Hind Dorr to executeRs 1,100-cr mining & processing project

Hindustan Dorr Oliver, the unit of Hyderabad-based infrastructure firm IVRCL, is working on a plan to make it big in the nuclear power segment. The company has almost finalised an agenda for pursuing the sector and developing that as a core vertical.

As part of its plans, the company is set to implement a project for Uranium Corporation of India Ltd at Tummalapalle in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh.

UCIL is setting up a uranium mining and processing plant with an estimated outlay of Rs 1,100 crore. The unit will have a capacity to process 3,000 tonnes of uranium per day. E Sudhir Reddy, Hind Dorr Oliver vice-chairman, told DNA Money the company is building the entire plant and would also supply equipment to UCIL. "The drawings and designs of the plant too are being done by us and some of them have already been approved by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre."

The project to build the uranium plant is worth Rs 442 crore and would be executed in about 22 months. "There are strict timelines for completion. This project would offer 12-14% EBITDA margins," Reddy said.

For executing the project, HDO has tied up with South Africa-based Bateman Engineering. Bateman is a technology company serving the minerals and metals industries worldwide, covering mining, minerals and metals processing, ferro alloys, mineral salts, environmental protection, bulk- materials handling and water and effluent treatment. It also serves the power and energy markets in Southern Africa.

The plant that is being developed by HDO would help in uranium recovery. "The plant will not result in any radioactive material since the plant brings out the raw uranium in the form of yellow cakes. Only after further processing it would be useful for any energy generation," he explained.

However, Reddy said, the UCIL project would only useful to showcase HDO's strengths in executing a complex project and would look for further opportunities in the sector.

"We are planning to make it a vertical now. If we get more projects directly it's good. Otherwise, we are working on a plan to tie up with the global technology majors in the nuclear energy and related mining sectors. With these tie-ups, we will look at supplying equipment and technologies in the Indian market," he said.

K V Ramana/ DNA-Daily News & Analysis Source: 3D Syndication