Tata Power-Siemens tie up for mega power projects

11 July 2006

Tata Power has been short-listed for the projects in Sasan, Madhya Pradesh and Mundra, Gujarat - along with some large Indian and overseas companies. The short-listed entities would have to make their detailed tariff- based bids by September and the projects would be awarded to the bidder quoting the lowest tariff, subject to technical qualification.

Though Tata Power has not given any further details, it is expected that Siemens Project Ventures would bring its expertise in preparing tariff-based financial bids.

Tata Power had earlier tied up with Siemens Power Generation and South Korean company Doosan Heavy Industries to meet the technical requirements for the ultra-mega power plants. Siemens is one of the largest power generation equipment suppliers globally and Doosan has wide experience in super critical technology required for large power projects.

The ultra-mega power project policy was announced by the central government to rapidly scale up the power generation capacity in the country. In the first phase, five large power projects of 4,000 MW each would be awarded on the basis of international competitive bidding. Each project may see investments of around Rs15,000 crore.

Of the two projects for which Tata Power is bidding, the Sasan project would be coal-based while the Mundra project would use imported natural gas as fuel. Tata Power is also considering other projects to raise capacity by 4,500 MW at an investment of Rs18,000 crore. Of this, the proposed 1,000 MW project in Bangladesh has been suspended recently on delays in getting government clearance.