High voltage meet on 5 mega power plants

PFC to seek expressions of interest by Jan 31.

The government said Power Finance Corporation (PFC) would seek expressions of interest (EoI) by January 31 for setting up five ultra-mega power projects, with a proposed capacity of at least 4,000 MW each. Pre-qualification bids will be called by March 31.

The projects, which will be thermal generation units, are to be awarded on the basis of competitive bidding and work on them will start by December 2006.

This was decided at a meeting today, attended by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, power ministry officials and executives of private power companies.

While Gujarat would have two projects, one each was proposed to be set up in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Maharashtra, sources who attended the meeting said.

The EoIs will be advertised globally and the power purchase agreement (PPA) will be finalised before the bidding process starts.

The projects are to avail of the benefits given to mega power projects. The coal ministry has given its in-principle approval for coal linkages for the projects.

Private power players which participated in the discussion included Reliance Energy Ltd, Sterlite Industries Ltd, the Essar Group, Aditya Birla Group, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd and the GMR group.

The private sector has been invited to put power generation on a speedy growth-path by developing the ultra mega projects. The move has been seen as a step towards achieving 650,000 Mw of installed capacity targeted by the 14th Plan (2026-27).

Of the five projects, three will be run on imported coal while the rest will be pit-head operations. The units will be set up at coal pit-heads and coastline locations to facilitate availability of coal.

PFC will set up five companies for each of the projects with their own chief executive officers (CEOs). The corporation will also set up a special purpose vehicle for the projects and get the requisite government clearance for them.

"All clearances including environmental clearances and land acquisition for the projects will be handled by the empowered group through PFC," Power Secretary Ram Vinay Shahi had earlier said.