CONTENTS Letters Brochures/NNVJan-Mar-2012-Web.pdfCONTENTS Editor: D. Morada ... known in science,...

CONTENTS

Editor:D. Morada

Editorial Team: Jairam N. MenonLawrence Mohan Sanchita Dwivedi Marianne Nazareth Sukhi Shivaraman

Designer: Jayanta Behera

Photographer:Nirav DaveSushil V. Shinde

New CEO & MD for L&T

In Focus

Lead Story

Prism

3-6

7-25

48

26-33

Gallery

34-47

Mr. K. Venkataramanan, a Chemi-cal Engineering Graduate from IIT (Delhi), joined L&T as a

Graduate Engineer Trainee and was el-evated to the Board of the Company as a Whole-time Director in the year 1999. He has won many national and inter-national accolades, viz., Honorary Fel-low of IChemE, U.K., Honorary Doctorate in Project Management, distinguished Alumni of IIT, Delhi, to name a few. He is an excellent leader and is very well-known in science, technology and busi-ness circles. He is an active sportsman who still plays tennis and badminton regularly and cricket occasionally.

While commenting on the Board’s decision, Mr. A. M. Naik stated, “I am pleased that the Board has appointed Mr. K. Venkataramanan as CEO & MD. I have full confidence that under Mr. Venkataramanan’s leadership, L&T will continue on its growth path”.

L&T undertook the journey of ‘Lakshya’ to simplify its portfolio and created 10 Independent Companies and seven subsidiaries with a view to bringing focus, autonomy and accountability and had engaged the services of the global strategy firms for the same. While the journey is already on, changes in the economic environment necessitated the company to

undertake a Mid-Term Review of Strategic Plan, which is now under finalisation. In line with the vision of the company to become an Indian Multinational as also looking at the current global competitive environment, it needs to develop leaders who will manage the Company, going forward.

Mr. K. Venkataramanan will be responsible for the businesses of the Company. Thanking the Board, Mr. Venkataramanan said that “I am honoured with the responsibility that the Board has placed on me. I am also happy that Mr. A.M. Naik’s guidance will continue to be available.”

New CEO & MD for L&T

Cover Story

The Board of Directors of

L&T bifurcated the role of

Chairman & Managing

Director into two positions,

and Mr. K. Venkataramanan

was appointed as Chief

Executive Officer & Managing

Director with effect from

April 1, 2012. Mr. A.M. Naik,

will continue as Executive

Chairman of the Group.

Mr. A. M. Naik and Mr. K. Venkataramanan jointly address the gathering at L&T’s Powai Works after the announcement of their new roles. Mr. S.N. Roy, who was inducted to the Board of Directors of L&T, is at second from left.

News & Views, January-March 2012 3

Cover Story

Mr. A.M. Naik gets a rousing welcome at Powai Works.

Continuing Focus on Value CreationIn view of the above transformation phase that L&T is going through, the Board decided that there is a need for continuity and extended Mr. A.M. Naik’s tenure for a period of five years as the Executive Chairman of the Group.

Mr. A.M. Naik will focus on completing the portfolio restructuring, institutionalising the IC structure, mentoring and developing the leadership team and future leaders to face the global challenges.

4 News & Views, January-March 2012

Mr. A.M. Naik’s illustrious career in L&T1965: Joins L&T in 19651985: General Manager – Group II1989: Vice-President1995: President1999: MD & CEO2003: Executive Chairman & MD2012: Executive Chairman

Mr. K. Venkataramanan being welcomed at Powai Works.

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Coverage in the Media

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India has come a long way from the production of small quantities of Nitrogenous fertilisers as the by-

product of the coke oven gas of steel plants in Bengal and Bihar in the 1930s to the present day’s annual production of ~ 22 million tonnes of Urea. The fertiliser industry occupies a pivotal and strategic position in the Indian economy and our nation stands third amongst all markets in the production and the consumption of nitrogenous fertilisers. The role of nitrogenous fertilisers in increasing soil productivity is well known. Apart from achieving self-sufficiency in food production due to sustained green

revolution campaigns, India has been continually striving for self-sufficiency in fertiliser manufacturing.

The Indian fertiliser industry has been continually expanding, adopting various technologies to meet the ever widening gap between demand and supply. More than 80% of fertiliser plant equipment and systems are capable of being produced indigenously. L&T occupies an important position in the Indian fertiliser industry. Its contribution in the manufacture of critical high pressure equipment requiring exotic alloys is recognised by licensors, contractors and project management consultants all over the

world. L&T’s presence in the construction of fertiliser plants is also well known and globally respected.

Today, L&T’s Hydrocarbon Mid & Downstream (HMD) Strategic Business Group, through a dedicated Fertiliser Business Unit offers turnkey solutions encompassing design, engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) to the fertiliser industry. L&T has access to world-class technologies from global players like Haldor Topsoe (Ammonia), Snamprogetti (Urea) and Uhde (Granulation). L&T’s well-proven track record in executing complex EPC contracts and strong

Emerging Opportunities in the Fertiliser Sector

Chambal Fertilizers Urea Prilling Tower & Storage.

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partnerships with licensors and alliance partners is perhaps unrivalled in the industry. L&T in consortium with its alliance partner is pre-qualified and submitted bids for construction of Mega Ammonia-Urea plant on LSTK basis to various domestic clients like IFFCO, RCF, Indo-Gulf, Chambal Fertilizers & Zuari. L&T is also exploring the global market in upcoming markets, viz. Gas-rich regions like Africa, CIS and recently submitted a bid for an Ammonia-Urea complex in CIS region.

Business ScenarioIndia’s domestic production of Urea is about 22 million tonnes (Mt) and the remaining demand of 6 Mt is met with imports. The last Greenfield Urea plant was set up in India in 1995. Urea

demand is projected to increase to 33-34 Mt in the next five years and the industry needs to augment capacity by putting up 6 to 8 brown-field / green-field expansion projects, each of 1.25 Mt/annum capacities. The rising cost of international urea price is adding to the financial burden on Indian government by way of subsidies.

Availability of natural gas is a key parameter for the growth of the urea industry. The discovery of gas at KG basin of India has encouraged the government and industries to invest in domestic urea production units. Indian fertiliser manufacturers are also investing to set up new fertiliser plants in the region rich in natural gas such as Middle East, Africa, etc.

Domestic fertiliser projects are awaiting

the finalization of New Urea Investment and Gas Allocation policy by the government. As per proposed policy the cost of gas will remain pass-through up to USD 14/mBtu. The Union Budget 2012-13 has a positive impact on the fertiliser industry. In the budget the government has extended investment-linked benefits to fertiliser companies making eligible for Viability Gap Funding (VGF) and granted full exemption of basic customs duty to import of equipment for expansion or setting up of fertiliser projects up to March 31, 2015. In anticipation of favorable investment policy several companies have taken an active step for implementing Brownfield/ Greenfield projects.

The Ammonia Synthesis Gas Generation project executed by L&T for GNFC-Bharuch.

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Ammonia-Urea plant at TCL, Babrala Client: Tata Chemicals Limited, Babrala; Location: Babrala, Uttar Pradesh, India.Scope: • Predesulphurisation Unit• Primary Reformer Package • Captive power plant of 2*20MW

capacity • Supply of Critical Equipment • Construction of complete complex

Ammonia Synthesis Loop Client: Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers; Location: Trombay, Chembur, MumbaiLicensor: Haldor Topsoe; Capacity: 350 TPD of Ammonia

Track RecordSome of the past EPC projects of L&T in Fertiliser industry are showcased below:

Ammonia - Urea Complex A typical Ammonia-Urea fertilizer com-plex comprises of the following units: a) Ammonia Plantb) Urea Plantc) Captive power plant and Steam Generationd) Cooling Towerse) Raw Water treatment & Softening system

f) De-Mineralization plant & Condensate Polishing Unitg) Air Compressor & Drierh) Inert Gas Generation & Storagei) Ammonia Storagej) Urea storage, Handling & Bagging facilityk) Effluent Treatment facilityl) Central Common Control room for Ammonia/ Urea/ Off-sites & Utility Plantsm) Electrical Sub-station

Ammonia Synthesis Process

Ammonia is produced from synthesis gas containing hydrogen and nitrogen. The hydrocarbon feed is desulphurized to ppb level in the desulphurization section. The desulphurized hydrocarbon feed is reformed with steam and air into raw synthesis gas (process gas). The gas contains mainly hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and steam.

Currently, L&T is executing three projects for the fertiliser industry:1. Ammonia Feedstock Conversion at NFL – Panipat 2. Ammonia Feedstock Conversion at NFL – Bhatinda 3. Ammonia Synthesis Gas generation project at GNFC, Bharuch. More detail of these projects are covered elsewhere in this issue.

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In the gas purification section, the CO is first converted into CO2. Then the CO2 is removed from the process gas in the CO2 removal section and sent as feedstock to Urea plant. The CO and CO2 residues in the gas outlet of the CO2 removal unit are converted into methane by reaction with H2 (methanation) before the synthesis gas is sent to the ammonia synthesis loop.

The purified synthesis gas is compressed and then routed to the ammonia synthesis loop where it is converted into ammonia. In order to limit the accumulation of argon and methane in the loop, a small stream is purged out from the loop. The liquid ammonia product is depressurised during which the dissolved gases, let-down gas and inert gas, are flashed off. The depressurised gas is sent to the urea plant as a feedstock.

Urea Synthesis ProcessUrea is produced by synthesis of

ammonia and carbon dioxide. In the urea reactor, ammonia and carbon dioxide react to form ammonium carbamate, a portion of which dehydrates to urea and water.

The process is characterized by a urea synthesis loop operating at about 155 bar (g) with an ammonia to carbon dioxide molar ratio at urea reactor inlet of 3.3-3.6. This allows a CO2 conversion into urea of 60-63% in the reactor itself.

Downstream the urea synthesis the decomposition (and relevant recovery) of unconverted chemical reagents is carried out in three subsequent steps:1. High Pressure Decomposition in

H.P. stripper; 2. Medium Pressure Decomposition in

M.P. Decomposer3. Low Pressure Decomposition in

L. P. Decomposer.The urea reactor effluent solution

enters the stripper, under slightly lower pressure than the urea reactor, where a fair part of the unconverted carbamate is decomposed. Ammonia and carbon

dioxide vapours from the stripper top, after mixing with the carbonate recycle solution from the M.P. section, are condensed at the same pressure of the stripper itself, in the H.P. carbamate condenser; thus producing the LP steam which is used in downstream sections.

After separating the inert gases which are passed to M.P. section, the carbamate solution is finally recycled to the reactor bottom by means of a liquid/liquid ejector, which exploits H.P. ammonia

feed to reactors as motive fluid. Downstream of the stripper residual carbamate and ammonia are recovered in two recycle stages operating at about 17 bar (g) (M.P. section) and 3.6 bar (g) (L.P. section) respectively. Ammonia and carbon dioxide vapours coming from carbamate decomposition are condensed and recycled to H.P. section.

The solution leaving the L.P. section arrives to the concentration section where process condensate is removed in

Typical Block Diagram of Ammonia Plant

LARSEN & TOUBRO Hydrocarbon-IC ‹#›

PRIMARYREFORMER

DE-SULPHURIZER

NATURAL GAS

HT/LT CO SHIFT

CONVERSION

SECONDARYREFORMER

CO2RECOVERY

METHA-NATOR

CARBONDI-OXIDE

STEAM

AMMONIA SYNTHESIS

AMMONIA REFIGERATION/

SEPARATION

SYNTHESISCOMPRESSOR

PROCESS AIRCOMPRESSOR

HTER

AMMONIA PRODUCT

STEAM

AMMONIA RECOVERY

H2 RECOVERY

Purge Gas

Purge Gas

Fuel

Hydrogen

19%P=44T=380

P=40T=30

P=36T=362

P=36.5T=789

P=36.5T=550 P=35

T=790P=120T=324

P=120T=324

P=32.8T=161

P=32T=50

P=0.5T=40

P=30T=37

P=80T=40

P=131T=40

P=130T=‐5

P=130T=‐5

P=25T=5

P=36.5T=1042

Ammonia Synthesis

Typical Block Diagram of Urea Plant

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Urea GranulationUrea solution from urea synthesis

plant at a concentration of 97%wt and a temperature of 130 -135°C is a feed for urea granulation plant. In the Granulator, the urea solution is sprayed on the granules suspended in a fluidized layer. Along with solution low pressure atomization air (approx. 1.45 bar) is injected in the fluid bed.

Atomisation air and fluidisation air are extracted from the top of the Granulator, together with some entrained urea dust and free ammonia released from the urea feed solution. The granulated product extracted from the Granulator flows through the scalping screen – the Safety Screen – to the First Fluid Bed Cooler.

Urea granules cooled down to an intermediate temperature are lifted by the bucket elevator to vibrating screens where they are classified in three fractions oversize, undersize and on-

size. Undersize and oversize granules are recycled to the Granulator. The on-size fraction, the product, is further

cooled down in the bulk flow cooler and directed to the storage silo, via the final conveyor belt at a temperature of 48°C.

order to reach a concentration of about 96-97%.

The melted urea is sent to the prilling bucket. Droplets of molten urea from the prilling bucket fall along the natural draught prilling tower and solidify and cool while encountering a countercurrent air flow. Some residual

ppm of free ammonia is contained in the urea melt coming from the holder and could be released to the atmosphere, entrained by the cooling air flowing through the Prilling Tower.

The solid prills are collected at the centre of prilling tower bottom by means of the conical double arm rotary

scraper and through a conical hopper, they fall on prilling tower belt conveyor. The urea product is sent to urea transfer conveyors to the prilled urea cooler and then conveyed to Bagging Plant/ Product Storage.

Typical Block Diagram of Urea Granulation

L&T’s Manufacturing and Construction Capabilities in Fertiliser IndustryL&T Heavy Engineering designs, manu-factures and supplies critical equipment and systems for the Fertiliser industry. It is one of the world’s leading manu-facturing units for technology-intensive custom-made equipment, with exports

to over 30 countries worldwide. New products and manufacturing technolo-gies are developed at its Technology De-velopment Centres.

Its state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, which meet the challenges of technology, quality conformance and delivery and ensure cost competitiveness for the fertilizer sector, are located in India at Mumbai, Hazira

& Vadodara and at Sohar in Oman. L&T specialises in fabricating and delivering critical process equipment like Ammonia Converters & Internals, Waste Heat Boiler package, High pressure Heat Exchangers, Urea Reactors, Urea Strippers, Carbamate Condensers ,etc. Almost all Indian fetiliser projects have drawn on the comprehensive engineering expertise of L&T.

Ammonia Convertor No. supplied: 30+Process: Halder Topsoe, KBR, Krupp Uhde.

L&T has supplied the world’s largest multi-wall Ammonia Convertor (110mm thick, 37.2m long & 710 MT).

The picture alongside shows the Ammonia Convertor supplied by L&T to Sorfet, Argentina.

Urea Reactor

No. supplied: 10+Process: Snamprogetti, Mitsui Toatsu Urea Casale, Toyo.

High Pressure Heat Exchanger for Ammonia Synthesis Loop.

No. supplied: 100+Process: Halder Topsoe, KBR, Linde, Krupp Udhe.

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Reformer Packages

L&T has executed over 40 reformer packages on turnkey basis for fertiliser projects.

Some of these were for RCF – Thal, IFFCO – Aonla, IGF – Jagdishpur, TCL – Babrala, CFCL – Gadepan.

The picture alongside shows the reformer package executed by L&T for Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Limited, Trombay, Mumbai.

Carbamate Condenser

No. supplied: 30+Process: Snamprogetti, Toyo, Stamicarbon, Urea Casale.

Urea Stripper

No. supplied: 20+Process: Snamprogetti.

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Waste Heat Recovery Package No. supplied: 100+

The infrastructure development strength of L&T Construction has been fully integrated by L&T Hydrocarbon through its HCP arm. These integrated services offered under a single respon-sibility centre include engineering, procurement, construction and com-missioning, on LSTK basis, covering ammonia plants, urea plants, urea granulation plants, offsite and utilities including urea handling, storage silos, bagging and dispatching.

L&T’s capability to simultaneously execute multiple large-value and com-

plex projects is recognised in all the geographies in which it operates. L&T Hydrocarbon is prequalified to ex-ecute large value EPC projects with al-most all fertiliser companies of India. L&T’s participation in the Indian fer-tiliser industry includes well known groups like:

• National Fertilizers Ltd• Indian Farmers Fertiliser Co-op. Ltd.• Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals

Ltd.• Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers

Co. Ltd.• Manglore Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd.• Madras Fertilizers Ltd.• Tata Chemicals Ltd.• Shriram Fertilizers & Chemicals • Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd. • The Fertilizer Corporation of India

Ltd.• Zuari Agro Chemicals Ltd.• Coromandal Fertilizers Ltd.• Nagarjuna Fertilizers & Chemicals

Ltd.• Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals

Ltd.

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Fertiliser plant at Kakinada in South India built by L&T for Nagarjuna Fertilizers & Chemicals.

NFL - Panipat & Bhatinda : Ammonia Feedstock Conversion Projects

National Fertilizers Limited (NFL) is one of the largest producers of nitrogenous fertiliser in the country with an installed capacity of about 3.23 million tonnes of urea and various other industrial products. NFL is presently operating fertiliser units at Nangal, Bhatinda, Panipat and Vijaipur with dedicated offsite and utility facilities. The plants at Nangal, Bhatinda and Panipat are based on fuel oil (FO)/ low sulphur heavy stock (LSHS) as feedstock and the plant at Vijaipur (two units) is based on natural gas/ naphtha. With the introduction of the new fertiliser policy of the Government of India, NFL decided to revamp their plants at Panipat, Bhatinda and Nangal while maintaining the production capacity of urea at present levels. NFL decided to set up Ammonia Feedstock Conversion (AFC) as a lump sum turnkey project (LSTK) at Panipat, Bhatinda and Nangal with the participation of global EPC contractors in the tendering process.

L&T bagged the contracts for Panipat and Bhatinda projects on License-cum-EPC (LEPC) basis in January 2010, overcoming stiff competition from reputed international EPC players, with

a challenging schedule of 36 months that included plant commissioning and sustained load running. Projects & Development India Limited (PDIL) is the Project Management Consultant (PMC). This was the first complete Ammonia Plant LSTK project for L&T as an EPC contractor. To leave no stone unturned all of L&T’s capability centres, BUs and group companies have synergised their efforts towards timely and quality completion of the project.

The overall project management is being taken care of by the Chemical

Plants BU of L&T Hydrocarbon while the residual and detailed engineering is being done by L&T Engineering, Faridabad and L&T Engineering, Mumbai. The process know-how of the plant has been provided by Haldor Topsoe A/S (HTAS), Denmark. Onsite construction is carried out by L&T’s Hydrocarbon Construction and Pipelines (HCP) strategic business group.

These AFC projects comprise conventional synthesis gas front end section and high pressure ammonia synthesis loop and utilities like inert gas generation unit, steam generation system, ammonia refrigeration, etc. The conventional synthesis gas front end section comprises the steam reforming section, the shift conversion section, the carbon dioxide removal section and the methanation section. The CO2 removal system is licensed by BASF and is based on the aMDEA (activated methyl diethanol amine) process. The high pressure

Operational Excellence at the Ammonia Plant Projects

Ammonia Feedstock Conversion Project at NFL, Panipat (Capacity: 900 TPD).

Ammonia Feed Stock Changeover Project, NFL Bhatinda received the prestigious International Safety Award (ISA) with distinction category from British Safety Council (BSC), UK for the year 2012.

Since last year, BSC has introduced a new and stringent scoring based award scheme in which NFL Bhatinda project has been honoured with distinction category award as they have scored 60 out of 60 marks.

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ammonia synthesis loop with synthesis gas compressor is retained.

Critical AspectsL&T’s rich experience and proven track record of executing large LSTK projects, both internationally and domestically, helped the project team achieve major milestones with relative ease. Some of the critical points which made this project unique are:

EngineeringThe engineering task force from Faridabad and Mumbai worked in close coordination with HTAS, PDIL and NFL to get a quick approval on documents. The Mumbai Engineering Centre was entrusted with the residual and detailed engineering of the steam reforming section and the rest of the plant was designed by the Engineering Centre at Faridabad.

There was a continuous emphasis on flawless implementation of the project through high level coordination between the two capability centres. In-depth plant training for personnel from both L&T and NFL was conducted by HTAS for better

understanding of the technology and plant operation. Regular interaction with the NFL team ensured incorporation of their vast operational experiences in plant design and engineering.

Since this was a plant revamp project, one of the major challenges faced by the engineering task force was the integration of the existing plant (retained part) with the new one and ensuring flawless operation as a single unit. Many of the retained equipment like compressors, pumps, heat exchangers are more than 35 years old. Expert consultants and original equipment manufacturers were hired to look into the physical condition of the retained equipment. The task force took special efforts to design and develop the plant and the utility facilities taking into consideration both the operational requirement of NFL and the recommendations made by the consultants.

ProcurementProcurement was done from reputed domestic and global vendors. Many of the critical process packages and compressors

were sourced from countries like France, Germany, Italy, etc. Regular meetings were held with vendors to sort out any issues arising out of the unique requirements of the project.

ConstructionA revamp project has enormous challenges. The construction team had to carry out their activities in close proximity to an operating plant. The project required setting up of reactors and columns as heavy as 350 tonnes and 180000 inch diameter of piping. The construction also involved creating nearly 75 hook-up points with the existing plant while it was running. Another challenge was the replacement of the E&I items in the retained plant and their hooking up with the new DCS. This required herculean efforts from the construction team and seamless coordination between the site and the procurement teams for timely onsite availability of materials and equipment.

These projects are expected to be completed by January 2013.

Ammonia Feedstock Conversion Project at NFL, Bhatinda (Capacity: 900 TPD).

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Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers Company Limited (GNFC), set up in Bharuch, Gujarat in 1976,

is one of the leading Indian companies in the business of manufacturing and selling fertilisers and chemicals. A joint sector enterprise promoted by the Government of Gujarat and the Gujarat State Fertilizer Company Ltd (GSFC) – another State Government controlled Company, GNFC is India’s largest producer of formic acid, acetic acid and methanol, and India’s only manufacturer of glacial acetic acid

through the cutting-edge methanol route. It operates India’s largest single-stream plant of aniline and is the only manufacturer of toluene di-isocyanate (TDI) in South East Asia.

GNFC’s Feedstock Conversion Project, awarded to L&T, is one of national importance. The project valued around Rs. 1000 Cr. (USD 205 million) was awarded to L&T in December 2009, with a completion time of 30 months (ready for start-up) and six months for sustained load test, performance guarantee and handover.

Project BackgroundAmmonia is a key raw material for urea and urea-based fertilisers. GNFC’s ammonia plant is based on fuel oil (FO) / low sulphur heavy stock (LSHS) partial oxidation (POx) process. The design capacity of the ammonia plant is 1350 TPD (ton per day) and that of the urea plant is 1800 TPD. Both the plants are operating at higher capacity – at more than 115% of the design capacity.

The Government of India had, through the Fertiliser Investment policy, directed all FO/LSHS based ammonia plants in

L&T executes India’s First Natural Gas based Ammonia Plant for GNFC

The Ammonia Synthesis Gas Generation Plant (ASGP) built by L&T for GNFC-Bharuch.

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India to convert their feedstock from FO/LSHS to natural gas (NG) / R-LNG in order to bring down the specific energy consumption per MT of ammonia produced, thus bringing down the specific energy consumption per MT of urea used by farmers. This feedstock conversion has the advantages of being more environment-friendly, increases fuel efficiency and makes economic sense considering import bills for crude oil.

Ammonia Synthesis Gas Generation Plant (ASGP) – Many FirstsThere are many firsts associated with this project. Some of these are:

• This is the first large-scale project to be carried out by any fertiliser company in India in over a decade.

• This is the first major License and EPC (LEPC) contract awarded to L&T in the fertiliser industry. (L&T had earlier executed RCF Synloop project in late 1998-2000. L&T is currently executing an LEPC contract for a refinery major MRPL - Hydrogen Generation Unit).

• This is the first high value EPC contract awarded in the Indian Fertiliser Industry in the last two decades.By bagging this project on lump-sum

turnkey basis, L&T truly covers the entire industrial spectrum of Oil & Gas, Power, Infrastructure, Chemicals and Fertilisers.

Prior to this job, L&T had carried out small scale revamp and expansion jobs on EPC basis for RCF Chembur and Thal. Apart from this, L&T’s Heavy Engineering shops have supplied equipment and L&T HCP has provided construction services to most of the fertiliser plants in India.

Scope and Division of WorkL&T is executing this project with single point responsibility for process technology, basic & detailed engineering, procurement, logistics, construction, erection and

commissioning, sustained load test with performance guarantees for plant performance and final handover to GNFC.

The Project Management Consultant (PMC) for ASGP is Projects & Development India Ltd (PDIL). The overall Project Management has been carried out by the Chemical Plants BU of L&T Hydrocarbon.

Process Technology & Basic EngineeringL&T has tied up with Haldor Topsoe AS (HTAS), Denmark for licensing the process technology for the plant. HTAS also provided the critical basic engineering package to L&T to carry out detailed design and engineering. L&T and HTAS have been associated for more than a decade in the execution of the numerous Hydrogen Generation Units in India and the Methanol Plant in Saudi Arabia. The business relationship has been built on the proven technological expertise of HTAS complemented by L&T’s engineering capabilities and execution track record.

Detailed EngineeringL&T Engineering – Mumbai (LTEM) was entrusted with the task of carrying out detailed design and engineering for the project. LTEM engineers have already worked with HTAS on many projects and this familiarity with HTAS’ processes and methodology proved to be the differentiator in this challenging project.

LTEM carried out detailed engineering and was responsible for the overall engineering management, residual basic engineering, process, piping, reformer engineering, static and rotary equipment, civil & structural, and electrical & instrumentation.

LTEM engineers were actively involved with GNFC and PDIL for faster engineering approvals, 3D Model and HAZOP reviews. They were also deputed to the site for faster resolution of field engineering issues and better co-ordination with the construction team.

Challenges & Learning

Outside Battery Limit Engineering

L&T was asked to perform Outside Battery Limit (OSBL) engineering work in addition to the main ASGP plant. This included 32 piping, 2 electrical and 3 Instrument tie-in connections located at various locations in the customer’s existing plant. This work posed lot of challenges considering that the tie-ins were located 600-700m away within the existing plant of the customer and the lines were to be routed through intricate paths in the existing facilities. As the spaces allotted for the ASGP project were also being utilised by other projects running in parallel, the nature of the work was quite dynamic with frequent changes in routing and downstream engineering. Also, OSBL engineering work ran concurrently with the work for ASGP due to which resource planning proved to be quite a challenge.

Integration SchemeThe ASGP plant will have to be

physically connected to the existing ammonia and urea plants of GNFC. The product ammonia syn-gas will be sent to the existing ammonia plant and the product CO2 would be sent to the existing urea plant.

For a seamless integration of L&T’s ASGP plant with the existing ammonia plant, with adequate checks and safety features, L&T worked on developing the integration schemes for various tie-ins in close coordination with the customer.

Change in Feed Gas Composition

The expected composition of the natural gas that was to be physically received through dedicated pipelines after three years turned out to be different than the feed gas composition given in the tender document. This resulted in considerable revisions to the basic engineering &

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design package. Under considerable time pressure, this challenging task of reengineering was accomplished by L&T with the able support and expertise of HTAS within two months and the revised design was submitted to the customer.

Steel vs. RCC – Compressor House

Steel was preferred over RCC, as working with steel saves time for fabrication and erection and any changes, modifications on steel structures is much faster and convenient.

Sourcing from India and Abroad – A Global MixIf engineering is L&T’s core strength, then procurement and in-house manufacturing facilities are the vital enablers that set apart the Company. L&T’s work centers and vendors that were associated with the project depict the scale and the varied mix of procurement carried out for the project.

Critical items such as Syngas Booster Compressor with Steam Turbine from BHEL India, Nitrogen and Carbon dioxide Booster Compressors from Cameron USA, Steam Turbine from Dresser Rand Germany, Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) Package from UOP Belgium, Blowers from Boldrocchi Italy and Unozawa Japan, Control Valves from Metso Finland, Catalysts from HTAS Denmark and Nickel Catalyst Tubes from Kubota Japan, Pump with HPRT (Hydraulic Power Recovery Turbine) from Nuovo Pignone Italy along with interconnecting piping, electrical & instrumentation items are vital for the plant to function in synchronisation.

Different L&T shops and centers made their contributions felt. Fabrication of Waste Heat Recovery (WHR) Modules – Total 7 modules of total 510 MT were carried out at MFF, Hazira; Heavy Engineering shops in Powai supplied Critical Reformer components (Waste Heat Boiler and Steam Drum, Cold Collectors and other sub-assemblies), Pre-Reformer Reactor and D-type Heat Exchangers; L&T

Electrical & Automation provided VFDs (Yaskawa) & LV Switchboards.

Construction L&T’s Hydrocarbon Construction & Pipelines (HCP) unit has been entrusted with the task of plant construction. HCP’s mandate covers infrastructure facilities and site development, stores management, safety, civil and structural work, piping fabrication and erection, equipment fabrication, erection and installation. Installation of electrical & instrumentation is being carried out by HMD’s core E&I group through sub-contractors.

Infrastructure Prior to the commencement of the

construction activities at site, HCP established a fully functional project office with high speed internet connectivity, a conference room and VC facility for the project team and the PMC connected with the various work centres (L&T Engineering Mumbai, L&T HCP - Chennai and Vadodara), consumables & project material stores and a camp for housing workmen. HCP was also responsible for

dismantling the existing facilities and removing vegetation to pave way for construction, for the pre-fabrication workshop for piping with a gantry crane, and for a batching plant (ready mix concrete plant) to meet the concrete requirement for the project.

Civil Work A sub-stratum with consistent bearing

capacity was required to commence construction activities. For this, 48,000 cu.m of black cotton soil was excavated, removed and replaced. Work related to excavation, concreting, brick work, plastering and finishing items is being carried out with the help of local sub-contractors.

Structure, Equipment and Piping

Structural Steel fabrication was carried out at the prefabrication shop and painted in the facility created within the site and taken directly for site erection in the desired sequence.

One of the biggest challenges was the prefabrication and erection of

View of Reformer in ASGP Plant-1.

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the 46m-long radiant chamber. With concerted effort from the design and the construction teams, the constructability of the reformer modules was reviewed and finalised. Having met all customer expectations and in keeping with the project schedule, the modules were finally installed in four pieces at each level, thus optimising resource and time requirements. Using MIG welding process in radiant chamber panels restricted welding distortion to a great extent.

Erection plan for heavy equipment was prepared in Auto CAD and was presented to the client well in advance, with all safety measures in place. The heaviest equipment erected was the CO2 Absorber (196 MT, 3.87 m dia. and 45m high) using lifting trunions. L&T’s crawler mounted crane (of capacity 326 MT) was deployed for this heavy lift erection.

The longer equipment (columns) was supplied in two pieces due to constraints in road transportation (from Mumbai to Bharuch). The two halves were then welded at the site (site joints) after erecting the bottom and top pieces of the equipment. This practice substantially mitigated logistics and safety problems.

The piping work is being executed with help of e+ALPS (Activity level Planning System) software for material management, progress monitoring and reporting, and NDT (Non Destructive Testing) and system hydro test. 76% of the piping inch dia. scope was completed in the prefabrication shop to bring down resource requirement for erection and safety hazards. Practice of FCAW (Flux Cored Arc Welding) has resulted in fewer repairs and enabled good productivity.

Electrical & Instrumentation Installation

An electrical sub-station has been designed to cater the present 10.6 MW electrical load of the plant with a capacity to cater for additional future load of 10 MW. The sub-station is equipped with 11 kV and 3.3 kV switchboards for receiving power and catering to the HT (High

Tension) load of the plant. The unique features of this plant are

that separate relay panels have been supplied for electrical protection of the HT and LT (Low Tension) switchgear. Two emergency DG sets with total capacity of 2.5 MVA and 3.3 kV 1800 kW variable frequency drives (VFDs) for blowers are being used for the first time. The plant is controlled through a 5000+ I/O Control System – DCS + PLC (Distributed Control System + Programmable Logic Controller) supplied by Yokogawa India.

Achievements & Accolades

Bentley Innovation AwardsL&T Engineering Mumbai was one

of the finalists at the Bentley System’s prestigious Bentley Innovation Awards in the ‘Innovations in Multimedia’ category, which saw participation from top Infrastructure companies. LTEM’s entry was the ‘Ammonia Synthesis Gas Generation Project for GNFC’, which was presented before peers, industry leaders and the media at the ‘Be Inspired Thought

Leadership in Infrastructure’ conference in November 2011 at Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Customer DelightGNFC has accorded the construction

work and the site management an ‘excellent’ rating. GNFC’s Management lauded L&T’s consistent focus on quality consciousness, precision in site fabrication, incorporation of good practices and excellent site management.

Safety & Productivity Landmarks• The GNFC Project has achieved 4.1

million accident free safe man hrs till Feb 2012.

• The project has achieved 0.206% of piping welding repair till Feb 2012, much above the industry benchmark.

• 94% of the project was completed till March 2012 and the project team is geared up to finish the balance as per schedule.

3D model of ASGP for GNFC, Bharuch that won the Bentley Innovation Award.


The MARC Mission

L&T bagged the prestigious con-tract to execute the Manga-

lore Aromatic Complex Project (MARC) of ONGC Mangalore Petrochemicals Limited (OMPL) – a company promoted by ONGC & MRPL – in March 2010. The EPC project was awarded against stiff in-ternational and domestic competition. Coming up in Mangalore SEZ, this plant when commissioned would produce 905,000 MT of Paraxylene & 273,000 MT of Benzene per annum, using UOP

Process Technology. The aromatics com-plex would also produce 151,000 TPA of Raffinate and 18,000 TPA of Liquefied Petroleum Gas.

L&T’s ScopeThis complex will have 9 Process units, namely Naphtha Hydrotreating Unit, Continuous Catalytic Regeneration Unit, Platforming Unit, Parex Unit, Isomar Unit, Xylene Fractionation Unit, Shell Sulpholane Unit, Tatoray Unit and

Benzene & Toluene Fractionation Unit all under the execution responsibility of L&T.

Large Work VolumeThe project is characterised by large work volumes, heavy cranage requirement and a peak man-power of more than 4000. Some of the requirements include: Over a Lakh Cu.M. of concrete work; more than 10000 MT of Structural Steel; 300 + equipment including six super over-dimensional consignments (SODC); 164

Erection of Adsorbent Chamber (572 MT) using Mammoet PTC 2000 MT Main crane and Demag CC2800 Tailing Crane at OMPL project site in Mangalore.

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pumps and 14 compressors; more than two lakh inch-meter of underground piping; 10,00,000+ inch-meter above ground piping; 2000+ km of cabling; and 6 heater packages with tonnage in excess of 8000 MT.

Challenges

Race against TimeThe work volume involved in the

project is large vis-à-vis the scheduled execution time. The project involves high complexities as the LSTK-1 is mainly machinery driven with all types of compressors to be installed. CCRG Module is in excess of 80 m height and the platforming furnace is one of the biggest ever constructed. LSTK-2 involves nearly 50% of the total work volume with all Super-ODC consignments and extremely complex Adsorbent Chamber circuit. The Xylene-Reboiler Heater is one of the biggest ever constructed. LSTK-3 is stringent from environment considerations and layout constraints.

Environment In addition to the huge quantum of

work involved in the project, Mangalore’s heavy rains added to the challenge. New measures have been adopted to minimize the effect of rainfall on the progress and to limit any loss in productivity. As the

project site is located in rocky terrain, there were also several challenges in civil construction, design and execution because of slushy soil (during monsoon) and discovery of rocks at unpredictable depths, etc.

Logistics ManagementThe project involves the shipment of

over-dimensional consignment (ODC) and super over-dimensional consignment (SODC) from eight countries. Insufficient infrastructure at the Mangalore port and the non-availability of proper facilities (roads, railway crossings, etc.) posed a major challenge during execution.

Thus, the project has been a challenge right from the word “go” which the team has been cherishing. This has made and the adrenaline flow through a very dedicated project task force.

L&T as an IntegratorL&T is one among the few companies in the world that has the in-house capabilities to manage a project of this magnitude. Nearly 50% of the project is being executed using L&T’s internal strengths. These include: Engineering by L&T-Chiyoda Limited; Construction by L&T’s HCP; integrated procurement; fabrication of critical pressure vessels by heavy engineering workshops; manufacturing of electrical panels and

switch boards by L&T’s Electrical & Automation Business; manufacturing of variable frequency drives by L&T Automation; and supply of critical valves from L&T’s associate company, Audco India.

These internal strengths were leveraged to the maximum by L&T’s project management team, using the platform of SAP’s integrated network, multi-locational working, integrated 3D modeling and reviews, constructability studies and Integrated EPC execution.

The project management philosophy, which revolves around the key concept of becoming a centre of excellence, enables L&T to maximize productivity, efficiency and allows for maximum integration, which in turn results in adherence to safety, quality, and timeliness standards along with the budgetary constraints.

A teambuilding workshop was organised for Project MARC – ‘Setting a New Benchmark’ on June 3-4, 2010 at L&T’s Management Development Centre in Lonavala. The programme covered all key stakeholders involved in the project i.e. PMC – Toyo, Client – OMPL and EPC Contractor – L&T, with overall 42 participants.

The programme included sharing of expectations by Mr. S. Ramachandran (Chief Executive Officer, OMPL), Mr. A. Bhutkar (GGM, Toyo Engineering), Mr. P. M. Dharmadhikari (BU Head, Petrochemical Projects, HMD) followed by various fun-filled simulation games and intensive table discussions. It facilitated better understanding of everyone’s role. All discussions and games were designed to help participants shape up concrete action plans for their respective teams and group norms that were followed by all.

An outcome of the programme was that the team evolved and adopted ‘MARC Mission’ to ensure effective functioning, pledging for the timely completion of a project while working as an integrated team.

Management Philosophy for the project centered around the key concepts of: establishing systematic management thought and comprehending the

L&T has earlier built India’s largest single-stream 553,000 MTPA Purified Terephthalic Acid Plant (PTA) for Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) at Panipat. This was L&T’s first major EPC LSTK project in the petrochemical sector and the single largest LSTK order at that point of time.

Subsequently, L&T also built a Naphtha Cracker & associated units for IOCL-Panipat in consortium with Toyo Engineering Corporation, Japan. The naphtha cracking unit has a capacity to produce 800,000 MTPA of ethylene and 500,000 MTPA of propylene.

Over 26 million and 30 million man-hours without lost time accidents were achieved respectively for PTA and Naphtha Cracker projects. In addition to the client’s certificate for best safety performance, L&T won accolades like the Golden Safety Award of National Safety Council, India and Silver Award of the Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents, U.K., for zero-lost time accidents.

Lead Story


relationship between the whole and the part; understanding the stage-based character of the project, stressing the essentials and promoting the project on a complete scale; focusing on ‘one-time completion of project’; adhering to ‘double-zero’ management objectives of ‘zero quality accident’ and ‘zero safety accident’; establishing a project management system with clear responsibilities and quick responses; timely contract modification and establishing of incentive mechanism; and application of technological advances throughout project construction.

Integration was achieved through rigorous interface management, risk analysis and issue resolution mechanism. The entire complex was first divided into three areas, each with a project manager, a resident construction manager and an engineering manager. Thereafter, each project was further broken down into

work packs. For overall management the project was controlled by the Chief Project Manager, Chief Resident Construction Manager and Project Interface Manager.

The project was conceived to be executed in the following phases:

First Phase (Planning & Infrastructure)

The first phase included basic planning and conceptualization and substantial completion of Civil Work and Technological Structures to make the plant ready for equipment and piping integration (1-15 months), with 85 to 90% engineering completion.

Second Phase (Integration Phase)

Integration phase involved integration of equipment to the project and

connecting them by way of piping and cabling (16-31 months) and testing.

Third Phase (Turnaround Phase)

The third and the last phase included loop completion, pre-commissioning & commissioning activities (29-36 months). This is the phase where the construction work moves to process systems.

Prior to developing a detailed project plan in Primavera, the project sequence, execution philosophy and the interfaces, utilities, tie-ins and FIM schedule were discussed in detail in a planning workshop that involved all stakeholders and work centers. The joint exercise ensured that the final drawn schedule was optimized within the project constraints and the best fit schedule was evolved by having discussions and deliberations on tasks and their dependencies.

3D CAD model of Naphtha Hydrotreating Unit, Continuous Catalytic Regeneration Unit & Platforming Unit (LSTK-1).

Current StatusSo far, the project is more than 70% complete and efforts are in place for achieving the mechanical completion by December 2012.

Throughout the execution period, the OMPL team has consistently shown extraordinary dedication to project goals and a willingness to work together. This effort is multi-organisational in

scope, demands a multi-discipline team approach, and requires complex coordination to solve multi-faceted problems. But even in the most complex situation, the team had lived by its motto of ‘One Team One Goal’. Through this continued and coordinated effort, the project team is sure to accomplish nothing less than the creation of a new and higher benchmark of execution.

Lead Story


3D CAD model of Shell Sulpholane Unit, Tatoray Unit and Benzene & Toluene Fractionation Unit (LSTK-3).

3D CAD model of Parex Unit, Isomar Unit & Xylene Fractionation Unit (LSTK-2).

Inputs for all the articles on L&T’s projects in the fertilizer & petrochemical sectors were coordinated by Mr. A.K. Sadasivan of Corporate Centre, L&T Hydrocarbon.

Application of Technological Advances during ConstructionThe key to the success of such a large and complex project is the maximization of output and minimization of waste. Here, technology and infrastructure play a pivotal role.

The mobilization phase was meticulously planned and state-of-the-art infrastructure was established to handle the quantum of work and the challenges that the site posed. Following facilities have been provided :• Project office with VC facility and hot-

linked to design and PMT office• Automated Rebar service center (first

of its kind in an ECP project)• Site establishments like consumable

store, piping storage yard, labour colony with all amenities and hygiene facilities, etc.

• Batching plants, carpentry workshop and P&M (Plant & Machinery) workshop

• Workers canteen and rest places were put in place within 4 months of contract signing.

Engineering and Construction Planning for Design & Development • Extensive 3D-modeling and interface

checks, maintainability and erectability studies

• Pipe rack execution philosophy single portal lifts

• Bathtub excavation methodology • CCRG modularization• Micro-level end-to-end logistics plan

and execution• Cranage plan, erection schemes and

lifting studies• Cable trench precast and laying

philosophy• Extensive pre-fabrication of piping

• On time delivery of ODC and SODC equipment

• Automated Site Query system integrat-ing queries to SMS for follow-up

Integration Phase

• Piping workshop with auto blast facility

• Pipe spool identification and erection as per system turnover requirement

• Paving completion before monsoon• System concept and its integration

with construction activities• Integrated logistics management and

transportation• Inside and outside warehouse

management• e-ALPS+ for matching material; pipe

spool management• Bar-coding for tracing

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Customer Delight

As Chief Executive Officer of OMPL, I have been happy to note

that the leading engineering company in the private sector - L&T

- is doing an excellent job in the execution of ONGC-MRPL’s

Paraxylene plant.

L&T has carried out a number of engineering innovations here

while executing this job. One among these is the automated

rebar structural fabrication facility. The first such in India, the

facility reduces time delays in fabrication of structural materials.

Other innovations include an automated pipe fabrication

workshop and an automated welding facility. These have

increased the productivity and have also helped in managing

the project schedule better. Moreover, in-depth knowledge of

L&T’s engineers and their planning and execution is worthy of

commendation. They have taken care of safety aspects while

executing the job: completing 5 million incident-free hours while

executing the job.

Work execution in Mangalore is very difficult because of heavy

rains. Under these circumstances, Team L&T’s efforts, especially

those of the civil group, are highly commendable.

S. RamachandranChief Executive OfficerONGC Mangalore Petrochemicals Ltd (OMPL)

In Focus

Mr. A.M. Naik appointed Chairman of Board of Governors of IIM Ahmedabad

Mr. A.M. Naik, Chairman and Managing Director, has been appointed the Chairman of the Society

& the Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) – the most

prestigious business school of the country.

In its letter, The Union Ministry of Human Resources, Department of Higher Education has said,

“We are sure that under your bright leadership, the Institute shall reach newer heights”.

IIM-A was ranked as the 11th best business school globally and the best in India by The Financial

Times in its global business school rankings published in 2011.


In Focus

Coal Handling Plant at Koderma – A Benchmark

Koderma Thermal Power Project, of Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) – India’s first multipurpose

river valley project and a leading power generation organisation in the eastern part of the country –

is situated in the northern part of Jharkhand, about 160 km away from the capital city of Ranchi.

The project came about when DVC decided to upgrade its capacity by 6000MW in its 11th Plan.

Stiff rounds of competitive bidding ensued and the order for the Coal Handling Plant of 2x500MW

Koderma Thermal Power Plant, with an installed capacity of 1000MW, was finally bagged by L&T.

L&T had a fair amount of experience executing several electrical projects for DVC, however, this

was the Company’s first ever order by DVC for a Coal Handling Plant project on a turnkey basis.


Open stockyard area equipped with two rail-mounted stacker reclaimers.

The project was to be completed within 30 months and L&T’s scope of work involved design, engineering, supply, construction and commissioning of 1600

tph Coal Handling Plant.Major ChallengesThough the project was formally

awarded in 2008, there was considerable

delay in commencing operations due to land acquisition issues and disruption of work by the locals.

Added to this was the remoteness of the project location.

Coal Handling Plant (CHP) Highlights Track Hopper: 280 m, 5500 t holding capacity

Wagon Tippler: 20 Trips per hour

Coal Conveyor: 6.80 km, 1400mm belt width, 3.2m/sec, 1600 tph

Crusher House: 4 Ring Granulators , 900 tph

UG Tunnel: 413 m

Transfer Points: 8

Stacker Reclaimer: 2 nos. 1600 tph

MCC Bldgs: 4

Admn Bldgs: GF-500 sq.m + FF-500 sq.m

Road & Drain: Road work-2.0 km , Drain - 10.5 km

Electrical works: HT motor -18, LT motor-29, Transformer (1MVA

~7.5MVA) - 11 nos.

Major Quantities Earth work excavation: 384000

cu.m

Concrete work: 52800 cu.m

Reinforcement work: 5050 t

Shutter work: 170000 sq.m

Structural Fab &

Erection: 6800 t

Eqpt Supply &

Erection work: 7900 t

Utility Piping: 70000 inch-m


The Wagon Tippler

Another challenge was the hard rock that necessitated blasting work for excavation. Koderma is a sensitive zone where blasting has to be carried out with a lot of planning and precision.

With so many challenges, the project team had to come up with innovative solutions so that the timeline of the project was not disrupted. Joint brainstorming sessions between the site team and design support at the headquarters resulted in many path-breaking ideas. Also, meticulous planning and integration of all engineering details right from the inception of the project, smoothed out

In Focus

quite a few hurdles. Sourcing and supply of items, including those that were to be imported, were planned to the last detail.

The project schedule was constantly modified, keeping the total construction duration the same, and work was planned and executed in a phased manner with

the help of DVC and L&T’s excellent site management. Gradually, the local community’s cooperation was also won over through social responsibility and community engagement initiatives.

Stacker ReclaimerThe open stockyard is equipped with two rail-mounted stacker reclaimers. The conveyors deliver coal to the stacker reclaimers which is then stacked into regular stock piles by the machines. The stacked material is subsequently reclaimed by the machines and delivered to the conveyor. The machine

is designed to operate in an automatic mode to minimise operator intervention. To ensure peak efficiency, all operating sequences and the speed of operation is managed through a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC). The machine can also be operated manually.

QualityIn line with L&T’s philosophy of maintaining the highest levels of quality, stringent quality checks were ensured at all the phases of the project. Every minute detail was checked before moving on to the next stage. The delight of the customer was evident in a glowing report that was later submitted by the customer. Throughout the duration of the project there was not even a single instance of customer complaint.

SafetySafety, an integral part of the L&T culture, was a top priority at the project. The site set benchmarks and was conferred the prestigious ‘British Safety Council Award’ for 2009. Koderma project also clocked a whopping 9.50 million safe man-hours recorded with no reportable case.

The project has become a shining example of quality construction, timely execution and innovative design features.

A merry-go-round system of coal transportation has been installed at the site to carry coal arriving from the mines to the power plant. The coal rake, with special bottom discharge wagons, unloads coal into the hopper of the 280-m long track hopper. From here, the coal is conveyed at 1600 tph to the Crusher House and from there, through various paths, to the stockyard or boiler bunkers. Coal from conventional wagons (without bottom discharge), is unloaded using the wagon tippler, located adjacent to the track hopper.


The control room from where the operating sequence and speed (of CHP) is dictated.

Parbati Hydroelectric Power Project - Stage IIIThe Government of Himachal Pradesh (HP) has come up with ambitious plans to tap hydel power from the state’s perennial glacier rivers. Currently, the state is tapping 6,470 MW of hydel power.

Power projects have been planned in a manner such that the tailrace of one project becomes the headrace of another downstream project, thereby making much of the river flow through tunnels bored into high mountains.

One such project is the Parbati Hydroelectric Project that proposes to harness River Parbati (tributary of River Beas) in three stages: Stage I: 750MW, Stage II: 800MW and Stage III: 520MW.

Located in the Kullu district of HP, the Parbati Hydroelectric Project Stage-III (520 MW) is on River Sainj, 800m downstream of its confluence with Jiwa Nallah. It envisages utilisation of waters released from the tail race of Stage-II power house at Suind as well as the discharges of River Sainj in the Beas catchment.

L&T was entrusted with the LOT-1 package, which involves civil work for the construction of the diversion-cum-spillway-tunnels including gates, coffer dams, a 43-m high rockfill dam along with a diaphragm wall, a chute spillway, intake tunnels, desilting chambers and flushing systems including branch tunnels, headrace tunnel (HRT) and associated work.

Gearing up for Geological ChallengesThe Himalayan terrain has always been a challenge to civil engineers, geologists and

geotechnical experts. Geological surprises during excavation are frequent.

L&T also had its fair share of problems. There were issues of cavity formation due to weak zones. These were tackled through an innovative technique called ‘Pipe Roofing’, employed by L&T for the first time. Loose stretches of the tunnel were stabilised by several applications of shotcrete followed by fore-poling and steel set installation with concrete backfilling. Heading and benching methodology was also adopted.

Tunnelling with Tenacity: Construction at Prabati

Diversion Tunnel Construction for any dam project

begins with the diversion tunnel. This is because before anything can be built, the flow of the river has to be diverted from the main dam area.

L&T built two diversion tunnels, designed to carry a discharge of 800 cumecs of water, at the right bank of the dam. Each tunnel has three gates – service, emergency and stop log – for regulating the flow of water.

A letter of appreciation was issued to the Company by NHPC for having achieved the challenging task of river diversion under adverse weather conditions and heavy rains.

Headrace TunnelHRT (measuring 5.9km under L&T

scope) was perhaps the most critical part of the entire project. During its execution L&T surmounted many geotechnical challenges through innovative

excavation techniques and support structure methodology.

The exposed rock was first supported and only then blasting operations were commenced. Rock support was decided on the basis of the rock condition at the face, using a rock mass classification system called ‘Rock Mass Rating’.

Shotcreting and rock anchor or bolt were extensively used for support. Rock

Harnessing Hydel Power in Himachal

In Focus


bolts were also grouted using cement grout or resin, and nuts were fastened over metal plates. Structural steel ISHB sections were fabricated and bent to required shapes, sizes and pieces to suit the tunnel profile.

Concrete lining, which is the final support system in HRT, was taken up after


Parbati Hydroelectric Power Project - Stage III.

The gigantic gates at the entrance of the intake structure and the spillway bays (seen partially on the right).

In Focus

completing tunnel excavation. It was done in three stages using CIFA gantry systems like kerb concrete, overt concrete and invert concrete.

Special tunnelling techniques were employed where very poor rock conditions were encountered or where the conventional excavation methods failed.

Coffer DamsCoffer dams are constructed for

drying up the river bed before beginning excavation operations. These dams consist of a central impervious clay-core that is followed by a filter zone rockfill and riprap. While the upstream coffer dam (15-m high for this project) prevents water from spilling over to the construction area, the downstream dam (5-m high) prevents the seepage of backwater. In order to increase the impermeability of the coffer dams constructed at Parbati, L&T made use of curtain grouting.

Cut-off WallA cut-off wall is a type of subsurface

vertical barrier constructed by backfilling a trench with a mixture of cement, bentonite, coarse aggregate, sand and water. The wall prevents the flow of underground water, which may affect the dam structure. At Parbati, L&T used trench cutter technology for constructing the cut-off wall – a first for the Company.

Rockfill DamRockfill dams are embankments of

compacted free-draining granular earth with impervious zones.

For this project, L&T constructed a rockfill dam at an elevation of 1302m above the mean sea level. This is the second such dam in India after Dhauli-Ganga in Uttranchal that has a plastic concrete cut-off wall.

The dam construction also included structures such as diversion-cum-spillway tunnels including gates and hoists, and two intake structures that were provided with gigantic grates to filter out large stones, debris and silt.

Desilting ChambersDue to the high velocity of the

Himalayan Rivers, the water usually carries rocks and silt. If silt is allowed to enter the turbine, the turbine blades are likely to get scoured, resulting in costly maintenance. Desilting chambers are imposing underground structures that remove debris and silt from water before it enters HRT.

At Parbati, two Dufour type 250-m long desilting chambers with 12.2m width and 22.5m depth were constructed downstream of intake tunnels. This was L&T’s first experience of constructing desilting chambers in the challenging Himalayan terrain.

Focus on Safety, Quality & TimelinessInstrumentation is an extremely important part of any construction activity and even more so for tunnelling. Careful and regular monitoring can go a long way in preventing loss of life and equipment. Instruments should be examined carefully and in case of abnormal readings, remedial measures like installation of additional supports should be undertaken immediately.

To monitor the effects of installed support and tunnel movement, specialised geotechnical instruments were installed at the project site. These were – Tape Extensometer: to measure convergence or divergence of the tunnel; Borehole Extensometer: to measure rock deformation in the boreholes; Load Cell: to measure load on the installed rock bolt/ anchor; and Survey Target Point: to measure movement in rock and installed supports.

All site activities were co-ordinated and monitored to ensure quality, safety and eco-friendliness in activities. Selection of proper tunnelling equipment helped in the timely completion of the project, all the while maintaining the desired safety and quality standards. Advanced technology such as pipe

roofing and pregrouting was employed to cope with unforeseen and adverse geological conditions.

Underground tunnel work required skilled manpower with extensive past experience to execute the jobs safely and efficiently. The problems of working in remote areas and under unfriendly weather conditions were recognised by L&T and workmen were selected and trained accordingly.



One of the two diversion tunnels located just after the desilting chambers.

A view of the Head Race Tunnel.

Prism

Recently L&T set up two consorti-ums with global defence majors – Samsung-Techwin of South Korea

and Nexter Systems (NS) of France – to help the Indian Army in its Artillery Gun Programme. The backdrop of both col-laborations was Defexpo, 2012 – the ex-position of defence equipment & systems in New Delhi

L&T & Samsung-TechwinL&T and Samsung-Techwin announced co-operation for the Indian Army’s Tracked Self Propelled Artillery Programme. A proposal to develop the 155mm/ 52 caliber tracked, self-propelled artillery, with L&T as the lead partner, had been submitted last year to the Ministry of Defence.

The agreement reflects the success of both companies in their respective areas of proficiency. L&T has had a series of successes as an innovator and systems integrator for key systems & technologies, and has indigenously developed and supplied complete systems for the Indian defence and aerospace sectors. Samsung Techwin is the OEM for the Korean “K9 Thunder” Self Propelled Howitzer, which is the largest and most successful of the155mm / 52 Calibre Self Propelled Artillery Systems in the world today.

L&T, as the lead partner, will indigenously produce the self-propelled Howitzer, thereby contributing to self-reliance in the defence sector. As part of the co-operation agreement between the two companies, STW will provide key technologies to L&T for localisation of the K9 Thunder. During the production phase of the Indian tracked artillery programme, the joint offering would have over 50% indigenous content. L&T also plans to set up the integration and testing facility for roll out of these guns from its world-class,

dedicated defence equipment facility in Talegaon, near Pune.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. M.V. Kotwal (Member of the Board & President – L&T Heavy Engineering) said, “L&T and Samsung-Techwin have joined together to offer a state-of-the-art Self Propelled Tracked Howitzer system meeting the aspirations of the Indian Army for this strategically important programme. This cooperation would lead to new avenues in Indian and global defence markets for both the partners working together.”

L&T & Nexter SystemsThe Company also signed consortium agreements with Nexter Systems of France (NS) to collaborate for key Artillery Gun programmes of the Indian Army. These include the 155mm/ 52 Cal Towed Gun System (TGS) and Mounted Gun System (MGS) programme, with NS as lead partner and a 130mm/39 Cal M-46 up-gunning programme, with L&T as the lead partner.

According to the agreements signed,

NS will transfer the production of sub-assemblies of TRAJAN® (TGS) and CAESAR® (MGS) and the final integration of both systems to L&T in India. The engineering customisation of the systems to fulfil specific Indian requirements will be accomplished together by L&T and Nexter.

During his visit to Defexpo 2012 (New Delhi) Mr. Philippe Burtin, Chairman and CEO of Nexter Systems said, “I am convinced that the depth of our mutual commitment will result in a strong overall value proposition to the Indian MoD. Our teams have been working closely for more than two years and I am delighted with the results they have achieved together on the TRAJAN® system for the TGS programme.”

Mr. M.V. Kotwal echoed the sentiment and added, “The collaboration offers not only commonality of ordnance but also reduces the logistics foot print significantly.”

L&T Collaborates with Global Defence Majors for Artillery Gun Programme


Mr. M.V. Kotwal with Mr. Hyunkwang Cho, EVP, Samsung Defence Programme Division, during the unveiling of self-propelled tracked Howitzer system, at the Defexpo12 exhibition.

Prism

TOTAL, a French multinational oil company and among the biggest oil majors of the world, is on a

learning spree. And among the compa-nies that this global player has chosen to learn from, is L&T.

As part of TOTAL’s learning expedition for this year – where they will cover about 20 companies and institutions spread over India and Dubai – a conference was organised in Mumbai on March 1, 2012. L&T is the only Infrastructure/Projects company selected by TOTAL.

Mr. K. Venkataramanan (KV) (CEO & MD, L&T) interacted with TOTAL delegates along with others from L&T’s senior management – Mr. U. Dasgupta, Sr. VP – Upstream, Mr. K. Ravindranath, EVP – Mid & Downstream and Mr. Y.S. Trivedi, EVP – Heavy Engineering, Hazira who gave a comprehensive overview of L&T’s offerings and capabilities in the said business groups, with emphasis on prestigious orders won and executed in each.

KV set the context for the learning session, giving an overview of L&T and what makes it a very special company, especially in the national context.

The delegates expressed lot of interest in L&T’s capability spectrum and expansion plans, especially in growing oil markets like Brazil. There were queries and discussions, during individual sessions as well as during the Q&A session at the end of the learning expedition.

Mr. Jean-Pierre Loizeau, Director, TOTAL University, confessed to being immensely impressed by L&T’s scale and depth of activities and on behalf of his team expressed hope for a mutually beneficial relationship between L&T and TOTAL.

L&T wows French Oil Major with its Capability Spectrum


Mr. K. Venkataramanan and other seniors from L&T Hydrocarbon answer queries.

TOTAL delegates with senior L&T-ites.

On December 6, 2012, Rosatom – Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation – organised a confer-

ence in Moscow on ‘Transparencies and Responsibilities’ that should be a part of public reporting by nuclear companies. There were 45 participants that included members from the Industry – both Rus-sian and International – consultants, sustainability organisations, suppliers, analysts, experts and other stakeholders.

The conference focused on the following objectives – safety with transparency; benefits to all stake

holders; preservation of surrounding environment; and drawing a comparison with international standards.

Reports on sustainability-oriented business processes from L&T and Areva were appreciated by the forum. L&T’s presentation was especially well-received by the distinguished gathering.

Rosatom incorporates more than 250 enterprises and scientific institutions, including all civil nuclear companies of Russia, nuclear weapons complex’s facilities, research organisations and the world’s only nuclear-propelled fleet.

The organisation is taking an initiative to develop an international reporting protocol – that will be spelt out in stages – in accordance with international standards for increasing public confidence in the activities of nuclear companies and in enhancing acceptance of nuclear technologies. The protocol could be used for sustainability reporting by companies into the nuclear business. This may also give certain pre-qualifications to these companies for being vendors for Rosatom projects.

L&T Lauded at ROSATOM’s Nuclear Reporting Conference in Moscow

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Nabha Power Plant is in the process of constructing a 2x700MW Super Critical Thermal Power

Plant at Rajpura, near Chandigarh. To meet all the technical manpower

requirements, freshly-certified power plant engineers from various NPTIs (National Power Training Institute) were recruited in addition to laterals, however, even this alone could not meet all the requirements and so, Power Development (PDL) devised an alternative plan.

GETs and JETs were hand-picked and trained to qualify in accordance with the Indian Electricity Act. This Act is a mandatory requirement for engineers working in power plant operations and maintenance. PDL tied up with NPTI, Nagpur and jointly designed a comprehensive, customised 32-week training that included theory, plant visits, simulation training and on-job training.

Before this, all trainees went through one month of Prayag, a well-known orientation programme conducted by

corporate HR for GETs/JETs, which was followed by a few weeks of training at the power plant site. This helped integrate the trainees into the L&T family and also

gave them the exposure that was required before formal training began.

Training Initiatives at Nabha Power Plant

Fresh NPL Batch of power project trainees on the inaugural day (January 16, 2012), at NPTI Nagpur. Seen in the photograph are Ms. Sujatha Patel (VP – HR), 3rd from left, and Mr. Chobey (Principal Directo – NPTI, Nagpur), 4th from left, along with other officials from NPTI and L&T.


Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI), Japan signed a tech-nological collaboration agree-

ment with L&T Shipbuilding Limited (LTSB) to provide a broad range of tech-nological support for the construction of specialised commercial vessels, including ‘eco-friendly’ ships.

The agreement was signed by Mr. Hisashi Hara (Executive Vice President & Representative Director, Shipbuilding & Ocean Development, MHI) and Mr. Anil Thapliyal (Chief Executive, LTSB) in the presence of Mr. A.M. Naik (Chairman & Managing Director, L&T), Mr. M.V. Kotwal (Member of the L&T Board and President

– L&T Heavy Engineering), Mr. K. Sunaga (Acting General Manager, Shipbuilding & Ocean Development, MHI) and other dignitaries.

Under the agreement, MHI will provide licensing and technology support, including training of LTSB engineers in ship construction and quality control. Support activities include consultation in relation to potential expansion of L&T’s shipbuilding facilities in the future and to overseas procurement of shipbuilding materials, as well as support for LTSB’s marketing efforts.

MHI will train LTSB engineers at its Nagasaki Shipyard and Machinery

Works and the Shimonoseki Shipyard and Machinery Works in Yamaguchi prefecture. It will depute experts in design, ship construction and quality control from its shipyards to India to impart training.

With this agreement, LTSB and MHI plan to step up aggressive development of new business opportunities related to shipping in emerging economies.

MHI will initially provide support for three years, with an option to extend the arrangement beyond that time frame.

MHI and L&T have been partners since 2007, with two joint ventures established at Hazira in the power generation equipment sector.

MHI Signs Technology Agreement with L&T Shipbuilding

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Mr. Hisashi Hara (right) and Mr. Anil Thapliyal sign the agreement in the presence of Mr. A.M. Naik.

This order is significant and with its own contextual complexities. Some of these are:

• Strategic importance for both stakeholders, considering the growth potential in the natural gas market in the GCC region.

• HMD had bagged this project against stiff competition from no less than 17 reputed international EPC bidders.

• In the engineering and procurement phase of the project, key representatives from the client (PDO) would operate out of the EPC contractor’s (HMD) project management office at Vadodara, India.

• The engineering for this project, comprising on-plot area, off-plot area and part engineering for the OHT lines, is to be done by three different engineering groups of L&T – L&T Chiyoda, L&T Gulf and L&T Electromechanical respectively, each

being at a different location.• Finally, the project has a stringent

completion schedule of 22 months for mechanical completion, followed by two months for commissioning.By January 2012, having completed

four months since project commencement, the LGFD project stakeholders had some reason to rejoice in the progress made. However, it was equally obvious that there was a long way to go, considering the stringent timelines involved and the intergroup complexities – both that of cultural diversity and location dispersion – which necessitated a high degree of cohesiveness to be attained in terms of teamworking. Also required was the need to leverage each other’s strengths, optimise the limited resources and help each other in overcoming the hindrances in order to ensure high quality deliverables. An understanding of the Omani and the Indian cultures and an

appropriate integration of the two was imperative for seamless project execution.

Keeping the above context in mind, a teambuilding workshop for the LGFD project was conceptualised, designed and delivered as an in-house initiative by the Learning & Development team of HMD – HR, Vadodara. Over the past few years, teambuilding workshops have been conducted at HMD for projects in different domains, including those in overseas locations. This was however the first project to involve the presence of international client representatives on Indian soil, apart from the context outlined earlier. It was therefore necessary to evolve a new design for this workshop.

The workshop was organised on January 21-22, in the beautiful and historically important city of Udaipur. The location of Hotel Hilltop Palace, where the team was put up, was both scenic and spectacular.

In September 2011, L&T Hydrocarbon – Mid & Downstream (HMD) group bagged a `700 crore order from the Petroleum Development Oman LLC (PDO) for setting up a greenfield project that would treat 3 MMSCMD of gas on an average, in the Lekhwair gas plant at Oman. This project has been named the Lekhwair Gas Field Development (LGFD) project.

Teambuilding Workshop for LGFD Project

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A team-building game in progress.

The participant list comprised all key stakeholder representatives associated with the LGFD project – from PDO and L&T’s Project Management and the three engineering teams – 30 participants overall. The six hour bus ride from Vadodara to Udaipur provided ample scope for germination of the seeds of participant bonding, more so in case of those spread across locations and therefore having had little, if any, prior acquaintance.

The workshop formally commenced with lamp lighting and a recorded message from Mr. K. Ravindranath (Executive Vice President, HMD), highlighting the challenges and uniqueness of the project as well as his expectations from the participants. The context setting for the workshop was done by Mr. Nasser Al-Alawi (Project Manager, PDO) and Mr. V.K. Sharma (Project Manager, HMD) along with messages from Mr. P.S. Mallik (Head - HR, HMD) and Mr. S.D. Navare (Project Sponsor, HMD International).

Keeping in view the need for

sensitisation towards cross-cultural integration, there was a session by Ms. Piya Mukherjee (Expert in Indian and GCC cultures who has also been associated with the Hydrocarbon Internationalisation Review). The objective of her session was to help participants understand cultural intricacies of both India and Oman as also areas where cultural aspects are similar and those areas that pose challenges and needed to be consciously worked on from both sides. She enriched the session with engaging examples and anecdotes.

There were specifically designed outdoor activities for participants to work in a fun-filled experiential environment. The debriefing sessions, after each activity, enabled dissemination of learning through sharing of experiences. There were project-specific table discussions, which enabled the client, engineering and project management representatives to voice their concerns and expectations from each other, and derive some specific commitments for the subsequent project stages.

The workshop came to an end as the national anthems of the two countries were played and mementoes were distributed to the participants.

As mentioned earlier, the workshop design – owing to the presence of two cultures among the participants and the workshop being conducted on Indian soil – needed to be different from earlier workshops. Therefore, it was decided not to limit cultural exposures to the classroom alone. Included as an integral part of the workshop design were tours to places of historical importance in Udaipur and a folk dance during the evening get-together.

The above medley of classroom, outdoor and cultural activities contributed immensely in bringing the team representatives close to each other and binding them into a high performing team, which is expected to set a new benchmark of execution excellence in the LGFD project.


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A united LFGD Project team.

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L&T Stars in Excon 2011

Mr. U.K. Upadhaya (CMD, EMTA Group of Companies) (7th from left) seen with Mr. J.P. Nayak, (Advisor to Chairman, L&T). Also seen are Mr. S. Raghavan (Sr. VP & Business Head, MIPD, L&T), Mr. S.K. Mittra (EVP & Head, Construction Machinery, L&T), Mr. Arvind K. Garg (VP –Construction & Mining Equipment Business, L&T), Mr. K. Yamada (MD – Komatsu India Pvt. Ltd.) and other senior executives of L&T, Komatsu and EMTA at L&T’s Stall in Excon 2011.

Excon 2011, one of the leading exhibitions for the construction machinery industry in India, was held at BIEC Grounds, in Bangalore from November 23 to 27, 2011. L&T, in conformance to its leadership position in the industry, put up a large and imposing pavilion to showcase its cutting-edge technology in the construction equipment segment and its after-sales support.

L&T Construction & Mining Machinery joined its principals – Komatsu-Japan and Scania-Sweden – to display a selection from its range of construction machines. Spread over an outdoor area of 2375 sq. m., the L&T stall had a live display of 18 machines. There was an impressive line-up from L&T-Komatsu Limited – like the PC71, PC130-7, PC200-6, PC210LC-8, PC300LC-7, PC300LC-7 Mighty & PC450LC-7, and also several of Komatsu’s imported machines viz. D39, D85, D155 Dozers, GD555 Motor Grader, and WA600 Wheel Loader. L&T 9020, the Wheel Loader indigenously developed by L&T’s Product Development Centre at Coimbatore and manufactured at L&T’s Kansbahal Works was also on display. Scania P380 Tipper Truck with Opticruise feature, manufactured by Scania, Sweden, also found a place of pride in the display.



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Mr. J.P. Nayak, Advisor to Chairman, L&T along with Mr. S. Raghavan, Sr. Vice-President & Business Head, Machinery & Industrial Products, L&T, Mr. S.K. Mittra, Executive Vice-President, L&T Construction & Mining Machinery, Mr. Arvind K. Garg, Vice-President – CMB, L&T and Mr. Arun Pai, General Manager-Product Support, L&T received the visitors at the stall and participated in the key handing over ceremonies.

The specially-done pedestal showcasing the L&T-Komatsu PC210LC-8, the latest product from L&T-Komatsu, was of prime attraction. Given its unique feature - the

Komtrax machine monitoring system - the PC210-8 generated considerable interest among potential buyers and visitors to the pavilion – who were also impressed by the special screening of films on Komtrax at L&T pavilion’s theatre.

Parts Display occupied a large area in the pavilion, where various consumables and spares were showcased. A Reman Engine, a unique product-support feature offered as part of L&T’s value-added services, was also on display.

L&T’s Kansbahal Works was represented with a selection of panels and scaled down models of the offerings to the construction

industry, with products like crushers, road millers and surface miners. L&T Construction & Mining Machinery’s Used-Equipment Business was also launched during the exhibition.

Excon 2011 was conceived and organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry in association with the Indian Earthmoving and Construction Industry Association Limited. The show was inaugurated by Mr. C.P. Joshi, Minister for Transport and Highways, Government of India.

A view of the L&T Stall at Excon 2011.

The Control & Automation (C&A) business unit of L&T Electrical & Automation has been awarded

the Ramkrishna Bajaj National Quality (RBNQ) Award 2011 by the Indian Merchants’ Chamber (IMC). C&A bagged the award for business excellence in service organisations’ category.

The award – a performance excellence trophy and certificate - was presented by the Chief Guest, Mr. Shashi Tharoor (Member of Parliament & former Minister of State for External Affairs) to the jubilant C&A team during the awards function held on April 6, 2012 in Mumbai.

Presented under six categories, the IMC RBNQ award criteria focuses on visionary leadership, openness and transparency in governance and ethics, value creation for customers, business results, rapid innovation and capitalisation of knowledge asset.

Over the years, the IMC RBNQA has evolved as a symbol of excellence.

RBNQA’s process of training and rigorous evaluation has been modelled on the basis of the internationally renowned Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award presented annually by the President

of the United States to organisations that demonstrate quality and performance excellence.

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Mr. Shashi Tharoor, Mr. Niraj Bajaj, Chairman, IMC RBNQA Trust, and Mr. Niranjan Hiranandani, Vice President of IMC, flanked by the C&A team led by Mr. J.P. Singh, Executive Vice President, and Mr. Vijay K. Arora, General Manager, C&A, at the award presentation ceremony.

C&A Bags Quality Award

L&T Construction has commis-sioned India’s largest solar

photo voltaic based power plant (40 MWp) owned by Reliance Power Limited at Dhursar Village, Jaisalmer district of Ra-jasthan. As the largest EPC player in solar power, L&T Construction executed the solar power plant from concept (includ-ing detailed design) to commissioning in 129 days. With the commissioning of this plant, L&T Construction has installed 114MW of utility scale solar PV power plants over the last fiscal – a benchmark in India’s solar EPC industry.

The solar PV power plant, equipped to supply more than 75 million units

of clean and green energy to 75,000 households, was commissioned in the presence of Mr. Farooq Abdullah, Minister for New & Renewable Energy, Mr. Ashok Gehlot, Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Mr. Jitendra Singh, Energy Minister, Mr. Anil Dhirubhai Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Power and senior officials from L&T. The clean energy generated by the plant is expected to displace nearly 70,000 MT of CO2 annually.

The plant comprises more than 5 lakh high output generating thin film technology based solar PV modules and thirteen 3.5 MVA power transformers to generate 40MWp, and is spread across

50 acres. L&T’s scope included complete design, engineering, procurement and construction of 40MWp solar power plant, including the construction of a 5km 33kV double circuit transmission line.

L&T’s EPC expertise led to the benchmarks in scale and pace of execution. It took installation of 13,000 modules per day and laying of more than 1400km of cable. Adopting mechanised construction including sophisticated ramming machines, L&T’s engineers and workforce achieved 7,37,409 safe man-hours during the execution of the project.

L&T Commissions India’s Largest Solar PV Power Plant


L&T Heavy Engineering has won the prestigious National

Award for Export Excellence, presented by the Engineering Export Promotion Council of India (EEPC).

Heavy Engineering was rated star performer in the Large Enterprise category for its export performance in 2010-11. This is the fourth time that L&T has received this award.

Mr. Y.S. Trivedi, Executive Vice President (Heavy Engineering), received the award from Mr. Milan Hovorka, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Industry & Trade of the Czech Republic, at a function in Mumbai on March 23, 2012.

Heavy Engineering has been registering significant export performance since the mid-90s, and has supplied critical equipment to more than thirty countries across the globe.

EEPC was founded in 1955 by the Ministry of Commerce. Headquartered in Kolkata, it is the largest export promotion

council in the country with over 12,000 members.

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Mr. Y.S. Trivedi (right) receiving the EEPC award from Mr. Milan Hovorka in Mumbai on March 23, 2012, watched by Mr. Aman Chadha, Chairman, EEPC (middle).

L&T Heavy Engineering Wins National Award for Export Excellence


L&T was ranked 10th in a prestigious list of the ‘Best

Companies to Work For’, published by Business Today. The listing is based on a survey carried out by the research firm Indicus Analytics.

The exhaustive nationwide survey covered 6176 employees, across 4436 companies, spread across 323 cities and towns. Around 12 per cent of the employees surveyed were women.

Business Today said that data collected from the survey showed that the key factor to employee engagement lay in providing growth opportunities, varied roles and empowerment.

Focusing on L&T ’s specif ic achievements in this space, the magazine features a brief interview with a young L&T employee with multi-disciplinary experience in design, on the shop floor and in business development over a span

of four-and-a-half years. It quotes her as saying that this kind of varied experience would not have been possible in any other company.

The survey also revealed that among the criteria valued highly by respondents in evaluating an organisation was the ‘culture of the place’. L&T prides itself on its professional work culture and continuously strives towards improving employee-engagement.

L&T Top Engineering Company in BT’s ‘Best Companies to Work For’

Mr. A.M. Naik, CMD, L&T, inaugurated the Company’s information desk, L&T

Infodesk, in Mumbai on April 30, 2012. L&T Infodesk is L&T’s another step forward in its effort to enhance responsiveness to all stakeholders – It will bring our entire range of products and services at one phone number.

Inaugurating the facility, Mr. Naik said: “The Infodesk will streamline and accelerate our response to our stakeholders. It will also help us to capture data about our prospective stakeholders, while improving our competitive edge.”

The go-live function was also attended by Mr. K. Venkataramanan, CEO & MD, Mr. S.N. Roy, Whole-time Director & Sr. Executive Vice President, and Mr. J.P. Nayak, Advisor to the Chairman.

L&T Infodesk will directly respond to simple queries or route the calls to the appropriate contact person of the business/ department or to an appropriate link on the L&T website, and capture call details in a repository for feedback to businesses/ departments.

A two-tier information network has

been put in place across all ICs and departments to ensure that questions that cannot be handled by the Infodesk agents will be routed to domain experts in each of the businesses. Call details will be stored in a repository for feedback to different lines of business.

L&T Infodesk has engaged the services of a global business process outsourcing

provider. Infodesk executives will address queries coming in through a toll free number – 1800 2094545 and the e-mail ID: [email protected]. The service will provide information on a broad spectrum including the Company’s products, services, shares, tenders, HR and employment opportunities.

Mr. A.M. Naik interacts with the call centre agents over the phone after the go live of L&T Infodesk in Mumbai on April 30, 2012.

The L&T Infodesk implementation team with the dignitaries at the go live function.

L&T Infodesk Goes LiveNew facility brings L&T closer to stakeholders

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The Institution of Chemical Engi-neers (IChemE), U.K., the world’s most reputed body in the chemical

engineering space, has conferred an ‘Hon-orary Fellow’ of the institution on Mr. K. Venkataramanan (KV) (CEO & MD, L&T). In an equally rare recognition, IChemE has also awarded ‘Silver Corporate Part-ner’ status to L&T Hydrocarbon. The honours were conferred by a delegation comprising the apex leadership team of IChemE at Powai on February 11, 2012.

L&T is the first company in India, and the only one headquartered outside the U.K. to acquire this special status.

While conferring honorary fellowship status, Sir William Wakeham (President – IChemE) and Dr. David Brown (Chief Executive) cited KV’s passionate and far-

reaching personal contribution to the cause of elevating professional standards in chemical engineering. Accepting the honour, KV also acknowledged the efforts of his dedicated team comprising Mr. K.

Ravindranath, Mr. S. Krishnan, Dr. Barun Chakrabarti, Dr. Pramod Solanki, Mr. Prashant Joshi and others.

KV receives the Silver Corporate Partner Award from Dr. David Brown.

Twin Tributes for L&T Hydrocarbon from IChemE, U.K.

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L&T Construction & Mining Machinery crossed an im-

portant milestone with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with M/s. Sadbhav Engineering Limited (SEL) for the supply of 100 Sca-nia P380 Trucks. Following the MoU, L&T collected the order for supply of 35 Scania P380 Trucks, 4 L&T-Komatsu PC450 Hydraulic Excavators and 3 Ko-matsu D85 Dozers. All equipment sup-plies have to be completed before March 31, 2013.

The MoU was signed jointly by Mr. Partha Mookherjee (Head-Construction & Mining Tipper Business, L&T) and Mr. Rahul Mehta (Zonal Manager, CEB-W1, L&T) with Mr. Chetan Patel (Executive Director, SEL) in Ahmedabad. SEL will be deploying the machines at Gondudih

Opencast Project of the public sector undertaking – Bharat Coking Coal Limited – in Kusunda area for excavation of 368.24

lakh bank cu.m. overburden and 54.21 lakh MT coal.

MoU Inked with Sadbhav for 100 Tippers

Mr. Chetan Patel, Executive Director, SEL (far right first row), Mr. Jitendra Rana (far right second row), Mr. B. S. Rana (second right second row) and Mr. Padam Thakur (third from right second row), who are partners in progress with SEL, seen with other executives & Team L&T, during the signing of the MoU in Ahmedabad.

Mr. John Hover – a former director of L&T and one of those who shaped the course

and character of the company in its formative years – passed away at his home in Denmark on Saturday, March 24, 2012.

Mr. John Hover was associated with the Company since 1949 in various capacities. He joined the Company’s Board in 1964. Five years later he was elevated to Deputy Managing Director.

Mr. Hover was principally responsible for developing the Company’s nationwide marketing network. Another major accomplishment was the development of L&T’s capability to undertake major

complex engineering projects.As a Director of various Subsidiary

and Associate Companies including ECC (now L&T Construction), he contributed substantially to the development and growth of these companies. The company’s high reputation in the fields of nuclear, petrochemical and fertiliser projects is largely due to Mr. Hover’s efforts. Mr. Hover retired in 1974, but continued to take a keen interest in the company and kept himself abreast with the latest developments through electronic news bulletins.

L&T-ites worldwide offer their heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family.

KV inaugurates Hydrocarbon Upstream office in Abu Dhabi

Sad Demise of Former Director - Mr. John Hover

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Mr. K. Venktararamanan (CEO & MD – L&T) cuts the ribbon to inaugurate the new IOGP-MENA Office in Abu Dhabi.


Stepping up its competency-aug-menting initiatives, L&T Hydro-carbon recently entered into two

MoUs with the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES) Dehradun, at the Company’s Powai Campus.

On March 28, 2012 Mr. Yogi Sriram (Sr. VP – Leadership Planning and Talent Acquisition & Head – HR Hydrocarbon) and Dr. Parag Diwan (VC – UPES) signed and exchanged the MoUs. Mr. Sriram had earlier briefed the gathering about the advantages of L&T’s association with UPES Later, Dr. Diwan and Mr. Vijay Pahwa (also of UPES) made presentations.

The umbrella MoU covered faculty sup-port, guidance and training on live projects, joint research, industrial tours and campus recruitment. Additionally, a specific MoU on awarding annual scholarships, based on scholastic excellence, to two M. Tech Safety Course students was also signed. Safety is an area of great strategic impor-tance in the future of the Hydrocarbon business. This scholarship and MoU follows

the one signed earlier in November 2011 on a niche and highly specialised domain area – Pipeline Engineering.

UPES is one of the country’s premier institutes for petroleum and energy stud-ies. These MoUs epitomize the spirit of

industry-academia interaction and will cement a strategic partnership.

Officials and representatives from both the organisations graced the occa-sion and interacted on potential areas of collaboration.

On January 11, 2012 ‘Project OASIS’ went live as Mr. U Dasgupta (Sr. Vice President,

Hydrocarbon Upstream) executed the first material receipt with the click of a mouse. With this, MFY also went live on SAP ERP ECC 6.0. The event was graced by Mr. Peerapong Chailapo (VP – Wellhead Platform & Project Manager – Zawtika Development Project, PTTEPI) as the Chief Guest, and Ms. Tijen A. Baydar, DuPont Consultant from Turkey.

L&T Inks Strategic MoUs with UPES, Dehradun

Project OASIS: SAP Implementation at MFY-Sohar

Mr. Yogi Sriram and Dr. Parag Diwan exchanging the MoUs documents in Powai on March 28, 2012.


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Printed at Studio Bahar, 23-A, Central Chowpatty Building, Chowpatty, Mumbai 400007. Edited by D. Morada for Larsen & Toubro Limited, Corporate Communications Dept., L&T House, Ballard Estate, Mumbai 400 001. The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the Management of Larsen & Toubro Limited. The contents of this magazine should not be reproduced without the permission of the Editor. Not for sale - only for circulation among the employees of L&T Group of companies.

ABCI

Member

Mr. P. Balasubramanian (Project Manager) and Mr. S. Murugan (Project HSE Manager) of L&T Electromech LLC receiving the ‘International Safety Award with Merit’ from Mrs. Lynda Armstrong OBE (Chair of Trustees of British Safety Council) during the award presentation ceremony at London.

H.E. Mohammed A. Sahoo Al Suwaidi, Chief Executive Officer, Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Ltd (GASCO), Abu Dhabi (UAE) and Mr. K. Venkataramanan (CEO & MD – L&T) seen exchanging documents after signing a contract at GASCO’s Office in Abu Dhabi for USD 189 Million Habshan-Ruwais-Shuweihat Gas Pipeline (EPC) Project.

L&T signs contract with GASCO at Abu Dhabi

International Safety Award for L&T Electromech

Mr. Ian Walker (RoSPA Trustee) handing over the RoSPA Silver Award to Mr. P. L. N. Murthy (Project Manager – GSVC Pipeline Project, Qatar Petroleum) at a glittering ceremony held at Hotel Hilton Birmingham Metropole, London.

Mr. U. Dasgupta (Sr. VP – L&T & Director – L&T Sapura Shipping Pvt. Ltd (LTSSPL) and L&T Sapura Offshore Pvt. Ltd (LTSOPL)) launched Project ‘HORIZON’ - SAP implementation for both LTSSPL and LTSOPL on October 21, 2011 at the R&D Auditorium in L&T’s Powai Campus, Mumbai.

RoSPA Silver Award

Project Horizon Launched

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