Kerala delegation, Chinese company ink MoU
By James Paul | 09 Sep 2002
Thiruvananthapuram:
The Kerala delegation currently touring China has
signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with a
Chinese company, the International Network Small Hydro
Power (INSHP), for the manufacture of equipment for small
hydel projects.
The
MoUs have cleared the way for the first foreign direct
investment (FDI) into the state from China, says Kerala
Industries Minister P K Kunhalikutty, who is leading the
delegation to China. The preliminary investment in the
projects by the Chinese side is estimated at $2.9 million.
The FDI will be for implementing a joint venture (JV)
with the Steel Industries Kerala Ltd (SILK) for manufacturing
turbines for small hydel schemes. It will also be associating
with Keltron for setting up a manufacturing facility for
control and instrumentation equipment needed for small
hydel schemes.
Kunhalikutty says the move to strike this tie-up was initiated
by the former industries minister, late Suseela Gopalan,
when she visited China in 2001. The matter was followed
up and got moving during the visit of Electricity Minister
Kadavoor Sivadasan to China last month.
INSHP is a world leader in small hydel schemes. The United
Nations International Development Organisation, the Chinese
government and other key organisations in the sector established
it jointly. The company has so far associated itself in
setting up more than 48,000 such schemes worldwide. The
two JVs are targeting the small hydel market in Kerala
and other states, besides Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan
and Nepal.
INSHP director-general Tong Jiangdong says China is having
nearly 50,000 small hydel stations, generating more than
28,000mw of electricity. These schemes considerably ease
the pressure for thermal power generation in China.
The Chinese experience is particularly significant in
the context of the problems being faced in Kerala due
to the compulsion to purchase thermal power at a high
cost.
Jiangdong told the visiting delegation that a stabilised
technology is available with INSHP for setting up small
hydel stations even in places where the gradient is just
three metres. Kerala, which has more than double the
rainfall in China and possessing a natural sloping terrain,
has excellent potential for power generation through this
technology.
The Kerala delegation visited a rubber dam site and a
power-generating station in Tong Lu County, near Hangshou,
and had discussions with INSHP authorities and other experts
to gather information on the scope of small hydel schemes.
The delegation was fully convinced that this technology
has immense potential in Kerala.
Kerala
deputy leader of the opposition Kodiyeri Balakrishnan,
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president K Muraleedharan,
MLA Aryadam Mohammed, Keltron managing director Ajay Kumar
and IT secretary Aruna Sundararajan are among the delegation.
