HEC considering manufacturing rail coaches

JAMSHEDPUR: Heavy Engineering Corporation Ltd is contemplating entering rail coach manufacturing segment soon, its chairman-cum-managing director G K Pillai said today.

HEC is considering manufacturing both passenger and freight coaches, Pillai, who is also the chairman of CII, Jharkhand, said adding he had discussions with Italy's leading coach manufacturing company Keller in this regard at Ranchi yesterday.

The first round of discussions with Keller was satisfactory and another meeting was expected to be held soon to finalise the matter, he said.

Referring to HEC's performance, he said it had improved in the past four years. ''We have been registering profit during the period.''

Asked about the role of CII in Jharkhand, Pillai said Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda had sought its cooperation to put the state back on the country's industrial map.

Munda had focussed on sectors like road and electricity for fuelling industrial growth, he said adding the chief there were also plans to set up a 660x3 MW power plant for which 34 players had participated in Expression of Interest.

However, land was the major constraint for industrial growth in Jharkhand as in other parts of the country. Landowners demanded employment in lieu of their land but they lacked skill, he said.

A study had been carried out in regard with the skill gap in Jharkhand, he said and suggested the government to take steps to address it.