RPG eyes Rs 1,700-cr loan for Haldia thermal project

KOLKATA: The Goenkas of RPG are close to stitching up a debt finance of nearly Rs 1,700 crore for its 600 mw greenfield thermal venture in Haldia.

Talks are on with a battery of domestic and international lenders and a final call on the loan-mix will be taken once CESC finalises the local-to-imported coal ratio for the project, a senior company executive told ET.

Indications are that CESC will import about 30% of the requisite coal (roughly 2.8 mt per annum) for the Haldia greenfield venture, while a majority 70% will be sourced from the Mahanadi coalfields in Orissa.

But the Goenkas will take a call on the quantum of foreign loans only after awarding the near Rs 2,300-crore engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract. Price bids for the Haldia Stage-I EPC job are likely to be opened by the end of this month.

It is known that apart from state-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL), two Chinese power equipment makers ��� Dong Fang and Sepco Electric ��� are the front-runners in the race for the prized Haldia project.

Once the debt financing is firmed up, Haldia Energy (HEL), the wholly-owned subsidiary of CESC executing the Rs 2,400-crore-plus Haldia Stage-I thermal venture, is slated to achieve financial closure by end-2009.

When contacted, a CESC director declined to reveal the identity of potential lenders the Goenkas were talking to for financing the Haldia greenfield venture. ���We are talking to some of the biggest domestic and global investment banks to tie up near Rs 1,700-crore debt component. Five banks may be involved in financing the project, but the quantum of foreign loans will depend on the degree of imported coal,��� he said.

Apart from lining up the lenders, RPG bosses are also working out the logistics to wheel the Haldia generation into CESC���s licensed area.

The company is likely to spend about Rs 150 crore for putting up an 81-km transmission link that will connect CESC���s Haldia power station with PowerGrid���s substation in Subhash gram, which is some 12-km away from CESC���s nearest substation within its command area.