ABB bags contract worth $900 million from Power grid

ABB has bagged a contract worth $900 million from Power Grid Corporation of India to build an electricity highway of more than 1,700 kilometers long in India, reflecting the unabated demand for power in emerging markets that has been a boon to the Swiss electrical-engineering giant during the economic crisis.
Besides ABB, Indian government-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) will also participate in the project, which uses ABB’s cutting-edge, long-distance power technology that may have been the key trigger in ABB's success to outbid rivals.
This will be world’s first 800 kV, 6,000 MW Ultra High Voltage Multi-terminal DC transmission link. The link comprises three converter terminals and a power transmission system with a built in capacity of up to 8,000 MW which is the largest HVDC transmission system ever built. In financial terms, this is the largest order finalized in T&D sector anywhere in the world and is valued at Rs 1,590 crore. The 800 kV North-East Agra UHVDC link will have a capacity to transmit up to 6,000 MW of clean hydroelectric power from the North-East Region of the country to Agra across a distance of 1,728 kilometers.
ABB reported a decline of 93.82% in net profit of Rs 6.77 crore for the quarter ended December 2010 compared to Rs 109.61 crore in the same quarter last year. Total income for the quarter increased 8.80% to Rs 2074.60 crore compared to Rs 1906.78 crore in the same quarter last year.