MPs question Globeleq's equity sale in Sasan power

NEW DELHI: With Sasan power plant hitting a roadblock after Lanco's partner Globeleq sold its stake, the issue has now been raised by two Lok Sabha members, who have suggested cancellation of award of the project.

Congress MP Gurudas Kamat has written to Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde asking whether the sale of equity by Globeleq Singapore Ltd to Lanco Infratech and Jindal Steel was permitted and if Globeleq Singapore was a shell company how did it qualify in the bidding process.

State-run Power Finance Corporation, the nodal agency for ultra mega power projects, had in December 2006 awarded the 4,000 MW Sasan project to Lanco-Globeleq consortium, which had outbid companies such as Reliance Energy with tariff of Rs 1.19 per unit. However, Globeleq later sold its 70 per cent stake to Lanco and Jindal.

Kamat, who chairs the Standing Committee on Energy, also sought to know if Jindal Steel, which had earlier submitted a bid, could be permitted to be a part of two bids and would the consortium have qualified if Lanco had been the majority partner.

"Since this is an important project creating benchmarks for future projects, I am sure that any trading of project by the lead developer (Globeleq) would not be permitted and would automatically lead to disqualification of the bid," he said.

Separately, Samajwadi Party MP Chandra Pal Singh Yadav in a letter to Shinde said it appeared that the selected bidder (Globeleq-Lanco consortium) "flouted the bid conditions".

Seeking to raise the matter in a meeting of the Committee, he said if the consortium had misrepresented, then the award of the project should be cancelled and both Lanco and Globeleq should be debarred from participating in future bidding in the power sector.