabad. But the state government feels there is not much scope for expansion at the present site.

With the federal government having succeeded in getting the privatisation and modernisation of Mumbai and Delhi international airports, there is growing demand for similar projects elsewhere in the country. Both the Tamil Nadu and West Bengal governments are keen that the Chennai and Kolkata airports be modernised.

The Maharashtra government is also pushing for a new greenfield project in Navi Mumbai. Bangalore and Hyderabad are also send this article to a friendgetting new greenfield projects, while Kerala - the state with a large number of international airports - is also expecting a lot of investments in airport infrastructure.

Source http://www.domain-b.com/industry/aviation/20061229_greenfield.htm
 
#17 ·
Gujarat wants greenfield airport for Ahmedabad




Source http://www.domain-b.com/industry/aviation/20061229_greenfield.htm



Centre's not gonna help Modi, espcially since it is Modi who is the CM of Gujarat. but Gujarat already has a lot of muscle that other states don't. HIAL is costing around 2500 crores. for Ahmedabad, since the passenger traffic estimates are much less than those for Hyd, i would say a new airport can be built with about 2000 crores. but Gujarat being Gujarat and if Modi figures he will prove that Gujaratis can build an aiport without centre's support, he'll prolly go for a fantasy airport that the Chinese commies would build for a city like Ahmedabad with about 4000 crores budget. and if this all becomes true, it will be a slap on the face of UPA and Congress and more importantly the Leftists. but it is still quite some time to go before Modi would do something like that.
 
#16 ·
Transport nagar planned in Ahmedabad

In what would be a first of its initiative in Gujarat, the Bhavnagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) is reviewing a proposal of building a unique ‘Transport Nagar’ on the outskirts of the city.

The corporation is also close to signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a private organisation for providing 30 million litres of water per day (MLD).

Officials from the Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board (GIDB) along with BMC recently made a presentation on the feasibility of the project and have received positive feedback from various private players in the state to collaborate with the government for the same. Land for the project has already been earmarked at a site owned by the Bhavnagar Area Development Authority (BADA).

However, the corporation is looking at three to four other sites on the outskirts of the city. The transport nagar is also being supported by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other commerce associations in the state. The project is likely to commence after one year.

“Alang is situated around 55 km from Bhavnagar and the continuous vehicular traffic has led us to contemplate the creation of a transport nagar, which will function on a build to operate basis,” said S J Haider, municipal commissioner, BMC.

After the success of the city’s first private-public partnership in 1996 with urban transport, BMC is planning an overhaul of its current fleet of buses.

A new fleet of CNG buses will slowly start replacing the buses running at present in phases starting from the end of this year and will take further two years to be completely implemented.

Also in the pipeline is a gems and jewellery park in the city on 67,000 square mtres of land, which is likely to be commissioned this year and will encourage traditional gems and jewellery traders who had left Bhavnagar for Surat to come back and set shop.

Last year saw a slew of initiatives being undertaken by BMC, which saw the addition of a 15-MLD water treatment park as well as a Lok Darbar for House Tax, which is a single window clearance drive aimed at recovering outstanding house tax and other dues.

The initiative brought in a sum of Rs 8 crore and is prompting the corporation to conduct more of such Lok Darbars in 2007. For better roadways, a ring road on the lines of the Sardar Patel Ring Road in Ahmedabad is also being planned in the coming months.
 
#19 ·
Privatisation of TCGL to start soon

Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited (TCGL), a public sector company of the state government, is finally opening its doors for privatisation of its property spread across the state.

There are 18 hotels and five cafeterias in the state belonging to TCGL under the brand name ‘Toran.’ The process of privatisation is expected to start this week.

According to a highly-placed TCGL official, the government had been busy giving final touches to TCGL’s privatisation plan, which was incurring losses in its hospitality business for more than six years.

The official said that the decision to privatise the corporation property was taken during 2006.

“Ever since the government’s decision was announced, the corporation has been receiving many offers from private players to acquire its properties. These players will soon get a chance to bid officially,” the official added.

The properties of TCGL that will go under the hammer include Toran Resort at Sputter, Hotel Sumeru at Palitana, among others.

Palace Beach Resort at Chorwad, the Ubhrat Holiday Camp and Nargol Beach Resort at Valsad, Dakor Yatri Niwas in Kheda, Ankleshwar Motel, the Sasan Gir Forest Lodge in Junagadh district and Ahmedpur-Mandvi Beach Resort and five Toran cafeterias.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Gujarat Economy, Infrastructure and Development Thread

Please post any articles related to Gujarat Economy and Infrastructure here.

I'm aware of the mediocre coverage of Gujarat by the English dailies, but given Gujarat's progress in the last few years it definitely warrants a thread of its own.

There still are many old and new articles out there as well as those contradicting each other. The English media seems to be fairly anti - Modi and though this thread is not meant to be a Modi propaganda machine by any means, one can't help but admire how far Gujarat has travelled over the last few years, owe it to whoever you like.

Here are a few Gujarat links to check out:

Gujarat Government - http://www.gujaratindia.com/
Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board (GIDB) - http://www.gidb.org/
Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) - http://www.gidc.gov.in/
Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) - http://www.gujaratsrtc.com/
Kalpasar Project - http://www.kalpasar.gujarat.gov.in/
Industrial Extension Bureau - http://www.indextb.com/index.html
 
#21 ·
Gujarat Electricity Board (GEB) turnaround

One of the biggest achievements for Gujarat has been the turnaround of its major PSUs (public sector units). Whenever I've been to Gujarat, my cousins have immediately attributed it to Modi. However, I've not found a single article attributing the succeess directly to Modi. Though, there have some indirect and direct references to the Gujarat government's policies in helping in turning these sick units around. One of the policies is to try to get the sick units profitable and if not possible by the government, then to sell them.

Here's an article that talks of the tremendous recovery (and how it was done) by the Gujarat Electricity Board. Good case study..

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/06/13/stories/2006061303680300.htm

Ahmedabad , June 12

The Gujarat Government has successfully turned around the Gujarat Electricity Board (GEB) which was about to go sick five years ago, to enable the latter to earn a net profit of nearly Rs 200 crore. And that too, without raising power tariffs, the Minister of State for Energy and Petrochemicals, Mr Saurabh Patel, told Business Line.

Financial prudence, economy measures with increasing revenue and reducing expenditure, and some really tough and politically-sensitive steps, such as completely ignoring the pleas of politicians, including those of the ruling BJP, have paid handsome dividends to GEB.

The Board has seen one of the most talked-about turnaround in recent times with this year's profit of Rs 200 crore replacing the whopping cumulative loss of Rs 2,542 crore in fiscal 2000-01. Mr Patel credited this turnaround to the "political will" of the Gujarat administration . . The Board officials were directed to deal sternly with cases of power theft and non-payment of bills either by individuals or by companies.

Action against violators

He said the State Government set up five regional special police stations to deal with such cases and punished the violators.

Interestingly, it even appointed 500 retired army personnel to keep the power offenders in check. Thousands of theft cases were detected and disconnected; they were reconnected only after the violators, including companies, paid their arrears. A number of violators were convicted by the courts. Only recently, a woman in a North Gujarat district was also convicted with a year's imprisonment. The GEB appointed managers with accountability clearly given to them. As a result, nearly 20 lakh connections were checked and rechecked annually.

The GEB officials, accompanied by police, went from village to village and town to town at night to check power theft, braved the irate people who attacked them at several places and protested in all possible manners. Once, an official was even kidnapped and kept in bondage until rescued by the police. Despite these, the Board went ahead with stern steps, Mr Patel pointed out, in accordance with the provisions of the New Electricity Act that empowered the authorities to lodge criminal cases against power thieves.

The Board itself was split into four regional power generation companies, four regional distribution companies, one transmission company and one parent company.

Besides, the power purchase agreements (PPAs) with independent power producers (IPPs) were re-negotiated to the benefit of the State. Under this policy, adopted in 2003-04, the Government renegotiated PPAs with two private and two State-owned power producers.

As a result, a total of Rs 559 crore was saved on this score alone and all outstanding dues were wiped out.

Additionally, GEB also succeeded in restructuring loans worth Rs 4,130 crore and persuaded lenders to reduce interest rates from 9.51 per cent in 2003-04 to 8.6 per cent in 2005. With this measure, it managed to save Rs 270 crore on interest payments annually.

In some cases, even the quality of fuel was experimented with. In the power generating stations, GEB reduced input costs by using washed coal or the one imported from Indonesia.

Together, these measures saved nearly Rs 160 crore. In view of these power reforms, turnaround and timely payment of pending power purchase bills, the National Thermal Power Corporation gave an incentive to the tune of Rs 312 crore to GEB whose revenues began to grow by leaps and bounds.

From Rs 786 crore in 2004, it grew to Rs 1,029 crore in 2005 and Rs 1,300 crore in 2006.

According to the Central Electricity Authority, the per capita consumption of power in Gujarat was 1,321 units in the financial year 2004-05, which was double the national average.

Mr Patel also claimed that Gujarat was the only State in the country in which all 18,000-odd villages were connected to a 24-hour power supply with no load-shedding anywhere. In Ahmedabad and Surat, power generation and supply had long been privatised.
 
#22 ·
18000 Villages - 24 hours of electricty

Here's an article that highlights how Gujarat achieved 24-hour electricty for all of its 18000 villages.

http://intellibriefs.blogspot.com/2006/12/narendra-modis-shining-gujarat.html

Narendra Modi's Shining Gujarat
Shining Gujarat

Author: Shrikant Modak
Publication: Business India
Date: December 17, 2006

Introduction: Deftly managing its resources, Gujarat's apex power body has overcome power shortages and losses

Gujarat's glowing. The state's apex power utility has not only staged a recovery, it's now the only one in India to guarantee three phase 24 hours electricity supply to the rural households and eight hours uninterrupted supply to agricultural consumers. Gujarat Electricity Board (GEB), which had been reporting losses until 2004, came to black last year. The board's financial losses were Rs. 1,900 crore in 2003-04. In 2004-05 these were down to Rs. 935 crore.

In April 2005 the state unbundled its electricity sector with that GEB became Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL), a holding company with six unbundled companies under its umbrella (generation and transmission companies and four distribution companies). The improvements in the utility continued even under this new avatar. GUVNL posted Rs. 187 crore profits in 2005-06. If this year's projections are to be believed it will report even better profits around Rs. 400 crore.

The entire process, "Started five years back," says Saurabh Patel, Gujarat's energy minister of state with the independent charge. "Then we were placed seventh in the power sector rankings of utilities in India and now we are second, behind Andhra Pradesh, "says Viiaylaxmi joshi, CMD Of GUVNL. What's contributed to this success? There are several factors in fact. "One that stands out most recently is the state's Gujarat Jyotigram Yojna that assures 24 hours three phase power supply to the rural residential consumers and eight hours guaranteed supply to the agricultural consumers," claims a GUVNL official.

The state very recently announced the completion of this Yojna (covering 18,000 villages and 9,700 hamlets) at a function attended by President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, near the heritage site of Chapaner town. Its impact! "A fact that more than 1,50,000 rural public came for the event will have obviously boosted Modi's political image," say chief minister, Narendra Modi's, admirers. But, in more mundane economic terms, "its impact on technical parameters like the T&D losses has been large," say GUVNL officials.

At a demographic level, a survey carried out by IRMA at the behest of CII (Confederation of Indian Industries) reveals a reduction in rural to urban migration. "The assured availability of electricity has opened up income earning avenues to the rural public that weren't there earlier," explains Patel. Even consumer durable companies have felt its impact. For example, John Verghese, proprietor of Ahmedabad-based consumer durable retail chain, Sales India, says, "There has been a significant increase of rural consumers to our showrooms in the last year." Haier regional manager, Sanjay Ghadial affirms a similar trend. "Our sales to rural areas have gone up significantly," he says.

Political opportunity
Patel says, "Wherever we toured in the rural areas, people were demanding 24 hours electricity supply." He adds, "The question before us was then how to provide this? A simple answer, since agriculture consumers were subject to load shedding, was to separate the residential consumers by putting them on separate feeder. However, sceptics within the administration dismissed this as unfeasible. But Modi having spotted a political opportunity wasn't the one to let it go. A sample of 50 villages was chosen to test the viability of the proposal.

Its success eventually convinced everyone that this was the only way to assure 24-hour power supply to the rural households. In a short period of two-and-a-half years, the state spent Rs. 1,000 crore to erect 12 lakh poles to connect rural household to a separate feeder. Modi, avers, "jyotigram is the only solution for the survival of rural India. It can create millions of jobs." Though his detractors dismiss this as a political-speak the scheme itself has proved a blessing to the state's electricity board. Joshi says, "By shifting power supply to the agriculture, which constitutes 40 per cent of the state's load, from peak to the off-peak hours, the state's power supply scenario has changed significantly." Among its several benign effects, the most important is the end to load shedding in the state in the last couple of years.

No power thefts
Earlier there was only one feeder catering to both rural residential and agricultural consumers. Since agricultural tariffs were subsidised there was a general tendency to draw electricity from the same connection even for residential usage. Separating the feeder lines and restricting supply to the agriculture to the off-peak hours has not only reduced this, it has, in fact, done much more. "When there is no current in the lines not only can there be no thefts but also no line losses," says a GUVNL official. While theft may not have gone away entirely, the incentive to steal power has diminished. Further, all the feeders now have electronic meters, which makes it possible to attribute losses more accurately to the theft and deal with it.

As for the agriculturist electricity is guaranteed for eight hours at a fixed time of the day in each area. Since supply hours are restricted, many have gone for drip irrigation wherever agricultural pattern has suited them. Rural revenues have gone up not only because rural residential consumers now pay for what they consume but also because they pay the same tariff as the urban consumers. 'There has been an increase of 13 per cent in the total revenue of GUVNL, although the total demand itself has gone up only by 7 per cent in the last two years," according to a GUVNL official.

However, there are other factors, which too have contributed to the reduction in the sector's losses. For example, on the central side GEB took its issues with NTPC (National Thermal Power Corporation) to CERC (Central Electricity Regulatory Authority) and got it to streamline the former's cost structure. It also negotiated with the IPPs (Independent Power Projects) and got them to streamline their cost structure.

As far as its own cost reductions initiatives are concerned, as said earlier, it reduced T&D losses by 9 per cent; cost of finance by 2 per cent (from 10.67 per cent to 8.6 per cent by substituting costlier loans with the cheaper loans); improved PLF by 3.44 per cent (to 72.28 per cent); and brought down auxiliary consumption at its generating stations by 4.84 per cent, adopting efficiency improvement measures. It also got Rs.231 crore and Rs. 148 crore in incentives from the Union power ministry respectively in 2003-04 and 2005-06 for reducing its balance sheet losses. Similarly, improved load management left it with a surplus, which it sold in the interstate market at higher rates.

A misfortune of being successful is that the Union power ministry soon diverted Gujarat's 200 mw power share in the central power utilities to the neighbouring Maharashtra that's been reeling under power shortages since last year. The total financial implication of this to GUVNL in the current year will be Rs. 562 crore, as the state's own demand has grown and it now has to buy power from the market at Rs. 6.6 per unit against Rs. 3 earlier. Though the decision to transfer power was meant to be ad hoc the state officials fear that this may acquire permanent status.

Whatever, a remarkable aspect of GUVNL'S turnaround is that it has achieved what it has without any general tariff increase in the last six years. Moreover, improvements have come while preparations were on for unbundling in the latter phase of the recovery. Unlike neighbouring Maharashtra, unbundling went through smoothly with complete cooperation from the unions.

So far the state has managed its power scenario by judiciously balancing its resources. But, as demand's growing, these options will soon run out. "To maintain the tempo of economic development we are planning to make Gujarat power surplus," says Patel. How? Additional 11,563 MW generation capacity addition is being planned over and above the 9,000 MW currently available to it from its own, NTPC and IPP sources in the next five years (Gujarat State Electricity Corporation and the state PSUS together will add, 4,000 MW; IPPS, 4,900 MW; wind power, 500 MW; and NTPC the rest).
 
#23 ·
Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals (GACL) - turnaround

http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2207/stories/20050408003012200.htm

Environment and industry

IT is the largest producer of caustic soda in India, and also one of the biggest turnaround stories in the public sector. And, despite being in the chemicals industry, it is a company that carries its passion for protecting the environment o its sleeve.

Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited (GACL), a Gujarat government-promoted company, has shown the way to the highly polluting chemicals industry that it is a sector where money can be made and the environment spared the damage caused by pollution. Today, if one travels to the company's complex on the outskirts of Vadodara, one would not be blamed for thinking that it is a brand-new facility. The spanking-clean complex represents the style of functioning that has been adopted by the company in recent years. Not long ago, a heavy stench of chemicals used to hang around the complex and litter used to be strewn along the road. Today, the stench is gone and the campus is spotlessly clean. The large number of trees at the plant highlights the company's credo, "Ours is green attitude".

The same is true of the company's performance; Its fortunes took a nose-dive in the mid-1990s, and it slipped into the red in 1998-99. After bleeding for four years, GACL came back into the black in 2002-03, with a modest profit after tax of Rs.28 crores on a turnover exceeding Rs.1,000 crores. The next year, the company consolidated its position and the profit rose to Rs.63 crores. Aided by an increase in the demand for caustic soda, GACL has been growing and its balance sheet looks much healthier now.

But the management of GACL, led by its Managing Director P.K. Taneja, is not one to rest on the comfort of having the company running in the black. As a forward-looking company, GACL has chalked out modest expansion and product diversification plans to continue on the growth path with sufficient muscle to insulate it from future shocks. "The company was set up in 1973. Thirty years is a long time, long enough to test the character of any organisation. Be it recession, inflation, increased competition or changing governments, we have lived it all. And for sure, all the turbulence has made GACL a stronger and progressive company," said Taneja, an officer of the Indian Administrative Service.

From an initial capacity of 37,425 tonnes per annum (TPA) of caustic soda, GACL has grown to be the largest producer in India, with a capacity of 2,70,000 TPA. The company is spread over two complexes, at Vadodara and Dahej. Its turnover stood at Rs.1,075 crores in 2003-04 and it is likely to move up to Rs.1,200 crores in 2004-05.

Knowing that in the future there may be new hurdles to cross, GACL has started to diversify and expand its existing infrastructure to consolidate its supremacy in chlor-alkali and other integrated downstream products. "All our plans have been chalked out with the objective of becoming a fully integrated player in the chlor-alkali segment. Expanding capacities will enhance GACL in our chosen basket of products and give the company the capability to make speciality chemicals to insulate it from the vagaries of industry cycles," said Taneja.

The plans include an evaporation unit of 240 tonnes per day (TPD) at a cost of Rs.70 crores at Dahej, to increase the caustic soda production from the existing 240 TPD to 436 TPD. A 12,000 TPA hydrogen peroxide plant is also being set up at Dahej to utilise the surplus hydrogen generated during the production of caustic soda. This project involves an investment of Rs.100 crores and will go on stream by October 2006. The hydrogen peroxide plant is expected to start paying back to the company in five years.

The company's projects on hand include a 100 TPD caustic soda flaking capacity to convert liquid lye to solid flakes that can be easily transported, and poly aluminium chloride to insulate the company against market fluctuations with respect to chlorine and hydrochloric acid. The production of caustic soda lye at Vadodara will increase by 40 TPD and a new 200 TPD capacity will be added at Dahej. GACL is also exploring opportunities in the agro-chemical industry.

As GACL treads the growth path, technology upgradation and achieving greater efficiencies is a constant effort. While the capacity utilisation is about 70 per cent in the caustic soda industry, GACL's plants are working at almost 100 per cent capacity, thereby utilising their assets to the fullest extent.

GACL's commitment towards the environment is undying. The company feels that its credo of a green attitude is not a mere slogan. A dedicated senior executive heads the Safety and Environment Department to ensure high standards of safety and to maintain a harmonious relationship between the environment and technology. The company has planted more than 27,000 trees, which are taken care of regularly. Over 1,000 saplings are planted every year. Rainwater harvesting and collection is a part of routine activity at GACL. This water is used to maintain the green belts. GACL has been a pioneer in adopting environment-friendly and energy-efficient technologies. It converted to membrane cell technology from mercury cell technology way back in 1989, and since 1994 all the plants have been running on mercury-free membrane cell technology. For the disposal of solid waste, GACL has secured a dedicated landfill site conforming to the Hazardous Waste Management Act. Being a member of the Effluent Channel Project, it releases its liquid effluents in this channel only after ensuring that the necessary parameters specified by the Gujarat Pollution Control Board are met.
 
#27 ·
Gujarat growth rate exceeds 12% in 2006 - 07

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...growth/RssArticleShow/articleshow/1853048.cms

AHMEDABAD: If India's economy is expanding at over eight per cent, it is probably because the economic powerhouse of Gujarat has ended 2006-07 with a growth rate of more than 12 per cent.

The state government has claimed that this healthy increase in the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) has drawn praise from even Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

Statistics show that Gujarat — where enterprise runs in the veins of people — is where the India story is really unfolding.

Boosted by a good monsoon last year, the agriculture sector has posted a robust 10.2 per cent growth, taking the overall economic growth of the state to 12.17 per cent in the last financial year, a Gujarat government press release said.

A senior economist, however, told TOI that since Gujarat's inflation is higher than the national average, which is hovering around 6.5 per cent, it is necessary to deduct the rate of inflation in order to arrive at the real growth rate.

The state, which incurred an expenditure 22 per cent higher than the original outlay in 2006-07, has been allocated Rs 16,000 crore for this fiscal — an increase of 25 per cent than the approved Plan outlay of last fiscal.

At a meeting held with Gujarat officials in New Delhi on Monday, Ahluwalia complimented the state for economic reforms and for working toward creating an investor-friendly environment, the press release said.

State government figures show Gujarat has grown at 10.6 per cent in the past four years. From a revenue deficit of Rs 6,731.54 crore in 2001-02, it recorded a surplus of Rs 1,802.85 crore in 2006-07.

In the Plan, allocation for the social sector increased 41 per cent to Rs 6,265.05 crore from Rs 4,426.24 crore last year.
 
Top