Jindal Power to go China way

Navin Jindal-led Jindal Power (JPL) will go the Chinese way in placing equipment orders for its new power projects.To cut timelines, the company proposes to standardise plant layouts and has initiated talks with 15 domestic and global equipment suppliers.With this, the power firm expects to save by at least six months the time taken to construct a power plant, a company official said.

He said the company has initiated the process for standardisation of plant layout, which means the company will simply replicate a successful design and layout for all its projects. The company called a vendors-cum-analysts meet on Thursday. Fifteen companies, including six foreign players, were present at the meet. These included companies like Larsen & Toubro, Russia’s Power Machines and EM Alliance, South Korea’s Doosan, France’s Alstom and China’s Dongfang Electric and Shangahi Electric.Thermax, Gammon India, BGR Energy, Toshiba India, Siemens India and Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) - the country’s largest power equipment supplier – also participated in the deliberations.

Standardisation is a technique adopted by Chinese companies to cut on costs and time. While India struggled to add 20,000 mw in the tenth five-year plan (2002-07), China on an average commissions 100,000 mw projects every year.The total installed capacity of India at 1,59,648 mw compares poorly with China at about 8,00,000 mw. Chinese companies complete a 2x600 mw project based on supercritical technology in around 30 months while Bhel takes over 40 months to do the same.

High-level standardisation has been attributed to the robust power sector growth in that country. Central Electricity Authority, the top technical body in power sector, has also been advocating standardisation to reduce design, engineering and approval time for drawings.

JPL has 1,000 mw of installed capacity. The company will implement over 5,000 mw of projects by 2014-15 for which orders are yet to be placed. Of these, 5,000 mw, contracts for 1,980 mw projects at Dumla and Godda in Jahrkhand are likely to be closed by year-end. Orders for 2,400 mw Tamnar-II project in Chhttisgarh, two units of which will be commissioned by March 2012, were placed with Bhel. JPL is likely to hit capital markets in the next three months with an initial public offer to mop up about Rs 7,000 crore.