Petronet LNG to invest Rs 4,200-cr in 1,200 MW power plant

MUMBAI: Leading LNG importer, Petronet LNG, plans to invest around Rs 4,200-crore to set up a 1,200 MW gas-based power plant in Gujarat, a top company official said.

With this, the company would be foraying into the power-generation business, Petronet LNG's managing director and CEO, AK Balyan, told reporters in Mumbai on Thursday.

"We have already acquired 50-hectares of land for setting up the plant and are awaiting our Board approval, which is likely to come in 1-2-months. Once the project is started, it will be operational within 28-30-months," Balyan said on the sidelines of the India Tech Foundation's 12th World Innovation Summit and Expo here.

The plant would come up near Dahej in Gujarat where the company operates a 10-million-tonne-a-year capacity LNG import and regassification facility.

The company would require Rs 3.5-crore per MW, he said, adding that it would partly fund the project through internal accruals. "The rest we would fund from outside," he said. However, he refused to divulge any financial details.

The company also plans to venture into city gas distribution segment, he said.

"We plan to venture into the city gas distribution segment too. We are exploring the option of entering into joint ventures with our promoters like GAIL and BPCL for the same. We would go ahead with the proposal once we get an approval from the Board," Balyan said.

On its 2.5-million metric tonne per annum (mmtpa) import terminal at Kochi in Kerala, he said, "the project is likely to be commissioned in the fourth-quarter of 2011-12."