ABB India Secures $114 Million Contract for Vedanta's Aluminum Smelter Expansion in Orissa

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--ABB Limited (India) (BOM:500002) (Bangalore, Karnataka), a division of power and automation technology provider ABB Limited (NYSE:ABB) (Zurich, Switzerland), has secured a $114 million contract from Vedanta Aluminum Limited (Jharsuguda, Orissa), a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources plc (LON:VED) (London), to provide power and automation products and systems for the expansion project of Vedanta's aluminum smelter plant at Jharsuguda. The Phase II expansion project will increase the capacity of the smelter plant to 1.7 million tons per year and double Vedanta's domestic production of aluminum rods, ingots and rolled products. The project is slated for completion by 2010.

Under the contract, ABB will design, engineer, supply, construct and commission 24 high-power diode rectifier units for the plant. The company had earlier supplied rectifier systems during Phase I of the expansion project at Jharsuguda in 2007-08. The firm will also supply an ABB MicroSCADA control system for the plant's power distribution network, a 400/220-kilovolt (kV) switchyard to ensure reliable supply of electric power to the plant, and a high-performance process control system fitted with optic current sensors.

In July this year, ABB secured a $78 million contract to design, supply, install, test and commission electric products and systems for the new terminal T3 being built at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. In June, the company secured a $74 million deal to provide power solutions to JSW Energy Limited (Mumbai) for the company's upcoming 1,200-MW thermal power plant at Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. ABB will supply the electrical balance of plant and a 400-kV gas insulated switchgear (GIS) and substation transformers. These solutions are inclusive of power technologies for enhanced system efficiency. In February this year, Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (BOM:532898) (PGCIL) (New Delhi) awarded an $825 million contract to ABB to supply turnkey substation solutions and power products to strengthen PGCIL's transmission grid nationwide. ABB was entrusted with the responsibility of setting up its 400/220 kV GIS substation for the Chamera III hydropower plant in Himachal Pradesh as well as in PGCIL's western grid at Pune and Solapur in Maharashtra.

In December last year, ABB announced plans of investing $100 million over a period of two to three years to boost production capacity and increase its product portfolio in India. The firm is setting up a greenfield facility at Neelamangala, Karnataka, to manufacture power electronics and low voltage products. It is also setting up new manufacturing units in Vadodara, Gujarat, to produce distribution automation products and small power transformers. In addition to setting up the new facilities, the company is undertaking significant capacity and range expansion across its business units. It intends to double production capacity for instrument transformers, high-tension machines, and high voltage breakers. The company plans to increase production capacity of large power transformers and will also manufacture power equipment of 765 kV. ABB currently has 6,000 employees on its payroll in India and plans to increase its human resource base to 10,000 by 2010, by which time it aims to double its business volume. It plans to double its headcount to 350 engineers at the Operations and Engineering Center in Bangalore and its Chennai center, which supports power systems and power automation projects worldwide.

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