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V. Rishi Kumar

Hyderabad, Nov. 14 Lanco Infratech has emerged the sole bidder in the competitive bidding process for the development of a 1,320 MW coal-based power plant at Rajpura in Punjab.

The Rs 7,000-crore project is to be executed on a build, own and operate model for the Punjab State Electricity Board.

The Chief Financial Officer of Lanco Infratech, Mr J. Suresh Kumar, told Business Line that Lanco’s was the sole bid filed with the authorities even though there were five-six others in the fray in the earlier stages.

Those in the contention initially included Reliance Power, Tata Power, Essar and Sterlite.

“It is for the Punjab Government to take a call on award of the project to Lanco. The matter has been referred to the State Electricity Regulatory Authority for its decision,” he said.

A special purpose vehicle created by the Punjab State Electricity Board will provide all the necessary clearances for the project and also facilitate coal linkages from domestic coal mining companies, he said.

Asked why just one company was in the contention? Mr Kumar said while he would not like to speak for others, it could be the current economic conditions where the focus for most companies is on executing projects on hand rather than undertaking new ones for execution.

So will they be able to achieve financial closure for the project given the current financial situation? “Most of the projects are based on 80:20 debt-equity route. We are confident of achieving financial closure,” he said.

More Stories on : Announcements | Power

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