The public sector Power Grid Corporation has chalked out an ambitious plan to invest Rs 13,000 crore during the ninth plan period in both ongoing and fresh power projects.
The major chunk of finances for the plan have been mobilised through external commercial borrowings (ECBs) amounting to about Rs 4,302 crore, the corporation sources said adding multilateral agencies such as the World Bank, OECF and ADB were providing funds in large amounts. Our corporation is negotiating for the sanction of loans from IBRD and the Japan Export and Import Bank which would amount to Rs 2,717 crore, sources said. The corporation has estimated its total domestic resources during the plan period at Rs 3,878 crore of which internal resources would amount to Rs 2,628 crore. An amount of Rs 1,250 crore would also be raised through bonds.
Meanwhile the corporation as per its future fund options has targeted Rs 450 crore as additional domestic bonds, an OECF loan of Rs 250 crore and the open market borrowings worth Rs 800 crore, the sources said. With the present level of financial strength and the loans contracted, PowerGrid will easily meet this investment requirement, the sources said. Talking about their new schemes to be taken up during the ninth plan, the sources said that there were about 34 new power projects in the offing.
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The additional mandate given by the government to the corporation to provide transmission services associated with mega private projects would also call for a further investment of Rs 13,000 crore, they added.
The other major new projects likely to be taken up include the 1000 crore Sipat power project, 897 crore Rihand-I project, 746 crore Kundamkulam power projects.
The corporation also plans to promote creation of regional power pools in all power regions of the country, the sources added.