Adani Power may look at bidding for ultra mega power projects

NEW DELHI: Power utility Adani Power may look at bidding for ultra mega and as well as coal-based power projects having a minimum generation capacity of 4,000 MW.

"The company may evaluate Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPPs), coal based power projects with a capacity of 4,000 MW or above, as and when they come up for bidding," according to the company's annual report for 2010-11.

Adani Power, a part of diversified Adani group, has an ambitious plan of having a capacity of 16,500 MW in the coming years.

As part of efforts to meet the growing electricity demand, the government is encouraging UMPPs. Each such project has a generation capacity of about 4,000 MW, entailing an investment of about Rs 16,000 crore.

A total of 16 UMPPs have been envisaged and special purpose vehicles have been set up for 12 projects.

So far, the government has awarded four UMPPs - Sasan in Madhya Pradesh, Mundra in Gujarat, Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Tilaiya in Jharkhand. Three of them - Sasan, Krishnapatnam and Tilaiya - are implemented by Reliance Power, while Mundra project is done by Tata Power.

Adani Power, along with its subsidiaries, has nine power projects -- having a combined capacity of 16,500 MW. Of the total, 1,980 MW has been commissioned and 7,260 MW is under implementation.

"The company is in advanced stages of implementing 4,620 MW coal-based power project at Mundra in Gujarat, 3,300 MW coal- based power project at Tiroda in Maharashtra and 1,320 MW coal-based power project at Kawai in Rajasthan," the report noted.

In 2010-11, Adani Power posted a total income of Rs 2,125.07 crore, including Rs 2,106.43 crore from sale of power. The entity raked in a profit after tax of Rs 523.75 crore last fiscal.