Ultra mega power plans to be restructured

The power ministry has decided to skip the expression of interest stage for the proposed 4,000-Mw ultra mega power projects. It hopes that this move will mean faster selection of developers.

The first two projects to benefit from this approach will be the IB Valley in Orissa and Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

The Power Finance Corporation, the nodal agency for developing ultra mega projects, will straight-away issue the request for qualification (RFQ) documents in July.

"We have decided this approach to shorten the gestation cycle of the ultra mega power projects. These projects will not go through the EoI stage in order to reduce lag," a power ministry official told Business Standard.

In the earlier activity schedule for ultra mega projects, the first stage involved a notice for EoIs followed by their submission.

The second stage required the issue of RFQ documents followed by submission. The third stage saw the issue of request for proposal (RFP) documents followed by submission. The last stage was the selection of a developer, leading to the transfer of the special purpose vehicle created for the project to the developer.

The earlier approach wanted to call applications from developers in chronological order "" Akalatara (Chattisgarh) and Tadri (Karnataka) after Sasan (Madhya Pradesh), Mundra (Gujarat) and Girye (Maharashtra).

The Akaltara project has been put on the backburner due to the Chattisgarh government's demand for 12 per cent free power and complete allocation of 4,000 Mw from the proposed project.

"The Chhattisgarh government has not conveyed its acceptance and support like other states," a government official said.

For Sasan, Mundra and Girye EOIs have been submitted. For Sasan and Mundra, RFP documents have been scheduled to be issued on July 1, followed by their submission by September 30.

Selection of the developer and transfer of special purpose vehicles for the two projects are slated to be completed by December 31.