The Hindu Business Line : Govt to clear decks for 9 pvt power projects

WITH the power shortages being reported across much of the country, the Centre has zeroed down on expediting financial closure of nine private projects, including Reliance Energy's 3,500 MW Dadri project, Tata Power's coal-based project in Maharashtra and the AV Birla Group's Rosa project in Uttar Pradesh.

The Power Ministry's Inter Institutional Group (IIG), comprising representatives from lending institutions and the Government, is taking up the progress made in each of these projects in order to ensure funds are tied-up on a fast-track basis over the next few months, officials involved in the exercise said.

The move is aimed at kick-starting generation in all or most of these projects over the next three to five years, they said.

"The projects, with a cumulative capacity of 10,132 MW, have been selected since they are believed to be in a striking distance of achieving financial closure, both in terms of getting the requisite clearances and arranging for other prerequisites such as fuel-linkages and escrow cover," an official said. The IIG is meeting on a regular basis to take stock of the progress made on each of these projects, officials said.

"While reliance on Central utilities such as National Thermal Power Corporation and National Hydroelectric Power Corporation for future capacity addition would continue, their efforts would have to be supplemented by private projects to keep pace with the rate at which demand is growing. The IIG is an effective platform for developers and lenders to resolve outstanding issues," a Government official said.

While the Government representatives on the IIG facilitate in expediting clearances pending with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the Ministry of Coal and the Ministry of Environment and Forests for the projects under review, the lenders would get to scrutinise the viability of the project on a case to case basis to ensure that the promoters arrange all the prerequisites for timely disbursement of the debt component, officials said.

The focus on accelerating these projects comes at a time when the Government is slipping on its capacity addition targets for the current five-year Plan period, with several projects, including a number of private ones, failing to come up during the period.

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