Rajesh Power Services has won Rs 1,628.74 crore of work from Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company (DGVCL) to take overhead power lines underground. For anyone who owns or hires out trenching plant, that is two years of digging, pipe-pushing and road reinstatement inside south Gujarat’s towns, and most of it is small-machine work.
The work at a glance
- Contractor and client: Rajesh Power Services Ltd; Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Ltd, the state-owned distribution company for south Gujarat.
- Value: Rs 1,628.74 crore including taxes, on turnkey terms.
- Scope: converting existing 11/22 kV HT and LT overhead networks to underground cable, with SCADA-compatible equipment, under DGVCL’s system improvement (SI) scheme.
- Term: 24 months. The towns and route lengths were not disclosed.
What Rajesh Power disclosed
The order was reported from the company’s Regulation 30 filing on the morning of 4 November. Business Upturn carried the filing’s terms, including the tax-inclusive value, the 24-month period and the statement that the contracts are not related-party deals. The Free Press Journal reported the same value and scope and added that the company expects its order book to rise by about 35 per cent, from roughly Rs 4,000 crore to around Rs 5,400 crore. The same desk notes an earlier Rs 471.92 crore order from Madhya Gujarat Vij Company (MGVCL), so this is not its first Gujarat discom order this autumn.
Which machines this work needs
Most of the money will go on cable, ring main units, joints and SCADA hardware rather than civil work. The company has not split the value, but on underground conversion jobs the trench and reinstatement share is usually a minority. That still adds up to a long list of street-level machines.
Open-cut trenching along town roads is backhoe loader work, the JCB 3DX class that can dig, backfill and load spoil from one machine. Narrow lanes and congested market streets push the job down to mini excavators in the 2 to 8 tonne range. Road, drain and rail crossings go to horizontal directional drilling rigs, priced by the metre (see HDD rates). Every trench has to be closed and resurfaced, so plate compactors and small tandem compactors run behind the diggers, with tractor-trolleys or small tippers moving spoil. Pick-and-carry cranes handle cable drums and switchgear.
The work is spread across many short sites, not one long corridor. That points to hiring rather than buying for most sub-contractors. The exception is a crew that can keep two or three backhoes busy across Rajesh Power’s stacked Gujarat orders for the full two years, where ownership starts to make sense. South Gujarat’s heavy monsoon will slow trenching from June to September 2027, so expect the busiest digging windows to be this winter and the dry months after the rains.
The order book figure is worth a second look. Rs 4,000 crore plus Rs 1,628.74 crore is about Rs 5,630 crore, not Rs 5,400 crore. The gap fits a book counted before tax, though the company has not said so.
What follows next
- Sub-contract awards for civil trenching and HDD crossings in DGVCL circles, likely before the 2027 monsoon.
- Whether DGVCL names the towns covered. That will show how much is dense city work and how much is rural feeder conversion.
- More SI-scheme underground orders from Gujarat’s other discoms, which would keep the same small-machine fleet busy.
FAQ
What is the Rajesh Power DGVCL order worth?
Rs 1,628.74 crore including taxes, with a 24-month execution period, according to the company’s exchange filing.
What machines does underground cable conversion use?
Mainly backhoe loaders and mini excavators for trenching, HDD rigs for crossings, plate compactors and small rollers for reinstatement, and small cranes for drums and switchgear. The cable and OFC laying machine guide covers the full set.
Where in Gujarat will the work happen?
Within DGVCL’s south Gujarat area. The filing as reported says “various locations” and does not name towns.
Bidding for trenching or HDD sub-work? Compare backhoe loaders and mini excavators side by side, then check finance options before you commit to a two-year job.
Related on DesiMachines: SPML Infra’s POWERGRID substation order in Rajasthan
Source: Business Upturn
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