Reliance Power bags Sasan

Matches Lanco-Globeleq price.

The three months of uncertainty over the 4,000 Mw Sasan ultra mega power project is finally over. Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) company Reliance Power Limited (RPL) has bagged the project after matching the tariff of Rs 1.196 per unit quoted by the original winning bidder, a consortium of Singapore-based Globeleq and Hyderabad-based Lanco Infratech, which was disqualified.

After an hour-long meeting, the empowered group of ministers (EGoM) today awarded the Rs 20,000 crore project in Madhya Pradesh "" the country's largest thermal power project "" to Reliance Power.

"Sasan Power Limited had received revised offers from three bidders that included Jai Prakash Associates, NTPC Limited and Reliance Power Limited and the revised bid of Reliance Power quoting a levellised tariff of Rs 1.196 per unit was the lowest," said Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, who also heads the EGoM.

The EGoM has asked Sasan Power to award RPL the letter of intent (LoI) for the project, the minister said. Sasan Power Ltd is the shell company floated by the Power Finance Corporation to pilot the Sasan project.

In its earlier bid, RPL was the second-lowest bidder (L2) for the pithead coal based project by quoting Rs 1.296 per unit, which was 10 paise higher than Lanco-Globeleq's bid.

Shinde said that the bid bond of Rs 120 crore submitted by Lanco would be returned to the company after deducting some amount. Under the bidding norms, if a company is disqualified at the bidding stage, it loses its right over the bid bond.

"It is the first such project and the government doesn't want any litigation," Shinde said when asked why the bid bond is being returned to the disqualified bidder.

Shinde, however, said that Lanco can bid for other ultra mega power projects.

The EGoM had met to consider the report submitted by the Sasan Power Limited board on a decision taken by the EGoM last week cancelling Lanco's bid, citing misrepresentation of facts by the company in its bidding documents.

The Sasan project, which is expected to be commissioned in 48 months, was embroiled in controversy when Globeleq, a partner in the winning consortium of Lanco-Globeleq, pulled out and its 70 per cent stake was bought by Lanco Infratech and Jindal Steel and Power Limited. Later, it was also alleged that Lanco-Globeleq had misrepresented information in the bidding documents to bag the Sasan project.

While Reliance Power matched Lanco's bid in the revised bid, the other two bidders, NTPC and Jaiprakash Associates, didn't change the price of their bids quoted earlier. NTPC quoted Rs 2.126 per unit while Jaiprakash quoted Rs 1.65.

"We are delighted to have won India's largest ultra mega power project through an international competitive bidding process. We look forward to building this world class infrastructure facility," said Anil Dhirubhai Ambani, chairman, ADAG, in a release.

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