Public sector power generator NTPC will defer the opening of commercial bids in the tender for the supply supercritical boilers — a consequence of Ansaldo going to the Court against the power major.

Ansaldo, the Italian power equipment manufacturer which is now majority-owned by Gammon India, went to the Court against NTPC last week, after it was disqualified in the ‘technical bid' round of the tender.

It is learnt that BHEL, L&T-Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and BGR Hitachi, have made it to the ‘commercial bid round' in the equipment supplier selection process.

NTPC is handling the tender process on behalf of the Government, which wants to see the setting up of 11 units of supercritical power plants, 660 MW each, spread over five locations in the country. (Supercritical boilers are those in which water is converted into steam at high pressure — a process which heats water quicker, saving fuel.)

The value of the order would be around Rs 25,000 crore – big business, and therefore bitterly fought.

It is understood that Ansaldo was disqualified on the grounds that the ‘evaporator' – a boiler component – of the plant offered as the reference plant, was not designed by Ansaldo. Ansaldo feels that since its licence agreement with the technology supplier, Siemens, covers the evaporator, NTPC has no grounds to disqualify it.

The matter came up before the judges Mr Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Mr Justice Rajiv Shakdhar. Sources in Ansaldo told Business Line today that when NTPC's counsel said that the matter was of great importance and it would not be wise to delay, the judges suggested that there would be harm if the opening of the bids was deferred by a few days.

NTPC will now file a reply to the Court, stating why it had disqualified Ansaldo, after which Ansaldo will have an opportunity to file its rejoinder. The matter will next be heard on February 3.

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