NTPC to open Gandhar unit bidding next week

The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) will open the bidding for the engineering procurement and construction contract of its Gandhar plant in Gujarat next week.

The company is setting the 1300 MW plant for an investment of about Rs 5,200 crore.

Commenting on the investment at the sidelines of the FICCI Energy Technologies Forum 2004, NTPC Director (projects) T Sankaralingam said: "The plant is part of the 10th plan of the company. The targeted capacity of the plan is 9370 MW. NTPC has just completed the bidding of the Badh (Bihar) and Kawas (Gujarat) plants, which has a capacity of 1980 MW and 1300, respectivly."

Sankaralingam explained that out of planned 9370 MW capacity, 2500 MW has already been commissioned; 1500 MW is in its advanced stages of implementation and 4200 MW is expected to be commissioned in the next four months.

Included as part of this 4200 MW capacity are plants in, Kelgam in Bihar (capacity-1500MW), Vindhyachal in UP (1000 MW) and Sipat in Chattisgarhgh (980MW).

NTPC will start implementation of the plants at Talchar in Orrisa and Rechind in UP with a total capacity of 500 MW. However, Sankaralingam refrained from divulging any timeframe for the implementation.

Sankaralingam said that NTPC today generates a total capacity of 23,400 MW and the company aims at achieving 11,400 MW in the 11th plan. He added that by 2012, NTPC targets a capacity of 40,000 MW and 56,000 for the 2017.

He said that the new venture in power trading is doing well and is selling electricity at the rate of Rs 1.47 per unit.

Moreover, the company's hydro-project, with a capacity of 800 MW at Coaldam in Himachal Pradesh, will be completed in November 2008.