ADAG to set up power, cement plants in MP

Reliance Power Ltd, promoted by Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, has proposed to set up a 4,000 Megawatt pithead power plant in Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh.

The company has also planned to set up a cement plant somewhere in the Satna region, where limestone is in abundance.

"The company had signed a deal with the state government for both the projects and we are in process of extending all possible support," a senior government official told Business Standard.

The project will be in addition to the Ultra Mega Power Plant proposed in Sasan. The newly planned power project will supply coal ash to the proposed cement plant.

"The company," a government and company source told Business Standard, "has plans to set up the cement plant of 10 million tonnes with a probable investment of Rs 10,000 crore while the power plant will be set up with an investment of Rs 16,000 crore.

"The company is moving ahead on both the projects. The state government will have to identify land and make necessary infrastructure available," said a company source.

The Anil Ambani promoted group has signed a deal with the state government for a combined investment of Rs 50,000 crore. It also includes investment in the 3,960 Mw Ultra Mega power project in Sasan village of Sidhi district.

If this project comes, Madhya Pradesh will be in a position to have surplus power, although the power situation is precarious in the state due to a poor transmission and distribution system.

Against an installed capacity of 6,050 Mw, the state generates 4,542 Mw, thereby creating a shortage more than 1,500 Mw. Regular power cuts are more in the Rabi season, which sometimes reaches even 10 hours a day in rural areas.

The company has also proposed to set up a technology institute in Bhopal. The institute will be an extended arm of its Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information Technology.