PFC to invite bids for Odisha, Tamil Nadu UMPPs this week

RFQs will be issued on Sept 25 for the Bedabahal project in Odisha and on Sept 26 for Cheyyur project in Tamil Nadu

State-run Power Finance Corp today said the initial bids for the ultra mega power projects in Odisha and Tamil Nadu will be invited this week.

"The RFQs (Request for Qualifications) for these UMPPs are being finalised and will be issued on September 25 for the Bedabahal project in Odisha and on September 26 for Cheyyur project in Tamil Nadu," PFC said in a statement.

PFC is the nodal agency for UMPPs.

An Empowered Group of Ministers (EGOM) headed by Defence Minister A K Antony, last month, cleared the proposal of tweaking the standard bidding documents for implementing the new Case-II thermal power plants including the 4,000 MW UMPPs.

The new bidding norms will apply to Case-II projects.

Case-I projects are where developers have the choice to decide on location, fuel and technology to be used. In Case-II, the location of the project and fuel to be used are already decided before the start of competitive bidding.

UMPPs are coal-based generation projects with an average capacity of 4,000 MW.

Procurers of electricity produced from the Cheyyur project are Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu and Odisha will receive power from Bedabahal project.

For Odisha UMPP, all major clearances are available. Cost of land to the tune of Rs 719 crore has been paid to Odisha government by the power procuring States. Three coal blocks Meenakshi, Meenakshi-B and dip side of Meenakshi have been allocated for the project, which have been declared by Ministry of Environment and Forests, the statement said.

"For Cheyyur UMPP also, which is based on imported coal, practically all major clearances are available. Cost of land of about Rs 84 Crores would be paid by the procuring states to the Tamil Nadu government shortly. Environment & CRZ (Coastal Regulation Zone) clearance for captive port has been accorded by Environment Ministry.