Jindal Power advances Tamnar expansion for tax holiday

Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) has advanced the commissioning date of the first unit (600 Mw) of the first phase (1,200 Mw) of its power plant expansion at Tamnar in Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh district to March 2013, to take advantage of the 10-year tax holiday it would then enjoy.

JSPL is spending Rs 13,410 crore on the expansion. It already has 1,000 Mw capacity and is adding another 2,400 Mw. It has placed an order with Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd for supply, erection and commissioning of a 4x600 Mw boiler-turbine-generation package.

The tax holiday was to end in March 2012 but the the central government has extended it for another year. This means all power plants coming up by March 2013 will be able to get a tax holiday till March 2023. According to an official who wished not to be named, "Phase-1 of the project is of 1,200 Mw, split into two units of 600 Mw each. We were supposed to commission the first unit by December 2013. However, with the tax holiday getting extended, our aim is now to take advantage of it. Therefore, we are trying to commission the first unit by March 2013.”

An email to the company for details of commissioning of other units/phases remained unanswered. Many other companies are also expected to advance the commissioning of their projects to take advantage of this tax holiday extension.