Promit Mukherjee

Mumbai: Finolex Industries, part of the diversified Finolex group, has decided to sell off its special economic zone (SEZ) plot at Chinchwad near Pune. It is close to signing a deal with a US-based developer to sell the land for between Rs 350 crore and Rs 400 crore.

For close to a year, the Rs 950 crore maker of PVC pipes and fittings had been weighing two options for the 78-acre plot — either to develop it as an information technology SEZ or dispose it off completely and unlock the value of the land.

A source close to the company said: “We were earlier in talks with companies in the Middle East and the United States to jointly develop an IT SEZ there, but the management has finally decided to dispose it of.”

He said the company is very close to finalising the details of the property and an announcement will be made within a week. He, however, did not disclose the name of the US-based developer.

When contacted, a senior company official said Finolex is still talking to companies in the US and an announcement will be made as soon as a firm decision is taken.

“It is a sensitive matter and we cannot disclose the developments,” he said.

Around a year ago, Finolex Industries was talking to Tishman Speyer India Ventures, a company engaged in real estate development, for the sale of land. However, the deal had to be called off.

Tishman Speyer India Ventures is a 50:50 joint venture between Tishman Speyer Properties, USA, and ICICI Ventures.

The Finolex official had said in December that the modalities for the sale were decided and that Finolex was sure to sell the plot to Tishman Speyer India. But the developer took a very long time to take a firm stand and eventually the deal was called off.

“Finolex is talking to a different developer this time and the deal is almost finalised. It is just a matter of time,” he said.

Meanwhile, the 43 mw captive power plant, which Finolex is constructing near its PVC plant at Ratnagiri, has missed its March 2008 deadline. The first phase of the plant, under which it was expected to generate 22 mw, was expected to be operational by March.

However, now it is delayed by a few months.

The source said there are no critical reasons for the delay. The implementation is still going on and the plant will be operational soon. The plant will use imported coal sourced from Indonesia.

It is also doing a study to covert its fair weather port at Ratnagiri into an all weather port. Once the study is over, its sister company, Finolex Cables, plans to set up a mega power plant there, the source said.

Source : DNA