The Hindu Business Line : NTPC plans consortium route for mega projects

Future power
The company is actively looking at a number of options, with BHEL being the most likely equipment supplier partner.
The proposed ultra mega power projects entail investments to the tune of Rs 16,000 crore per project.
These are to be set up at five sites in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Chhattisgarh.

New Delhi , May 23

The Rs 26,000-crore NTPC will follow the consortium approach while bidding for the upcoming ultra mega power projects and is in the process of firming up coal mining and equipment supply partners.

The company is in talks with both private and State-owned players, and the combine would jointly bid for the proposed projects.

"The developers for the ultra mega projects are to be selected based on a process of tariff-based competitive biding. It makes sense to form mining and equipment supply joint ventures so that costing and ultimately the tariffs can be worked out," said a senior NTPC official.

The company is actively looking at a number of options, with BHEL being the most likely equipment supplier partner.

Project sites

According to plans firmed up by the Government, the proposed ultra mega power projects, entailing investments to the tune of Rs 16,000 crore a project, are to be set up at five sites in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Chhattisgarh.

Two more sites have also been identified for these projects in Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.

Commissioning of these projects is slated for the 11th Plan period.

NTPC has already submitted EoIs for the four projects where pre-bid activity has been initiated by Power Finance Corporation (PFC); the company is likely to bid for a majority of the projects on offer, the official said.

The projects, each with a capacity of around 4,000 MW, would have scope for expansion in future as well.

The Centre would provide the site, fuel linkage in captive mining blocks, and water, and obtain environment and forests clearance for each of the project through special purpose vehicles (SPVs) formed by PFC.

The SPVs would also be responsible for tying up necessary inputs from the likely buyers of power and to facilitate tying up of power offtake from these projects and the necessary payment security mechanism.

These SPVs will ultimately be taken over by the companies that win the bid to construct and operate the projects through the tariff-based competitive bidding route.