IVRCL sells its desalination plant in Chennai to Dubai company

HYDERABAD: Ailing infrastructure firm IVRCL has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with the Dubai-based Utico FZC to sell its Chennai desalination plant.

The deal will allow the company, which suffered its tenth successive quarterly loss in the three months to September and is now under corporate debt restructuring, to retire a debt of Rs 300 crore and get back equity of Rs 150 crore. While IVRCL owns 75% in Chennai Water Desalination, India’s first desalination project, the rest is held by Spain’s Befesa Aqua through a JV that was formed in 2005.

IVRCL has been looking to sell its BOT and BOOT projects, besides hoping to retire about Rs 2,400 crore of debt and get back equity of Rs 1,000 crore.