Hindujas interested in buying Enron stake in Dabhol Power

New Delhi, Aug 14: Close on the heels of Tata Power, Hindujas group on Tuesday evinced interest in buying us energy major Enron’s stake in the $ 2.9 billion controversial Dabhol Power Project.

“We may get in touch with them (Enron) once we are sure that they are keen on withdrawing,” Mr RJ Shahney, chairman of Ashok Leyland, the flagship company of Hinduja group, told PTI on phone from Chennai.

The Hindujas offer came within a week of the group company asking the government to withdraw the show-cause notice served on the Ashok Leyland led consortium on the eligibility of their bid for Indian Airlines and Air-India.

“Prima facie it (Dabhol project) is a good project,” he said, adding experts from within the group are already studying the project which is marred by the controversy and a legal tangle over price and cost of power.

Last week, Tata group chief Ratan Tata had evinced interest in buying out Enron in Dabhol Power Company (DPC) within a week of US energy giant proposing to government to sell its stake in the face of the stand-off between DPC and the Maharashtra government.
Mr Shahney said any decision on buying Enron stake would depend on tariff proposal which comprise capital and fuel cost and added that the possibilities of alternate fuel for bringing down the cost of power should be explored.

Hindujas are currently executing over a billion dollar fast track power project in Visakhapatnam, Mr Shahney said emphasising that group was interested in expanding its investment in the infrastructure sector.

Asked as to how Hinduja group would be able to overcome the tariff imbroglio, which is threatening the project, Mr Shahney said “We have experience in the sector. We are now studying the available information on the project... Moreover, the possibility of cheaper domestic fuel could be explored instead of being dependent on imported fuel.”

On whether he agreed with the reported cost of the Enron stake at about one billion dollars, Mr Shahney said: “The whole thing has to be evaluated. We are not sure as to what the stake comprises and what will be the cost.”

Enron India managing director Wade Cline had earlier told PTI that the company was willing to sell its stake at cost as one of the option to resolve the crisis.

Mr Shahney said the Dabhol project was on the ground and both the nation and Maharashtra needed power and that accounted for the group’s interest in the DPC.

-- PTI