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Wire & Cable ASIA – July/August 2015
India Insight
Steel shed
Tata Steel has sold its entire stake in Lanka Special Steels
Ltd (LSSL) to E B Creasy & Company PLC in an all cash
deal.
LSSL, incorporated in Sri Lanka, was a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Tata Steel. It is engaged in the business of
manufacturing and supplying hot dip galvanised wire and
nail wire with an installed capacity of 14,400 tonnes per
annum.
It is the sole manufacturer of GI wires in Sri Lanka and
caters to the commercial galvanised wires market for end
uses such as barbed wires, wire meshes and chain links.
Lanka Special Steels Ltd – Sri Lanka
Website:
India hydro project
GVK Power & Infrastructure has announced that the first
unit of a 330MW hydropower project in India’s Uttarakhand
state is now online, with units two and three to follow
shortly. The project features four 82.5MW units and a 248m
long, 90m high dam with a head of 66m.
The plant, located on the Alaknanda river in the city of
Srinagar, will sell 88 per cent of its power to the
neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh under a power
purchase agreement, but will reserve 12 per cent for
Uttarakhand without charge, the developer said.
GVK’s founder, chairman and managing director, GVK
Reddy, said: “This project is another significant step
towards contribution of the country’s infrastructural
development. We are happy to have lived up to the faith
reposed in us.”
He added: “This project not only aims to benefit the people
of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, but also aid the nation to
be self-reliant.”
GVK Power & Infrastructure – India
Website:
Industry predictions
Bharat Book Bureau’s latest report, “Insulated wire and
cable”, presents historical demand data (from 2004, 2009
and 2014) and forecasts (for 2019 and 2024) by material,
product and market.
The report projects that USA insulated wire and cable
demand will exceed $27 billion in 2019, as total
consumption of insulated wire and cable continues to
recover from its depressed 2009 level.
A strong expected recovery in construction expenditures
will fuel growth in demand for several types of wire,
including building, electronic, and power wire and cable.
Building wire and cable held the largest share of demand in
2014, and is expected to see the most rapid advances
through to 2019, to exceed $8 billion. An expected
acceleration in growth of building construction
expenditures, after a period of slow improvement between
2009 and 2014, is anticipated to drive growth.
The construction market for insulated wire and cable is
forecast to benefit from the fastest growth of any wire and
cable market. In addition to building wire, rising
construction expenditures will increase demand for
telephone wire and coaxial cable.
The electrical equipment market held the largest share of
insulated wire and cable demand during 2014. Through the
forecast period, demand is projected to increase 4.1 per
cent per year, driven by higher demand for wire and cable
for power transmission and distribution.
Increasing electricity production as well as use of new
sources of power generation, such as solar and wind farms,
will support the growth.
The full report is available now.
Bharat Book Bureau – India
Website:
Going underground
After heavy rains and high winds caused damage to trees
and electricity poles in Bengaluru, civic agencies are to take
action to identify decaying trees and to route cables
underground in areas of dense vegetation.
Though civic experts had previously recommended
underground cabling to avoid outages and electrocution
risks due to damage of electric poles and cables, the
government had hesitated to act due to the high cost.
Underground cabling would cost Bescom (Bangalore
Electricity Supply Company) five times more than overhead
cable. However, in recent years the government has carried
out underground cabling of 11kV in parts of the city, and low
voltage cable will be placed underground in some areas.
Bescom MD Pankajkumar Pandey said it will seek more
funds in the coming budget to take up underground cabling,
especially in areas with dense tree cover.
“These are the areas which are largely affected during the
tree fall. However, the government is now keen on taking
cables underground and we are demanding substantial
funding for the purpose,” he said.
Mr Pandey also stated that softwood trees, planted in
Bengaluru a few years ago, were taking a toll on electric
poles and wires. “We need trees which can withstand the
local weather conditions. We are holding talks with the
BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) to begin a
survey to identify the decaying trees, so that the damage to
electric wires is minimised.”
Bangalore Electricity Supply Company – India
Website: