India has a power generation capacity of 155,859 MW. Large power projects are important to enhance the country's power generation capacity and fuel the needs of an economy that is expected to expand more than 9 per cent a year by 2012.
The government is likely to invite proposals for two 4,000 MW power projects in Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.
The request for qualifications for Orissa’s Bedabahal and Andhra Pradesh’s Kotipalli projects will be issued later this month, said sources in Power Finance Corporation, the nodal agency that invites bids for the large power projects.
Recently, the government had invited qualifying bids for the Sarguja project in Chhattisgarh. Each of the projects has a capacity of 4,000 MW and requires an investment of between Rs 16,000 crore and Rs 20,000 crore.
While the Orissa government has acquired the land for the upcoming unit at Bedabahal in Sundergarh district, the ministry of coal has allocated the coal blocks. The Andhra Pradesh government has identified the site for the Kotipalli plant.
Large power projects enjoy single-window land, water and environment clearances. The projects are given to firms that qualify in the technical and financial rounds and quote the lowest tariff for the power to be generated from a project. Reliance Power has been the most successful in bagging such big projects. It has already been awarded the projects at Sasan (Madhya Pradesh), Krishnapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and Tilaiya (Jharkhand).
The Mundra project in Gujarat has been given to Tata Power, and the first 800 MW unit is expected to be commissioned during the current Five-Year Plan period (2007-12).
Reliance Power, however, may not be able to bid for the new projects as the empowered group of ministers has put a condition that a firm can develop only three large projects at a time.
According to the panel, a company can bid for a fourth one if it is able to complete at least one of the three projects. The cap has been imposed as it is difficult for a single company to get the required funds, and any delay can affect the government’s power generation plans. Analysts say it takes about 5-7 years for a company to complete a project. Unless there is a delay on the government’s part in inviting the bids, it seems unlikely that Reliance Power will be able to complete any one of its three projects and bid for a fourth one.
Large power projects are important to enhance the country’s power generation capacity and fuel the needs of an economy that is expected to expand more than 9 per cent a year by 2012. India has a power generation capacity of 155,859 MW. Union power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said the country would add only 61,000 MW in the five-year period ending March 2012, lower than the targeted 78,000 MW.
“We are likely to meet just over three-fourth of our electricity capacity addition target during the current plan. The target which was given to me initially was very big, but I accepted it,” Shinde said.
He said the country added 21,000 MW during the first three years of the current plan (2007-12). “We will add 40,000 MW over the next two years. We are now ready to add 100,000 MW during the next five-year plan (2012-17),” Shinde added.
The government has awarded four 4000 MW power projects to developers, but none of these are part of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2007-12).
The government is likely to invite proposals for two 4,000 MW power projects in Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.
The request for qualifications for Orissa’s Bedabahal and Andhra Pradesh’s Kotipalli projects will be issued later this month, said sources in Power Finance Corporation, the nodal agency that invites bids for the large power projects.
Recently, the government had invited qualifying bids for the Sarguja project in Chhattisgarh. Each of the projects has a capacity of 4,000 MW and requires an investment of between Rs 16,000 crore and Rs 20,000 crore.
While the Orissa government has acquired the land for the upcoming unit at Bedabahal in Sundergarh district, the ministry of coal has allocated the coal blocks. The Andhra Pradesh government has identified the site for the Kotipalli plant.
Large power projects enjoy single-window land, water and environment clearances. The projects are given to firms that qualify in the technical and financial rounds and quote the lowest tariff for the power to be generated from a project. Reliance Power has been the most successful in bagging such big projects. It has already been awarded the projects at Sasan (Madhya Pradesh), Krishnapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and Tilaiya (Jharkhand).
The Mundra project in Gujarat has been given to Tata Power, and the first 800 MW unit is expected to be commissioned during the current Five-Year Plan period (2007-12).
Reliance Power, however, may not be able to bid for the new projects as the empowered group of ministers has put a condition that a firm can develop only three large projects at a time.
According to the panel, a company can bid for a fourth one if it is able to complete at least one of the three projects. The cap has been imposed as it is difficult for a single company to get the required funds, and any delay can affect the government’s power generation plans. Analysts say it takes about 5-7 years for a company to complete a project. Unless there is a delay on the government’s part in inviting the bids, it seems unlikely that Reliance Power will be able to complete any one of its three projects and bid for a fourth one.
Large power projects are important to enhance the country’s power generation capacity and fuel the needs of an economy that is expected to expand more than 9 per cent a year by 2012. India has a power generation capacity of 155,859 MW. Union power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said the country would add only 61,000 MW in the five-year period ending March 2012, lower than the targeted 78,000 MW.
“We are likely to meet just over three-fourth of our electricity capacity addition target during the current plan. The target which was given to me initially was very big, but I accepted it,” Shinde said.
He said the country added 21,000 MW during the first three years of the current plan (2007-12). “We will add 40,000 MW over the next two years. We are now ready to add 100,000 MW during the next five-year plan (2012-17),” Shinde added.
The government has awarded four 4000 MW power projects to developers, but none of these are part of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2007-12).
Next Story
