Reliance Energy to bid for EPC projects

The Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group company Reliance Energy has set its eyes on power-related engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) business and core infrastructure projects like highways, mass transport systems and real estate development as major areas of future growth.

Addressing the AGM of Reliance Energy, Anil Ambani, chairman, said the company plans to bid for EPC projects worth more than Rs 20,000 crore over the course of this year.

Currently, EPC business contributes about 32 per cent of the company's Rs 6,500 crore turnover.

Its outstanding order book stands at Rs 5,500 crore, an increase of over 60 per cent business compared with last year.

The major EPC projects being undertaken by the company include the 600 mw (2 units of 300 mw each) Yamunanagar thermal power project in Haryana, 1,200 mw (2 units of 600 mw each) Hisar thermal project in Haryana, 500 mw (2 units of 250 mw) Balance of Plant (BoP) for Parichha thermal project in Uttar Pradesh and a rural electrification project for 6,600 villages in Uttar Pradesh, said Anil Ambani.

He said the company was also pursuing a series of opportunities in the Mass Rapid Transport System (MRTS) projects in India.

A Reliance Energy-led consortia has been pre-qualified to participate in the bidding process for the Delhi Airport Express Link and the Hyderabad Metro project.

A Reliance Energy-led consortium has already bagged the fully elevated 12 km metro Verosova-Andheri-Ghatkopar MRTS rail project, costing about Rs 2,500 crore.

Further, it has bid for Line 2 of the Mumbai Metro, comprising a 32 km elevated track between Mankhurd and Bandra, at an investment outlay of Rs 6,500 crore.

He said Reliance has also emerged as the largest developer of roads and highways for the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under the build, own, transfer (BOT) scheme.

It was currently involved in the four-laning of five National Highway projects in Tamil Nadu, covering a length of 400 km at a cost of Rs 3,100 crore.

Construction on the two projects on NH 7 awarded last year was well in progress and scheduled to finish by December 2008. Further, Reliance Energy has bagged another three road projects, including one that involves the four-laning of 136 km.

Two of the largest projects executed by the company include the 20-km-long Western Freeway Sealink Project, which will connect Worli to Nariman Point in Mumbai at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore, and the Jaipur Ring Road Project, which involves the construction of a 12-lane 150 km-long highway around Jaipur, at a cost of Rs 6,000 crore.

Reliance Energy-led consortium has also emerged as the preferred bidder for the development of a business district over an area of 75 acres in Hyderabad City.