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We are aiming to be a pan-India turnkey solutions provider

Venugopal Pillai ,  Friday, September 30, 2011, 10:49 Hrs  [IST]

Wallamphang Roy— Wallamphang Roy, Managing Director, Power Carriers (India) Pvt Ltd

With a standing of nearly three decades, Power Carriers (India) Pvt Ltd is a predominant force in the power transmission contracting sector in north-east India. Wallamphang Roy shares his company's operations and discusses the challenges of project execution in the hostile terrains and climatic conditions of north-east India. Roy is optimistic of his company growing significantly given that India will need to build power transmission infrastructure from the hydropower-rich northeast to the mainland. An interview by Venugopal Pillai.

At the outset, please tell us in some detail about your company's capabilities in the power transmission contracting sector.
Power Carriers has been in existence since 1982 and our core strengths and capabilities have been in building infrastructure in the transmission sector by being involved in almost all major power transmission project of the state. Our local knowledge of the geography of this region has helped in effective surveying and estimations thus leading to timely execution of projects. All this has been achieved as we have competent, experienced and knowledgeable manpower. To sum it up we provide end to end solutions as far as the transmission contracting sector is concerned.

We observe that Power Carriers has predominantly served Meghalaya State Electricity Board. What are your plans of catering to other north-eastern states and possibly neighbouring eastern states like West Bengal?
Yes, Power Carriers (India) Pvt Ltd has predominantly executed projects in the state of Meghalaya. However we have also had several projects in other states such as Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Assam. Of late we are aggressively pursuing plans to spread our footprint to other states like Sikkim, West Bengal besides other north-eastern states.

Execution of power transmission infrastructure projects, especially overhead lines, can be a very challenging task. Tell us about common challenges faced and particularly the challenges faced due to difficult topographic and climatic conditions in north-east India.
The terrain in the North East is fraught with inherent difficulties like hills, mountains, and cliffs in addition to this road and other infrastructure is also a major impediment for execution of projects. Since transmission lines predominantly pass thorough forests and inaccessible areas, it makes it more difficult to reach locations thus increasing labour for head loading. The rainy season in the north-east lasts for almost six months a year and no work is possible during this period. All this hampers the progress of the work.

Untitled - 40Obtaining right-of-way and forest clearances for power transmission projects have always been difficult subjects in India. Over the nearly 30 years of your company's service to the industry, do you see matters improving?
Securing right of way in Meghalaya is indeed a major challenge because of its unique land holding system where, under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution the private individuals hold the right of land. This makes land acquisition and clearances difficult and expensive. In the recent past there have been efforts to make this more uniform and we hope that the new land acquisition acts passed by the Centre and states will help address these issues.

What is your general view on India moving to EHV and UHV power transmission infrastructure like 765kV, 800kV and even 1,200kV lines? How is Power Carriers (India) gearing up to meeting EHV power transmission demand?
North-east India is estimated to generate more than 50,000 mw of power in near future of only a portion of this can be utilized in the region. Most of the power will therefore have to be evacuated outside the northeast to be utilized in mainland India. This will require a very strong infrastructure for transmission of power, and the Chicken's Neck area near Siliguri will curtail the capability of evacuation of power in 220kV/440kV lines. It is thus imperative that in the near future EHV of 765kV or 800kV may be set up for the same. As of now the NEC, the nodal funding agency, or PGCIL have not spelt out any plans.

Tell us about some interesting and challenging projects successfully executed by Power Carriers.
PCIPL has had the opportunity to set up some of the most challenging projects in Meghalaya. All projects carried out by the company are challenging since the terrain is difficult in the areas where work is carried out. But the most challenging has in the coal belt with a lot of coal reserves where mining activities are prevalent. It is indeed a challenging feat since the mining activities endanger the life and the stability of the tower.

Given that there is huge potential for hydropower generation capacity in north-east India and the subsequent need for evacuating power to other energy-deficient parts of India, how do you see business opportunities for Power Carriers in north-east India?
The recent spurt in investment and recognition of the hydropower generation capacity in the north-east certainly augurs well for PCIPL. We have always been a major player in a small state like Meghalaya but the new rules of the business and turnkey solutions expected from power transmission companies make it imperative for us to upgrade of human skills, technology adaptation and the financials. As part of the process we have introduced a project to empower and retrain our manpower. We have recruited new people in the past two years and also look to get ourselves ISO certified by the year end for which the process is in place.

Untitled - 41Turnkey solutions make it imperative for us to tie up with manufacturing companies for the supply of towers which will help us become competitive. In the past three years we have been associating with various tower manufacturing companies from Kolkata and other places in India and have successfully bid for major projects. We intend to tie up with potential investors who would want to set up a plant in Guwahati or Siliguri or go into an understanding with tower manufacturers for long term relationship to remain competitive.

With your wide experience in power transmission contracting, do you plan to enter related areas like telecom towers for instance?
Yes, in addition to the transmission line construction work that we have been doing for the past so many years, we also intend to enter the annual maintenance of transmission lines business, which we feel is a very lucrative area, having the experience of working in these difficult terrains our expertise will help the AMC segment.

Yes, the telecom towers business is a great opportunity but that will require a tie up with a tower manufacturer. It is something that we are seriously considering.

Please summarize your growth plans for Power Carriers in the medium term.
As I said earlier, Power Carriers intends to be a major player in the infrastructure for transmission industry in the north-east. We are looking at expanding our area of operations by moving into newer geographies in the region. Annual maintenance of transmission lines is another area that we will focus on in coming years. Our objective in the medium term is to be an end-to-end provider as far as this business is concerned by providing the best value for investment through good governance, timely execution of projects, competitive pricing and transparency in our dealings.

We are committed to exceeding the expectations of our customers through continued improvement of quality standards, keeping abreast with the latest technology by innovative training and development methods of our work force, ensuring high safety standards within the organisation and those of our sub-contractors.

We have now ventured into the operation and maintenance of the EHV transmission sector. The setting up of telecom towers and electrification of railway lines are other sectors that we would be interested in the near future.
 
                 
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