By IANS,
New Delhi : The government Thursday handed over the letter of intent for the Tilaiya ultra mega power project (UMPP) to Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (R-ADAG), being set up at an investment of over Rs.120 billion (Rs.12,000 crore/$2.4 billion).
This is the third UMPP awarded to group company Reliance Power, with the other two being at Sasan in Madhya Pradesh and Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
“Recognising the fact that economies of scale leading to cheaper power could be secured through large size power projects and for introducing the efficient super critical technology in a big way, a unique initiative had been launched for the development of UMPPs under tariff-based international competitive bidding route,” the government said in a statement.
“Development of 4,000 MW power project through a tariff-based bidding process is the first of its kind in the world,” it added.
Reliance Power was awarded the Tilaiya project in Jharkhand late last month.
“We have been awarded the Tilaiya project. We bid the lowest per unit cost of Rs.1.77. We will generate 4,000 MW,” a senior official of Reliance Power told IANS after a high-powered committee named his company the winner.
Besides Reliance, four other companies had bid for the project. These included the state-run power utility NTPC, Jindal Power, Lanco Infratech and Sterlite Energy. They were among the 11 that had met the pre-bid criteria, officials said.
With the Tilaiya project also in its kitty, Reliance Power has a portfolio to generate over 30,000 MW of power in the country. The group is now developing as many as 14 medium- and large-sized power projects, company officials said.
Of these, projects in western India will account for 12,220 MW, north for 9,080 MW, east for 4,000 MW, northeast for 2,900 MW and the south for 4,000 MW.
The group’s 7,480-MW project to be located at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh, not far from the national capital, is expected to be the world’s largest gas-fired power project at a single location, officials said.