R-Power to place Rs 10k cr equipment order

Reliance Power, the flagship company of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani (ADA) Group, will place orders worth Rs 10,000 crore for 12 boiler, turbine and generators (BTGs) for its power plants in a few days. This will be the largest ever such order worldwide to be placed with a power equipment manufacturer.

Five international boiler and turbine manufacturers "� Ansaldo from Italy, Doosan from Korea, Toshiba of Japan, Shanghai Electric of China and Power Machines from Russia are in the fray to bag this mammoth order. The order would be for 8,000 mw capacity, said sources.

Senior executives of these global majors are now camping in Mumbai and the final round of negotiations are on. Reliance Power was likely to place the order with one of these manufacturers with details to be announced within a few days, said sources.

The equipments have to be supplied in 4-5 years as per the terms of the contract, they added. They said the orders were mainly for the Rs 18,300 crore Sasan Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) and the 4,000 mw Krishnapatanam UMPP, coming up in Andhra.

As reported two days ago, Reliance Power is fast-tracking the 3,960 mw Sasan project to commission it ahead of the earlier deadline for the first phase in 2012.

The first phase of the 600 mw Rosa power project is also scheduled for commissioning in 2009-10. Reliance Power intends to become the largest private sector power generator in the country with 13 power projects (capacity 28,200 mw).

Reliance Power would utilise a major portion of its initial public offering (IPO) and raise debt to fund the order. In January, the company had raised about Rs 12,000 crore through the country's largest ever IPO.

A Reliance spokesperson declined to comment on the development. Sources said BHEL, the country's only power equipment maker in the public sector, is not in the race.

This is because its 10,000 mw power equivalent manufacturing capacity is already booked. Further, the capacity addition for another 5,000 mw will take off only by 2009-10.