Coal in place, GMR plans 2,000-Mw thermal plant

Coal in place, GMR plans 2,000-Mw thermal plant

Coal in place, GMR plans 2,000-Mw thermal plant
Mahesh Kulkarni & Ravi Menon / Bangalore May 12, 2009, 1:12 IST

GMR Energy, a subsidiary of Bangalore-based infrastructure company GMR Infrastructure Ltd, is planning to set up a 2,000-Mw thermal power plant near a port on the west coast. The company has already tied up coal supplies by acquiring a mine for $100 million in Indonesia last year.


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A Subbarao, chief finance officer, GMR Group, said total investments in the power project were yet to be ascertained. “The investments will be decided on the basis of the capacity of the power plant. Typically, a 1,000-Mw thermal power plant requires an investment of Rs 4,500 crore,” he told Business Standard.

Although the company has not finalised the location of the plant, it would like to have it close to key consumption centres in Maharashtra and Gujarat, where demand for power is high.

GMR Energy is in the process of identifying prospective locations along the east coast for the proposed plant.

“The Indonesian coal firm, which we acquired, will be ready for coal extraction in two years and we want to be ready with a project to utilise the raw material,” Subbarao said.

This mine has reserves of 100 million tonnes (mt) and is spread over 25,000 hectares in southern Sumatra. The licence provides GMR with a 30-year mining lease over two separate coal blocks.

GMR Energy has two power projects in operation in Chennai and Mangalore with a cumulative capacity of 420 Mw, and is setting up greenfield projects (thermal and hydro) with a cumulative capacity of 3,130 Mw. These projects are spread across Uttarakhand, Orissa, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

The board of directors of GMR Group, at their meeting in Bangalore on Saturday, decided to seek shareholder approval to raise up to $1 billion to fund growth plans, which include road and power projects.

“We are competitive in our tariff. We are yet to sign a power purchase agreement (PPA) with any government for the new thermal power plant. Once we finalise the location, we will sign the PPA,” Subbarao said.

He said the company was not looking at roping in a partner for the thermal power project.