Govt to award 3 more UMPPs next fiscal

The government will award three more ultra mega power projects (UMPPs) of 4,000 Mw capacity each in the next financial year and is looking at the states of Tamil Nadu, Orissa and Chhattisgarh.

“If everything goes as planned, the government would award three more UMPPs during (the) next fiscal in Tamil Nadu, Orissa and Chhattisgarh,” a senior government official said.

The Request for Qualification (RFQ) for these three projects would be issued at an interval of one month, starting June, he said. “However, it takes almost nine months to complete the process for selection of a developer, but the government would expedite the process,” he added.

The government has also identified sites for the three UMPPs — Cheyyur in Tamil Nadu, Bedabahal in Orissa and Akaltara in Chhattisgarh. PFC Consulting the wholly-owned subsidiary of state-run Power Finance Corp is the nodal agency for these UMPPs, the official said.

The government would invite RFQs for the Cheyyur UMPP in June this year. The RFQs for Bedabahal and Akaltara may be invited in July and August, respectively.