Solartive Techno Industries Pvt Ltd, an established manufacturer of solar pumps and an EPC contractor for solarization projects, has debuted in the power T&D space by winning a major electrification contract in Jharkhand.
Speaking to T&D India over phone, Fayyaz Ashraf, Managing Director, Solartive Techno, said that the company was recently awarded an EPC contract worth over Rs.230 crore by Jharkhand Bijli Vitaran Nigam Ltd (JBVNL), the state government power distribution utility, marking the company’s entry in the power T&D space.
Elaborating on the mandate, Fayyaz Ashraf said that the order involved electrification of around 60,000 rural households in the districts of Chatra and Palamu. While project survey work would begin by the first week of August 2024, physical execution would start in around two months.
“The contract is part of the state government’s Mukhyamantri Ujjawal Jharkhand Yojana and is scheduled for completion in about two years,” the Solartive top official said, adding that this order strengthens the company’s presence the eastern state where Solartive has already undertaken several solar pump installation works under the PM-KUSUM scheme as well as solar energy-driven drinking water projects as part of the Jal Jeevan Mission.
When asked about potential project execution challenges, Fayyaz Ashraf said that the presence of Maoist outfits in the project area would be the biggest challenge to contend with.
Dwelling more on the contract, the Solartive Managing Director explained that the households to be electrified were those that had been left out from “Saubhagya” — the Centrally-sponsored nationwide household electrification scheme under which 2.86 crore households were electrified by the time the scheme officially closed on March 31, 2022.
It is also learnt that around 3.6 lakh households in the two districts of Chatra and Palamu were electrified under Saubhagya, with the total achievement in Jharkhand standing at around 17.31 lakh households.
Focus on power T&D
Discussing his company’s future plans in the EPC contracting space where a beginning was made in 2021, Fayyaz Ashraf said that the company’s current footprint covered Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, largely through the PM-KUSUM scheme. When asked about the power T&D EPC business, the top official said that while Jharkhand marks the company’s entry in this space, Solartive would be striving to earn a pan-India presence. Fayyaz Ashraf also expressed optimism on the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) where the company would be looking forward to participate once it builds a successful track record in the power T&D EPC contracting domain.
Upcoming opportunities
Fayyaz Ashraf expressed optimism on furthering its power T&D activities in Jharkhand. He said that Solartive Techno would be very keen to participate in upcoming opportunities such as the proposed state-wide underground cabling project. It is learnt that Jharkhand will be embarking on a major project where overhead distribution lines would be replaced by underground cables, across all the 24 districts. It is likely that tenders for this project would be floated before the state assembly elections that are scheduled for November/December 2024. Contracts valued at around Rs.3,000 crore are likely to be awarded, which represents a big opportunity that Solartive Techno would definitely want to tap, Fayyaz Ashraf said.
Positive impact
Speaking about Jharkhand where Solartive Techno Industries has extensive project experience and a local presence by way of a fabrication facility located at Ranchi, Fayyaz Ashraf noted that though the state is endowed with rich mineral wealth, it is still regarded as a “backward” state in the overall national perspective. Nevertheless, Solartive was well-positioned and committed to make a positive impact on improving the state’s infrastructure and enhancing its socio-economic standards, Fayyaz Ashraf asserted. “We are taking special interest in Jharkhand as there is big scope for infrastructure development, which also provides ample business opportunities,” he concluded.
Featured photograph is for representation only.
