BHEL emerges as lowest bidder for RRVUNL power projects

State-run BHEL is understood to have emerged as lowest bidder in two projects of Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited, worth Rs 12,200 crore for providing the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for the projects.

"BHEL has outbid BGR Energy Systems and Russian company, Powermachines, for the EPC contracts for two super-critical thermal power projects of RRVUNL," a source said.

The source added that the two projects, being set up at Chhabra and Suratgarh in Rajasthan, are of 1,320 MW each and the RRVUNL had floated a tender through international competitive bidding (ICB) route.

However, the bidding amount quoted by the Navratna PSU could not be immediately ascertained.

When contacted, a company official said that despite stiff competition from the foreign companies, this is second time that BHEL has emerged successful in the tender floated through ICB route.

Recently, it had won the EPC contract for first 700 MW supercritical unit at Bellary Power Project in Karnataka from Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL).

The BHEL official added that EPC work on the two super critical thermal power plants will start as soon as the company gets the contract officially and would take about 36 to 48 months time to complete the project.

BHEL Chairman B P Rao has said earlier that the company is confident of facing competition from China and other countries in the core areas of equipment required for power plants due its vast experience and quality of its products.

The order book of the company is currently at on record level of Rs 1,54,000 crore and the company expects to exceed its turnover target of Rs 45,000 crore for 2011-12.

Scrips of the company were trading today at Rs 2,220 a piece on the Bombay Stock Exchange at 1345 hrs, up 1.76 per cent from the previous close.