Reliance Power emerges lowest bidder for Tilaiya power project
28 Jan 2009
Reliance Power Ltd, which has emerged the lowest bidder for the 4000 MW Tilaiya ultra mega power project (UMPP) in Jharkhand, is expected to win the contract.
Reliance Power is reported to have quoted the lowest rate of Rs1.77 per unit of power, outbidding state-run power utility NTPC, Jindal Steel and Power, Sterlite Industries and Lanco Infratech. NTPC bid the second-lowest.
The final winner for the Tilaiya UMPP will be announced on 2 February. Power Finance Corporation, which manages the bidding on behalf of the power ministry, expects the contract to be signed in a month.
PFC had invited financial and technical bids for the project on 29 December. The financial bids for the project were opened today. A high-level committee, which includes state representatives from Bihar and Jharkhand, selected the bidder.
The bidding process for the UMPP had been delayed due to various reasons, including the global slowdown. The Tilaiya project also faced loss of time on identifying the site, getting the water source and obtaining other regulatory clearances.
The project entails an investment of Rs16,000 to Rs18,000 crore and will have a debt equity ratio of 70:30.
The Tilaiya project is one of the 12 UMPPs planned by the government to be set up near near coal mines or along the coast.
Reliance Power is also building UMPPs at Sasan in Madhya Pradesh and Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, which it won under an earlier bid. Tata Power is building another UMPP at Mundra. Tilaiya is the fourth UMPP to be awarded by the government.