COMMENTARY
INTERVIEWS
SPECIALS
CHAT
ARCHIVES

Only group firm will be hit by the US list, not SPIC, says Muthiah

The United States government's decision to put Indian fertiliser giant, Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation Limited, in the entities list will have no impact on the company, as it does not deal with any American firm, SPIC chairman A C Muthiah said today.

The US government has recently placed SPIC in the entities list as its Tuticorin plant supplies ammonia to the Atomic Energy Commission's heavy water plant there. Heavy water is used as a moderator in the nuclear power plants.

However, SPIC Power Limited, a SPIC promoted company, would be affected as it had an engineering projects construction contract with the US firm Raytheon, which has been barred from receiving credit from the US Exim Bank.

Raytheon has since walked out of the contractual obligation and SPIC Power Limited is now negotiating with Asea Brown Boveri, and Black and Veach for EPC contracts, he said.

The 525 mega-watt power plant to be set up at Tuticorin involved an outlay of Rs 20 billion.

Referring to the dispute between SPIC Petrochemicals Limited and the public sector Madras Refineries Limited, Muthaiah said, according to an agreement with the MRL, SPL would pay back with interest, all the investments made by MRL in the arochem project, originally proposed to be taken up by SPIC and MRL.

The MRL board and the Union ministry of petroleum had agreed to the terms of the settlement and a formal letter in this regard was awaited. SPL's creditors, including foreign countries, were being asked to reschedule repayments in view of the long dispute, he added.

It would also surrender over 100 acres of land to the government following the agreement.

The MRL had moved Madras high court after SPIC went ahead with the construction of SPL for the manufacture of PTA and other products, originally proposed to be taken up by the joint sector plant. The case will formally end in an out of court settlement.

UNI

Hegde to move WTO against US over blacklist

Business news