Move To Attract Foreign Firms In Power Sector

The roundtables are scheduled to be held in New York and Houston between October 22 and 25 and is being organized in cooperation with the US commerce and energy department, Gulf Coast Power Association, and others.

We want to tell foreign investors that all hurdles are now being cleared for investments in the power sector in the country, PK Sen, president for IPPAI told Business Standard.

In the aftermath of the Enron trouble and the Parliamentary elections, the government wants to clarify and clear the doubts in the minds of foreign investors that nothing moves in India, he said.

Now that all the 8 fast track projects are being given counter guarantees, he said the US visit will enable the high-level delegation to tell the investors that India is a good place to invest in.

 

The Indian delegation will be led by minister of state for power S Venugopalachari. The delay caused in the Dabhol power project was a good lesson and now we are better prepared for the future, he said.

The roundtables will highlight the investment opportunities in Indias energy sector and give an update on the changed and positive steps taken by New Delhi to encourage international and private investments into the power sector.

The delegation will highlight the fact that the eight power projects including Dabhol, Cogentrix, AES, ST-CMS, and others that have been delayed for a long time are now on track with full counter guarantees from the Union government.

The Indian delegation will clarify the concerns of the foreign investors on the delays caused in setting up the power projects in spite of their fast track approval, particularly in processing of the proposed projects.

Besides the ministry of power and Independent Power Products Association of India , the Indian delegation will consist of policy experts, and will involve high level participation from the Indian private sector in the energy and infrastructure areas.