Diversified infrastructure group GMR--which operates the Delhi and Hyderabad airports in India--is looking to divest its waste-to-energy project involving its subsidiary Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), said sources familiar with the development.
DIAL had partnered with another firm to bid for the unique project last year which could generate up to 10 MW of power. One source said, Jindal Ecopolis, part of OP Jindal Group's Jindal ITF Ltd, is a leading contender for the asset. Jindal ITF, a 100% subsidiary of Jindal SAW, is involved in areas like infrastructure, transport and fabrication. Jindal Ecopolis is a part of this unit and is involved in urban waste management.
The deal would be a relatively small-sized transaction. DIAL had said in July 2009 that it has won the bid to set up a power plant based on solid waste processing at Ghazipur landfill site. DIAL had won the bid with Hyderabad-based Selco International for a landfill site which could process 1,300 tonnes of solid waste every day and use the same to generate power.
Emails sent to GMR and Jindal SAW did not elicit a response at the time of publication of this article. Calls and text messages to GMR group officials were not answered.
DIAL had said that the project was to come up for $28.6 million and the plant was expected to be commissioned in late 2010. GMR Group holds a 54% stake in DIAL, whose other shareholders include Airports Authority of India, Fraport, and Eraman Malaysia. GMR also operates international airports in Hyderabad and Istanbul, Turkey.
GMR's power portfolio is also mostly focused on coal, gas and hydro-based plants. According to its website, the company does not have much of a presence in urban infrastructure also with only one SEZ project with the Tamil Nadu government.
Recently, Jindal Water Infrastructure and Jindal Urban Infrastructure appointed Allard M. Nooy as CEO, who was earlier Asia Pacific president of NYSE-listed power generation firm Covanta, which is focused on waste to energy business.