Tokyo, July 8 (ANI/Business Wire India): Toshiba Corporation announced that Toshiba JSW Turbine and Generator Pvt. Ltd., a joint venture with JSW that will manufacture and market steam turbines and generators in India, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the government of Tamil Nadu.

The MOU allows Toshiba JSW to lease land for the construction of manufacturing facilities on a site in Chennai.

Established in September last year, Toshiba JSW will manufacture and market mid- to large-sized steam turbines and generators, ranging in size from 500-megawatts (MW) to 1,000MW, for highly efficient super-critical thermal power plants in India.

Located about 18km north of downtown Chennai, the major gateway to south-east India, the site has a ground area of some 400,000 square meters, and Toshiba JSW expects to invest some US160 million dollars in plant and manufacturing equipment over five years from fiscal year 2009.

Facility construction is scheduled to start in this month, and manufacturing is expected to start in January 2011. Keihin Operations, Toshiba’s power equipment production facility in Yokohama, will support Toshiba JSW in ramping up manufacturing, and in working toward establishing an independent production scale of 3,000MW a year. Toshiba JSW anticipates sales of US$400 million by the end of fiscal year 2015.

Toshiba JSW will now begin to recruit staff, and expects to have 500 employees by 2014.

With support from the government of Tamil Nadu, Toshiba will build a state-of-the-art heavy equipment manufacturing facility in Chennai, and hopes to contribute to the further development of local industry and to help India in its efforts to promote stable electricity supply.

Strong Growth in the Indian market for thermal power generation equipment driven by strong economic growth, the Indian power generation equipment market is expected to see demand growth of 15,000-16,000 MW a year for the next decade, according to the Eleventh (2007-2012) and Twelfth (2012-2017) Five- Year National Electricity Plans published by the Indian government.

Coal-fired thermal power stations will account for over 60 percent of the capacity growth, far surpassing other energy sources, and 80 percent of those power stations will be highly efficient super-critical thermal power plants.

Consistent with its long-term growth strategy of enhancing its thermal power plant business in India, Toshiba India Private Ltd. will establish a new in-house company in Gurgaon, Haryana state in August, which will initially provide engineering capabilities for thermal power plants in India.

With time, the new company is expected to provide a full engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) functions for the thermal and hydro power plant business in India, and to support customers in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

The new company will work closely with Toshiba JSW and with another Toshiba Group company in India, TPSC (India) Private Limited in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, a wholly owned subsidiary of Toshiba Plant Systems and Services Corporation that undertakes construction of power plants, and will be charged with channeling Toshiba’s comprehensive capabilities in thermal power plant toward meeting growing demand in India. (ANI)