Alps Ind plans to set up two 150 mw power projects in 2 yrs

Excerpts from CNBC-TV18's exclusive interview with Sandeep Agarwal:

Q: Could you tell us what plans do you have for this unit? What sort of investments can we see? At any point of time, could we look at a potential listing for the subsidiary as well?

A: We are looking at setting up around 2-3 hydropower projects in Himachal and Uttaranchal. Overall, we are looking at around 150 mw over the next two years. We have already negotiated one project for around 15 mw. We are in discussion with the Himachal government for another project of 61 mw.

Q: What is the strategy behind stepping into power in a fairly aggressive manner? What capex would this require?

A: We are looking at a capex of around Rs 1,000 crore over the next two years, which would be roughly around Rs 6.5 crore per mw. We ourselves are captively using around 30-40 mew currently. On a plant load factor of 50%, we will be using 50-60% energy over there.

Q: For this Rs 1,000 crore investment that you require, would you have to go and access the markets? If yes, what route would you deploy and how soon?

A: At the moment, we are looking at going into a synergy. Hopefully, 1.5-2 years down the line, we will be going public on this.

Q: Over what period of time will this Rs 1,000 crore worth of investments come into the company? Consequently, will you be looking at any debt component as well to fund this?

A: We are looking at a debt to equity of 1:2. We are roughly looking at an equity portion of about Rs 350 crore for this company.

Q: By when do you hope to list the company, if at all?

A: We are looking at possibly 2010.