Powering the frontier. Godrej takes on Khavda’s harsh desert frontier to build big power projects

With temperatures touching 47°C, minimal on-ground infrastructure, and strict security protocols due to its proximity to the international border, the company has had to plan extensively to sustain a workforce of 800 people.

Executing infrastructure projects in India’s western frontier has never been easy, but in the windswept expanse of Khavda in Gujarat, the challenge rises to an entirely different level. Godrej Enterprises Group, which is executing a couple of critical power-transmission projects in the region through its energy solutions arm, is learning this firsthand.

Khavda, envisioned as a renewable energy hub, is emerging as the backbone of the country’s green-power ambitions. Yet the landscape that promises gigawatts of clean energy tests human endurance daily. “When we started work in Khavda, we understood doing a project in this area is not going to be easy,” says Raghavendra Mirji, Executive Vice-President and Business Head, Energy Solutions, Godrej Enterprises Group. “Retaining our teams to work outdoors in harsh climatic conditions—where temperatures go up to 47 degree Celsius —is a major challenge,” he added.

Border challenge

Compounding the extreme climate is Khavda’s location close to the international border. Every movement—whether of workers or heavy equipment—must pass through multiple layers of security. “It is a border area, and so deployment of workforce and equipment has to go through security checks,” Mirji explained. “For over a month, we planned how to establish the site in a way that gives comfort to the teams staying there.” Godrej, which has been executing two EPC projects in Gujarat over the last two years, has stationed a workforce of 800 people in the Khavda region, which falls within the Kutch district of the state.

This long planning phase resulted in an extensive site-infrastructure ecosystem. The company has built air-conditioned site offices, accommodation blocks, RO water-treatment facilities, cooking stations, and a dedicated transport fleet to ferry teams across the vast terrain. Workforce rotation schedules have also been instituted to prevent fatigue.

Cost pressures

Executing a large-scale project in a location with almost no existing support infrastructure comes at a significant premium. “It is expensive. Everything has to be managed from outside,” says Mirji. “Labour comes at an additional cost. The infrastructure we have to provide for accommodation is an additional cost, and transportation is an additional cost,” he added.

Key projects

To strengthen power evacuation from Khavda Renewable Energy Park, the company is constructing a 400 kV gas-insulated switchgear substation equipped with a 1.2 GW power system stabiliser. Alongside this, Godrej is expanding the state’s transmission capacity through a 765 KV GIS bay extension project that enhances connectivity between Khavda, Lakadia, Banaskantha and Ahmedabad. These two projects, designed for high reliability and efficient performance in Kutch’s demanding climatic conditions, will significantly boost Gujarat’s ability to integrate large-scale solar and wind power into the grid, the company stated. “Gujarat is one of our key contributors to our revenue...Today Gujarat is contributing 15-20 percent of our total revenues for the power infrastructure vertical,” said Mirji, adding that the company was implementing ₹700 crore worth of EPC projects in the state, of which ₹150 crore worth of projects have been completed. The energy solutions arm of Godrej Enterprises currently has revenue of ₹1,300 crore and is targeting ₹2,000 crore in the next 2-3 years.

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