Reliance Infrastructure bags Rs 3,675 crore order from NLC India

Reliance Infrastructure Limited (RInfra) has won an EPC order for Rs 3,675 crore from NLC India Limited for setting up two lignite based CFBC thermal power projects with a capacity of 250 MW each, a company official said on Monday.

The power projects will be set up at Barsingsar and Bithnok of Bikaner district in Rajasthan.

"The contract entails complete engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) on turnkey basis of 2 Nos of 1 X 250 MW Power Plant based on Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustion (CFBC) technology. The project is to be commissioned in 40 months, and will include boiler, turbine and generator and balance of plant," a company statement said.

RInfra won the bid amidst stiff competition against leading EPC players. Expression of Interest (EOI) for Qualification Requirement (QR) through International Competitive Bidding (ICB) on EPC basis was floated and leading companies including RInfra, BHEL, Lanco, SEPCO I, SEPCO III and BGR Energy participated in the bid.

RInfra bid was the lowest among the shortlisted bidders.

"This is a prestigious project for us and will add up to our existing credentials of executing big scale, complex projects in record time and at competitive cost," said Arun Gupta, CEO RInfra EPC.

"With our experience of having executed different types of power projects, from super-critical coal fired to advanced class gas turbine to renewable energy, this contract will augment our capability and add Neyveli Lignite Corporation a Navratna PSU in our existing illustrious client list," Gupta said.

NLC's thermal power stations are South Asia's first lignite fired and India's first pithead based power station.

"This project has been won by us at the right time to further leverage our unparalleled comprehension of critical technology, expertise in engineering and time bound execution in the EPC space," he said.

With a clear focus to position itself in India's growing infrastructure sector, and a plethora of projects in the offing including metro rails, nuclear power plants, air quality control, marine, inland, railways, ports, dredging, and mega infrastructure projects, the company is targeting EPC opportunities worth Rs 2 lakh crore planned by the Government of India.

It is aggressively bidding for over Rs 1 lakh crore of projects in this financial year to increase the EPC order book to over Rs 30,000 crore by FY18 (2017-18).

RInfra EPC division has earlier executed large-scale projects worth Rs 33,000 crore ($5 billion) including the ultra mega power project (UMPP) of 3,960 MW at Sasan in Madhya Pradesh.

The company is known for its unmatched capability in executing challenging projects, through a right mix of innovation, technology and robust processes to manage cost, time and delivering world -- class quality.

With its expertise and proven track record of executing challenging projects ahead of schedule, RInfra EPC division has also signed MoUs and joint ventures with leading global companies, in order to augment its capabilities to participate in mega transformative projects in the EPC space.

NLC, from the lignite extracted from its mines, operates five thermal power stations with an aggregate capacity of 3,240 MW in the states of Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan.

Bithnok thermal power project with the linked lignite mine of 2.25 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) capacity is being set up by NLC for which power purchase agreement has been signed with Rajasthan DISCOMs.

Barsingsar thermal power station extension (250MW) with linked Hadla Lignite Mine (1.9 MTPA), Rajasthan, is an extension of the existing power plant.

Both the projects are set for commissioning during 2020.

--IANS

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