Adani unit invites bid for 3,300 MW project in Mundra

Kutchh Power Generation Limited (KPPGL), a subsidiary of Adani Power Limited (APL), is scouting for an EPC contractor to execute its proposed 5x660 MW supercritical unit-based power project at Bhadreswar, in the Kutch district of Gujarat. The company has floated a global tender for the purpose. The new power plant will be developed near APL's 4,650 MW coal-fired project at Mundra, which is currently under execution. The cost of the project has been estimated to be Rs 13,000 crore and would use coal imported from Australian and South African coal mines. The project is scheduled to be commissioned within 30 months from the date of issue of letter-of-intent (LoI) to the selected EPC-contractor.

 According to Adani Power, the scope of the EPC contract would include the design, engineering, manufacture, procurement, packing and forwarding, supply, transport, receipt, unloading, installation, erection, testing, commissioning and performance guarantee tests of the five supercritical technology-based units. The company has stipulated that if the bidder is a manufacturer of boiler and turbine generator (BTG) sets, it should have supplied at least two such orders, of a minimum of 300 MW capacity, in operation for at least two years at the time of bid submission. If a bidder is not a BTG manufacturer, the source of equipment procured should meet the said specifications. However, a bidder not fulfilling either of these criteria can bid for the contract in joint venture with other companies that meet these norms. The bidding documents for the package will be available for sale till August 3, 2010, while August 20, 2010 is the cut-off date for the submission of bids. 

 Pertinently, this project is likely to be granted the "Mega Power" status by the power ministry. Once this decree is issued, this project would qualify for the tax sops and other benefits enshrined in the Mega Power Policy. Adani Power, the power business arm of the Adani Group is currently executing projects worth over 6,630 MW capacity at Mundra and Tiroda in Maharashtra. Apart from the new 3,330 MW project at Bhadreswar, the company has identified two more power plants-- the 1,980 MW coal-based power plant at Dahej in Gujarat and a 1,320 MW project in the Baran district of Rajasthan-- and aspires to be a 1,2000 MW power company by 2012-13. APL is also executing a 800 km-long, 500 kV bi-pole high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line, from Mundra to Mahendargarh in Haryana, which is capable of transmitting up to 2,500 MW of power. The promoters of the Adani Group has, recently, raised around Rs 4,000 crore, via dilution of 4% of stake in the USD 5 billion company, primarily, to fund the acquisition of coal assets in Australia and South Africa.