Emphasis on coal-based thermal power projects in Eleventh Plan

25 August 2007

Out of the proposed capacity addition of 78,577 MW, in the Eleventh Five-year Plan, 52,905 MW is proposed to be coal-based, of which projects totalling 1350 MW are envisaged to use imported coal, said power minister Sushilkumar Shinde, in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

He said that the ministry of power has launched an initiative for the development of coal-based ultra mega power projects (UMPPs), each of about 4000 MW capacity. Under the initiative, the Central Electricity Authority in consultation with the concerned states has identified four pithead sites and five sites at coastal locations.

Shinde informed the house that the UMPP at Mundra in Gujarat was one of the coastal sites and the developer, Tata Power Company Ltd, had been selected through a tariff-based competitive bidding process.

He said, "The special purpose vehicle, Coastal Gujarat Power Limited (CGPL), which had been set up for the project had also been transferred to the developer".

CGPL has said that contracts have been entered into for supply of boiler and steam turbine generator packages. The project is expected to give full benefits during the 12th Plan, Shinde added.