Final bids for Chhattisgarh UMPP likely on July 3

The final bids for the 4,000 MW ultra mega power project at Sarguja in Chhattisgarh are expected to be invited on July 3, this year.

"The last date for the submission of qualifying bids or RFQs (Request for Qualification) for Sarguja is May 3; therefore, RFP is likely in two months from then," a senior Power Finance Corporation (PFC) official said.

Request for Proposal (RFP) or the final bids evaluate the bidder's technical and financial credentials for executing an ultra mega power project (UMPP).

They are invited after the Request for Qualification (RFQ) are submitted and the companies, who qualify the preliminary round on the basis of their networth and turnover, are invited to submit RFPs.

PFC Consulting, a wholly-owned subsidiary of PFC, is the nodal agency for these UMPPs.

The government has envisaged setting up nine such projects in the coming years and has so far awarded four UMPPs to the successful bidders and the RFQ for the Sarguja project was recently floated by PFC.

Reliance Power has won three of the four UMPPs -- Sasan (Madhya Pradesh), Krishnapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and Tilaiya (Jharkhand).

Tata Power is executing an imported coal-based UMPP at Mundra in Gujarat. The first unit of this project is expected to be commissioned during the current Five Year Plan Period (2007-12).

The Centre is hopeful of reaping the benefits of these projects during the next plan period (2012-17), as most of them are likely to be commissioned during that time.