By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : A major US provider of complete lifecycle services to the commercial nuclear industry, Shaw Group Inc, plans to join the largest-ever US nuclear trade mission to India eyeing a projected $150 billion business.
Rescheduled for January following the Mumbai terror attacks, the mission blessed by the US Department of Commerce will visit major hubs of the Indian nuclear industry, including New Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai.
The Shaw Group Thursday announced that the nuclear division of its Power Group will join the mission under the banner of US-India Business Council (USIBC) and the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), with representation from more than 30 of the world’s leading commercial nuclear companies.
“As a major provider of complete lifecycle services to the commercial nuclear industry, Shaw is well-positioned to participate in the projected $150 billion of business that USIBC envisions between US and Indian companies over the next 30 years as a result of the nuclear trade agreement,” a statement issued by the company said.
Shaw and the other participants in the trade mission will work toward the creation of a strategic partnership between the two countries, allowing for the mutually beneficial sharing of civilian nuclear technology and substantial nuclear trade opportunities, the group said.
“Shaw is pleased to be on the forefront of this groundbreaking expansion of India’s nuclear power sector,” said Dave Barry, president of the nuclear division of Shaw’s Power Group.
“Shaw has partnered with Indian companies in the past using our proprietary ethylene technology and we look forward to exploring opportunities to provide design and construction assistance to India’s commercial nuclear programme,” Barry added.
India’s rapidly growing economy and escalating electricity needs position the country to expand its nuclear power sector. India’s population is currently more than one billion people and it is projected to overtake China as the country with the world’s largest population over the next 20 years, the statement noted.
Shaw Group Inc. is a leading global provider of technology, engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance, fabrication, manufacturing, consulting, remediation and facilities management services for government and private sector clients in the energy, chemicals, environmental, infrastructure and emergency response markets.
A Fortune 500 company with fiscal year 2008 annual revenues of $7 billion, Shaw Group employs about 26,000 people at its offices and operations in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region.
Shaw Group is the power sector industry leader according to Engineering News-Record’s list of Top 500 Design Firms.
Formed in 1975 under the aegis of the US Chamber of Commerce, USIBC represents 300 of the largest US companies investing in India, joined by global Indian companies.
The NEI is the policy organisation of the nuclear energy and technologies industry that seeks to ensure the formation of policies promoting the beneficial uses of nuclear energy and technologies in the US and around the world.