Anil Ambani lines up Rs 61,500 cr for Orissa

This will be the largest investment in a single-location power plant anywhere in the world.

Anil Ambani, the chairman of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (R-ADAG), today unveiled a Rs 61,500-crore investment plan for Orissa, which includes a 12,000-MW coal-fired power plant, the largest of its kind in the world.

Ambani's investment blue print also covers health, IT and communication sectors. In another development, Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Ambani said that a joint task force with representation from Reliance Energy (REL) as well as the state government would soon be set up to resolve the dispute over the Rs 2,000-crore default by three REL-owned power distribution companies in Orissa, involving Grid Corporation (Gridco) and the state.

Ambani said he had had fruitful and wide-ranging talks with the chief minister on the issue. "There are regulatory orders in place. We will follow the regulatory process, and find a time-bound solution to the issues."

The pithead thermal power plant will come up at Hirma in Jharsuguda district, and is expected to cost over Rs 50,000 crore. The company will spend another Rs 10,000 crore on evacuation and transmission of electricity.

The project will be set up in phases, with the first phase accounting for 4,000 MW. The subsequent phases will each see an addition of 1000 MW capacity.

"This will be the largest investment in a single-location power plant anywhere in the world," Ambani told mediapersons after a meeting with Patnaik. Work on the project is expected to begin within six to 12 months.

He said his company was also keen to set up a health city in or around Bhubaneswar at an estimated investment of Rs 500 crore.

The health city will consist of a hospital, and infrastructure for medical education and research.

R-ADAG further plans to invest about Rs 1,000 crore in IT and communication-related projects in the state.

This includes setting up of a branch of Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Communication Technology in Bhubaneswar, an IT development centre, and BPO and data storage and management facility for the use of both industry and the government.

R-ADAG and the Orissa government signed three joint communiqué outlining the company's investment plan in power, health, and IT sectors in the state. "These will be converted into MoUs soon," Patnaik said.

It may be noted that R-ADAG's Rs 61,500-crore investment plan is the largest for any project by a group in the country, and has surpassed the Rs 52,000-crore investment proposal of South Korean steel giant Posco, and the Rs 40,000-crore steel plant plan of Mittal Steel in Orissa.