NTPC, NGRI to set up geo-thermal projects

NTPC Ltd, the country's largest power producer, on Monday said it will set up a geo-thermal based power project in Chhattisgarh in association with National Geo-physical Research Institute. In a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange, the company said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Hyderabad-based NGRI for identifying potential sites to set up geo-thermal based power projects in India. "Both the organisations have agreed to associate for formulating a long-term strategy to set up the first geo-thermal based power project in India," the company said. Tattapani in the state of Chhattisgarh has been identified as the first project site, it added. Shares of NTPC closed at Rs 197, down 3.55 per cent, on the BSE today. Geo-thermal power projects utilise heat beneath the earth's surface to generate energy.

Source: The Economic Times

31st March, 2008

NHPC commissions all 3 units of Teesta-V

State-run National Hydroelectric Power Corp on Saturday said it has commissioned all the three units of 510 MW Teesta Stage-V Hydroelectric Project in Sikkim. Two of the three units of 170 MW each are expected to become commercially operational shortly, while the first unit is already functional, the company said in a statement. The project would generate 2,573 million units of energy annually. The cost of the project is about Rs 2,650 crore and the provisional tariff approved by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission is Rs 1.62 per unit. Teesta-V is one of the six hydro projects identified for execution by NHPC in Sikkim. The company has added 1,420 MW of generation capacity in the last one year with the commissioning of 390 MW Dul Hasti project in Jammu and Kashmir, 520 MW Omkareshwar project in Madhya Pradesh, and Teesta-V. The run-on-river Teesta-V project would benefit states of Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Sikkim.

Source: Economic Times

29th March 2008

ADB & OPEC huge infrastructure project in Nepal

A delayed water-supply project in Nepal that includes tunneling 26 kilometers through a mountain to ease chronic water shortages in Kathmandu looks set to proceed, after the Asian Development Bank (ADB) agreed to new terms for the project for which it is the lead financier. ADB initially agreed to support the Melamchi Water Supply Project in 2000, but changes since then have seen the cost lowered from $464 million to $317.3 million with careful prioritization and phasing of the project components.

Work was delayed by political circumstances and challenges engaging private sector partners. The project is essential for Kathmandu's 1.5 million residents, most of whom receive piped water for only a couple of hours a day. Many people rely on alternative water sources such as shallow wells, public taps, rainwater, tankers, or bottled water - which are expensive. "This project is the only realistic way to obtain a sustainable, long-term supply of drinking water for Kathmandu Valley," said Leonardus Boenawan Sondjaja, Head of the Project Administration Unit of the Urban Development Division of ADB's South Asia Department. "While the need to address the water crisis is growing, the changing circumstances surrounding the project required adjustments in scope and implementation arrangements." ADB is providing a loan of $137 million equivalent for the project.

Other donors are the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the Nordic Development Fund and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Fund for International Development. The Government of Nepal is contributing $90.6 million. The biggest civil works package under the project is the 26-kilometer water diversion tunnel. The tunnel will divert 170 million liters of water daily from the Melamchi River to Kathmandu Valley to ease chronic water shortages in that area. The project also involves the development of a water treatment plant as well as a bulk water distribution system.

Existing distribution networks will be rehabilitated under the project, while access roads to project facilities are being built and will also serve as farm-to-market roads. Another important component is support to mitigate potential social and environmental impacts and improve the living conditions of project affected people. As part of adjustments made to the project, its implementation will be split into two subprojects, with the water diversion tunnel under the first subproject and the water supply and sanitation segment under the second. ADB agreed to remove a loan covenant requiring the award of a private sector management contract to support the new utility as a precondition for awarding the tunnel civil works contract.

This will enable the two subprojects to be implemented in parallel without delay while a new private sector manager is recruited under the restructured contractual arrangements. ADB approved adjustments to the two loan components under the Kathmandu Valley Water Services Sector Development Program, which complements the Melamchi Water Supply Project. The program is designed to support reforms and institutional development in the water services sector and promote private sector participation. ADB will maintain a $15 million loan it approved in December 2003, but the program will adopt a new management support plan.

Source: maximsnews.com

25th April, 2008

CALS Refinery to invest 20000 cr in West Bengal

CALS Refinery, a BSE-listed company, proposes to invest Rs. 20,000 crore in three phases to set up refinery projects at Haldia and at the proposed Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR) at Nayachar in West Bengal. The company on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Haldia Development Authority and the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation to facilitate handing over of land for installation of its five million tonnes refinery project in the first phase. The product profile includes naphtha which would be bought by Haldia Petrochemicals, besides, various grades of petrol, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

The first two phases will entail an investment of Rs. 4,000 crore each and a capacity of five mtpa each. Each will require 400 acres, of which the first tranche has been acquired and the second is to be acquired. The final phase with a capacity of ten million tonnes annually and an investment of Rs. 12,000 crore is proposed to be set up on 800 acres on the PCPIR, which is slated to come up at Nayachar, once the infrastructure gets readied there. The company said it had already spent around Rs. 360 crore towards equipment supply and would commence site activities by April.

Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said this project was significant for the State especially in view of the proposed PCPIR project. About 8,000 people would get direct employment once all the three phases got operational. The first two phases would get completed by 2010 and the expansion by 2013. A company release said the current phase of the refinery would be implemented by transplanting main process units and equipment from Bayeroil Refinery in Germany. Former Indian Oil Chairman M. S. Ramachandran is the Chairman of CALS Refineries.

Source: The Hindu Business Line

20th March, 2008

Navyug Steel to set up 12 mt plant in Orissa

Navyug Steel is going to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Orissa government to set up a 12 million tonne steel plant, investing Rs 34,000 crore, in the state. The South Indian company is proposing to set up this port-based steel plant near Astarang in Puri. With this, the total number of 12 million tonne capacity steel projects in Orissa will become four. Earlier, Posco-India, Mittal, Jindal Steel had signed their respective MoUs for setting up steel projects with the same capacity in the state. The Orissa government's Single Window, headed by chief secretary Ajit Kumar Tripathy, has cleared the project on Monday. The MoU for the project will be signed once it gets the nod from the high powered committee headed by chief minister, Naveen Patnaik.
The Single Window, in fact, had cleared six projects with a total investment of Rs 55,750 crore. The other projects are of Emami Pagers, Purba Bharati Paper and Power Ltd, Bhushan Steel, Reliable Sponge and Reliance Industries Ltd.

Emami Papers is porposing to expand its capacity and product mix with an investment of Rs 500 crore. It is now planing to have facilities to produce 1.32 lakh tonne of newsprint per annum. Purba Bharat Papers in planning to invest Rs 90 crore to expand its capacity. Similarly, Bhushan Steel is proposing to expand capacity of its Meramundali plant in Dhenkanal to 9 million tonne from the present 3.1 million tonne, with an investment of Rs 20,804 crore. Reliable Sponge will invest Rs 227.13 crore to set up facilities for 0.25 million tonne per annum steel production and the generation of 24 mw power. Reliance Industries is setting up a 5 mw solar park near Bhubaneswar city with an investment of Rs 125 crore.
Source: The Financial Express

17th March, 2008

NTPC clears Rs.4375 cr for Salakati power project

National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has cleared an investment of Rs 4,375.35 crore for the coal-based 750 MW Thermal Power Project at Salakati in Kokrajhar district. In a Rajya Sabha reply to a question by UG Brahma, Union Power Minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde said that a Transfer Agreement has been executed among NTPC, Government of Assam and Assam Power Generation Corporation Limited (APGCL) for transfer of the existing infrastructure of 240 MW Bongaigaon Thermal Power Station (BTPS) to NTPC. All the necessary key inputs and clearances including environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forest have been obtained for the Project. Site-specific studies have been completed. The main plant equipment packages have been awarded to NHEL in February, the Power Minister said.On January 31, 16 employees have been posted at Bongaigaon Thermal Power Project, he added, in reply to a question.Meanwhile, during the current fiscal, 750 solar home lighting systems, 50 solar street lighting and 500 solar lanterns have been allotted to Assam. In addition, projects have also been sanctioned for electrification of 555 villages through solar energy system, said Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy, Vilas Muttemwar in reply to a question by Kumar Deepak Das.However, there is no proposal to formulate any special scheme to provide solar energy system in the remote villages of Assam. The Assam Government has identified 2,139 villages including those in the char areas for coverage under renewable energy sources, the Minister added.

Source: Assam Tribune

17th March, 2008

India bulls arm bags power project in Chattisgarh

Indiabulls Power, which is owned by Indiabulls Real Estate, is learnt to have won the bid to set up the 1,600-mw Bhaiyathan power project in Chhattisgarh, a pit-head power project that also includes a 350-million-tonne coal block. According to sources close to the development, the Chhattisgarh government is likely to soon announce the deal. Sterlite Industries and the GMR group were the other two major bidders for the project, the sources said. The Chhattisgarh government had called bids for the sale of 65% of power produced from the project. Indiabulls quoted Rs 0.81 per kilowatt hour while Sterlite Industries’ bid was learnt to be at Rs 0.882 per kwh. GMR’s bid price was Rs 0.885 kwh, said the sources. The total cost of the project is Rs 8,000 crore and it will be completed within three years. Unlike an ultra-mega power project where 100% power has to be sold at a levelised tariff, 35% of power produced from the Bhaiyathan project is available for merchant sale, which is expected to average out overall realisation of the total power produced by the plant. There were a total of 10 bidders including Reliance Power and Tata Power. All bids were on the basis of levelised tariff that considered escalation of prices over time. With international coal prices touching $100 per tonne, pit-head plants provide attractive opportunity for power producers, said industry observers. Indiabulls had recently raised Rs 1,600 crore from steel tycoon LN Mittal and Farallon Capital by placing 28.6% equity to pursue its power business. Indiabulls Power Services is also setting up two mega thermal power plants in Maharashtra. with an aggregate capacity of 3,960 mw. Indiabulls Power has also signed an agreement with the government of Arunachal Pradesh for four medium-sized hydro projects in the state, where feasibility studies are in progress. A joint venture between SembCorp and Indiabulls is in the fray for the 4,000-mw ultra-mega power project at Tilaiya, Jharkhand. Temasek Holdings, an investment fund owned by the government of Singapore, is the promoter of SembCorp and owns 49.9% stake in the company.
Source: The Economictimes

17th March, 2008

BHEL bags Rs.20.3 bn equipment supply contract

State-owned power equipment manufacturer Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) will supply equipment worth Rs 20.3 billion ($507.5 million) to the envisaged 1,000 MW Nabinagar thermal power project in Bihar. "The order has been placed on BHEL by Bhartiya Rail Bijlee Co Ltd, a joint venture formed by central utility National Thermal Power Corp (NTPC) and Indian Railways to implement the project," BHEL said in a statement.

"The company has won the project in an international competitive bidding," it added. "The project will comprise four units of 250 MW each. BHEL has agreed to commission the entire envisaged power generation capacity of the project by March 2012," the company said. "The proposed plant will generate 24 million units of electricity a day on commissioning," it said.

Source: Hindustan Times

17th March, 2008

POSCO E&C wins $400 million order from SAIL

South Korean builder POSCO Engineering & Construction Co said on Wednesday it had won a $400 million order to build a blast furnace for the Steel Authority of India Ltd. The facility, to be built in the Bhilai steel mill in Chattisgarh, will have annual production capacity of 2.7 million tonnes, POSCO E&C said in a statement. The project will be completed by end-2010, said POSCO E&C, a unit of South Korean steel maker POSCO Co Ltd.

Source: The Economic Times

20th February, 2008

Orissa to host three new ultra mega power projects

Orissa has agreed to host three of the five new ultra mega power projects (UMPPs) of 4,000 MW each envisaged by the central government, said a top power ministry official here. “Orissa has agreed for three ultra mega power projects that could be structured through special purpose vehicles, promoted by Power Finance Corporation,” Power Secretary Anil Razdan told reporters on the sidelines of a conference organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry here Friday. Razdan said there was a strong possibility that Orissa could agree to host one more UMPP while Gujarat should take up one project.

The government has already proposed nine UMPPs, two of which are under implementation at Sasan in Chhattisgarh and Mundra in Gujarat. Bidding process for another at Tilaiya in Jharkhand is under way. The government had expressed its intention to launch five more projects in the national budget for the coming fiscal 2008-09, subject to support from the states.

Source: Thaindian.com

15th March, 2008

BHEL bags Rs.18 bn contract from NTPC

State-owned power equipment manufacturer Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has bagged a Rs 18-billion ($450 million) contract to supply boiler package to the National Thermal Power Corporation's 1,320 megawatt (MW) Barh stage-II supercritical power project in Bihar. "The company board has approved awarding boiler supply contract to BHEL at a negotiated price of Rs 18 billion," said a senior NTPC official. "NTPC had to negotiate contract price for the project after BHEL emerged as the lone bidder for it," the official said. "The company plans to investment Rs 73.41 billion (nearly $18 billion) in implementing the project, which will comprise two units of 660 MW each." "NTPC expects to commission the entire capacity by March 2012," the official added.

Source: Hindustan Times

13th March, 2008

Vedanta has big plans for West Bengal

The UK-based Vedanta Resources will ink a deal with the Bengal government tomorrow to set up an aluminium smelter and a power plant at a cumulative investment of Rs 20,000 crore. Vedanta is a metals and mining group listed on the London Stock Exchange with annual sales of $1.9 billion.
It will be the second biggest investment in the state after the Jindals’ proposed steel plant at Salboni, worth Rs 35,000 crore. The Vedanta project, involving 6.5 lakh tonnes of smelter and 3,000MW power, will come up at Bidhanbag, Asansol, where its group company Balco has 200 acres. The company will need another 800 acres.

The agreement will be signed between Vedanta Aluminium and the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) in the presence of Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and industry minister Nirupam Sen. “This will be the first large scale investment in the aluminium sector in Bengal, where a number of steel makers have already flocked to,” WBIDC managing director M.V. Rao said. The company said it had chosen Bengal, which has no bauxite, because of two reasons: one, it already has land in the state and two, the state has coal deposit and would help the company get coal blocks for its power plant.

Source: The Telegraph

11th March, 2008

NHPC to become 10000 MW plus in 5 years

PTI reported that National Hydroelectric Power Corporation will double the power generation to become a 10,000 MW plus corporation by 2011-12 envisaging an investment of INR 28,000 crore.Mr SK Garg CMD of NHPC said that "We currently have a capacity of 4,700 MW with work on 13 projects going on in full swing. We shall be commissioning all the projects without time and cost overruns. This is all being done with internal accruals, debt funding and public offering in the near future."Elaborating on the plans, Mr Garg said that government support was discontinued since 2007 and all projects ongoing and in the future would be funded largely from the internal accruals and debt financing.On the status of India's largest hydel power project of 2,000 MW in Arunachal Pradesh, he said that work on dam's construction will start by December 2008, while power house work was already on. He added that "As committed, we shall commission this project in 2011-12, while rest of the 12 projects in next 3 years."Asked details of INR 28,000 crore investment, Mr Garg said that about INR 4,800 crore would come from internal accruals and it has already signed an agreement with Power Finance Corporation for INR 3,000 crore in addition to INR 1,000 crore to be signed soon. Besides, NHPC has two lines of credit from Life Insurance Corporation for INR 9,000 crore.On the public offering, he said that "We are waiting for appointment of independent directors and as soon as this is done we shall hit the market in no time as all preparations have been done."
Source: Steelguru

10th March, 2008

Tata Steel to start Orisss operations by June 2008

Tata Steel plans to start construction of its 6 million tonne (MT) steel green plant at Kalinganagar (Orissa) in June 2008 and the company is awaiting delivery of advanced equipment worth Rs 4,500 crore anytime now. Tata Steel is hopeful that the issues relating to mining leases of iron ore required for backward linkages would be resolved by the time production process starts.

The company intends to produce 3 million tonne of hot rolled steel by 2011 and would increase the capacity to 6 million tonne subsequently. “We are in the process of vacating the land and are hopeful that construction should begin by June this year,” vice president, corporate services at Tata Steel , Partha Sengupta told FE on the sidelines of a summit on mining to steel making jointly organized by the ministries of steel and mines and Indian Chamber of Commerce.

The state government (Orissa) has already allotted about 2,000 acres of land to the company, which has been registered in favour of Tata Steel. Meanwhile the project office at site has initiated the construction of the boundary wall and other preparatory works at Kalinganagar industrial complex. When asked about the other green field projects in the states of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, Sengupta said, “for the plant in Chhattisgarh, the company is in the process of acquiring land and should being construction work in the next six months time.”

The situation in Jharkhand is, however, different from the two states of Orissa and Chhattisgarh, he said adding that the state does not have an R&R policy and in the absence of the benchmark document it would be difficult to work on compensation package for the displaced. The greenfield projects have already been delayed by about 12 to 16 months due to issues such as land acquisition and resettlement. The company plans to invest about Rs 90,000 crore in the three projects.
Source: The Financial Express

5th March, 2008

Adhunik plans Rs.422 crore expansion

Adhunik Metaliks Ltd will spend Rs 422 crore over 17 months to increase production of key inputs for steel making and grow profits, a senior official said on Thursday. The firm is aiming at net profit of Rs 96 crore in 2007/08, and Rs 176 crore in 2008/09, director Manoj Kumar Agarwal said. It will set up a 17 megawatt power plant and expand capacities of sponge iron and ferro alloy at its plant in Orissa, he said. The firm will also set up railway connectivity to transport key inputs to the plant site. Adhunik has tied up with banks and financial institutions for raising Rs 274 crore as term loan for the project. The rest will be financed through internal accruals and equity. "The project will halve raw material costs, and increase operating margins to 26 per cent, from 18 per cent now, helping profits to grow," he said. In 2006/07, the firm reported a net profit of Rs 77.4 crore on sales of Rs 811 crore. It is aiming at Rs 1100 crore in sales in 2007/08, Agarwal said. The firm, which produced 4,50,000 tonnes of steel annually at its Orissa unit, will source iron ore from mines of its wholly-owned mining subsidiary, Orissa Manganese & Minerals Pvt Ltd, and its pits in Jharkhand state. The company also plans to sell 10 per cent to 11 per cent of its stake in Orissa Manganese & Minerals to private equity investors, he added.

Source:The Economic Times

6th March, 2008

NHPC to become 10000 MW plus in 5 years

India's largest hydel power company NHPC will double the power generation to become a 10,000 MW plus corporation by 2011-12 envisaging an investment of Rs 28,000 crore. "We currently have a capacity of 4,700 MW with work on 13 projects going on in full swing. We shall be commissioning all the projects without time and cost overruns. This is all being done with internal accruals, debt funding and public offering in the near future," NHPC CMD S K Garg told media. Elaborating on the plans, Gard said government support was discontinued since last year and all projects (ongoing and in the future) would be funded largely from the internal accruals and debt financing. On the status of India's largest hydel power project of 2,000 MW (Subansiri lower) in Arunachal Pradesh, he said work on dam's construction will start by December, while power house work was already on. "As committed, we shall commission this project in 2011-12, while rest of the 12 projects in next three years," he said adding two projects totalling 1030 MW have already been commissioned in the first year of 11th five year plan. Asked details of Rs 28,000 crore investment, Garg said, about Rs 4,800 crore would come from internal accruals and the corporation has already signed an agreement with Power Finance Corporation for Rs 3,000 crore in addition to Rs 1,000 crore to be signed soon. Besides, NHPC has two lines of credit from Life Insurance Corporation for Rs 9,000 crore. On the public offering, the CMD said, "we are waiting for appointment of independent directors and as soon as this is done we shall hit the market in no time as all preparations have been done."

Source: Economictimes

4th March, 2008

SJVN bags 402 MW hydro power project in Nepal

State-run Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam has bagged a contract to develop a 402-MW hydro power project in Nepal. The development comes within two months of GMR Group winning a contract to set up 300-MW Upper Karnali project in Nepal. “The contract for setting up Arun-III project has been given to SJVN. An agreement to this effect was signed yesterday in Nepal,” a source said. SJVN agreed to offer 21.9 per cent (about 88 MW) free electricity from Arun-III project. It will also have to give a guarantee of Rs 5 lakh a unit for obtaining a power generating licence, besides Rs 1 lakh per unit for a survey licence, the source said.

The company would develop the project in five years and operate it for 30 years on build-own-operate-transfer basis. It would also have to lay transmission lines for evacuating power from the project. SJVN had earlier offered 4.5 per cent free electricity from Arun-III. However, it raised the quantity to 21.9 per cent after the Nepal government made free power as the main criteria for awarding the projects. In all, nine Companies including GMR Energy, Jindal Steel and Power, Reliance Energy and JP Associates were believed to be in the fray for Arun III. However, GMR did not qualify for the project as the government decided that one bidder would get only one power project.

Source: The Financial Express

3rd March, 2008

Foundation laid for for 1000 MW power project

Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde laid the foundation stone of a 1,000 MW thermal power plant in Bajedia of Koderma district of Jharkhand, around 190 km from here as people displaced by the project demonstrated for compensation. The plant will come up with an investment of Rs.50 billion ($1.25 billion). According to the plan, two thermal power plant units, each with 500 MW capacity, will be set up in five to six years.

While Shinde was laying the foundation stone of the power plant, hundreds of people displaced by the project gathered outside under the banner of Bisthapit Utthan Morcha demanding proper compensation. They alleged that the government has not distributed compensation dues to the displaced. In a bid to pacify the angry protestors, Chief Minister Koda said the displaced would be given due compensation. The union minister has also assured due compensation to the displaced.
“We have shortage of energy and this power plant will help the state in meeting the needs of power,” said Shinde. The plant will be under Damodar Valley Corp (DVC), which will acquire a total of 1,851 acres of land. This is biggest project of the DVC in the state. The minister also laid the foundation stone of an industrial training institute (ITI). The people who are trained at the ITI would be given jobs in the thermal power plant Chief Minister Madhu Koda and many senior officials also attended the ceremony.

Source: Thaindian.com

1st March, 2008

JSW cement plant at Salboni

Sajjan Jindal-owned JSW Steel Group will be setting up a three million ton cement plant at Salboni in West Bengal. The company has already decided to develop a 10 million ton integrated steel plant with an investment of Rs 35,000 crore at the same place. “We have planned a three million ton cement plant. JSW Bengal will construct the cement plant prior to the steel plant as part of the project,” JSW Bengal managing director Mr Biswadip Gupta said. “As per the environment clearance for the project we cannot throw any solid waste out of project area. To utilise the slag of the proposed steel plant we have decided to set up the cement plant,” he said. The cement plant would become operational before the steel plant and would be fed with slag from other sources as long as the steel plant does not start operation. Mr Gupta could not give the exact project cost, saying it would not be less than Rs 500 crore and depend on technology used.

Source: The Statesman

3rd March, 2008