Indian equipment rental company Quipo plans to invest more than U.S. $35 million in the acquisition of three oil and gas rigs in the current financial year, chairman and managing director Sunil Kanoria said last week.Kanoria added that the investments will be followed by others in 2005-2006 and is also looking at the growing telecom and IT sectors.

“The telecom sector in Delhi itself will require as many as 10,000 cellular towers in the next 10 years,” Kanoria said. “We, as an equipment rental company, are eyeing this spot.”

Quipo acquired its first oil-drilling rig earlier this year and has successfully rented it to Caim Energy India. Kanoria said the company expects rig rental revenues to top $45 million over the next couple of years.

Kanoria said he plans for Quipo to become the first integrated drilling equipment, services and solutions provider in India. Quipo has formed a strategic alliance with the SKM Group, a company with more than three decades of experience in the oil and gas sector.

Quipo, based in the southern India city of Hyderabad, has six equipment rental branches in India.