Und dazu noch eine Beteiligung im zweitgrößten Land (Bevölkerungszahl) der Welt!
MUMBAI: Alstom India, subsidiary of the European power equipment giant, will pick up a 10% stake in Torrent Power Generation (TPGL) for around Rs 100 crore. TPGL is setting up a 1,095 MW, gas-fired combined-cycle power plant near Surat for Rs 3,096 crore.
TPGL hopes to finalise the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract, which would be awarded to Alstom, by February-end. Sudhir Shah, director (finance), Torrent group, said the project achieved financial closure last September and is expected to start work in March ’05. “The Torrent group has picked up a 60% stake. While Alstom picks up 10%, the remaining will be picked up by foreign/strategic investors,” said Mr Shah.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is negotiating a package with TPGL, under which they will pick up 10% for Rs 92.9 crore and also provide a rupee-denominated loan of up to Rs 245 crore, without a government guarantee.
TPGL has signed a power offtake agreement with two group companies — Surat Electricity Company (SEC) and Ahmedabad Electricity Company — apart from PTC.
While SEC will source 50% of the electricity produced by the plant, AEC and PTC will account for the remaining 25% each. It has also kept the option of supplying to the grid and the consumers in the region open.
Sources said the Torrent group is yet to finalise the gas supply agreement and is in talks with LNG suppliers Shell India and Petronet LNG. The power plant will be fuelled by natural gas to be supplied under a long-term gas supply agreement.
The project is expected to begin commercial operations in November ’06, with full completion in November ’07. TPGL has already acquired 140 hectares for the project.
TPGL has designed the project primarily to promote economic growth through the increased supply of electricity at a lower cost. The power generated by the project will replace power currently generated by state electricity boards and will allow a diversion of power supply to other consumers, said TPGL officials.
The Torrent group, through three of its group companies, will hold 60% in TPGL. The ADB loan will have a term of up to 15.5 years, including a grace period of 3.5 years. Interest will be determined in accordance with procedures applicable to ADB local currency loans for private sector operations, said the officials.
For Torrent, power is now a thrust area. “We are currently scanning more opportunities in the power sector. We also have plans to move into other states with generation and distribution projects,” said Mr Shah.