NEW DELHI: In a move to expedite the nuclear power capacity addition, NTPC Ltd and Nuclear Power Corp of India (NPCI) through its joint venture Anushakti Vidhyut Nigam is expecting to invite bids and start construction of its Mahi Banswara nuclear power plant before the end of current fiscal 2024-25.
“We plan to lay the foundation stone of the project in the next two to four months and start work by this financial year,” said a senior executive of the company who did not wish to be identified. The project cost of the plant with said capacity of 2.8 gigawatt (GW) is expected to be Rs 50,000 crore.
Earlier, NTPC had signed a supplementary joint venture agreement with Nuclear Power Corp of India for the development of Mahi Banswara project and another nuclear plant in Chutka in Madhya Pradesh with a capacity of 1.4 GW. However, the Chutka project will now be undertaken by NPCIL independently, the source said.
The company also aims to foray into setting up of Bharat Small Reactors as announced in the Budget. The move comes amidst the company’s plan to add 60 GW of green energy capacity by 2032. As per the National Electricity Plan, the country aims to add 19.7 GW of nuclear capacity by 2032.
In nuclear energy, apart from its announced project in Rajasthan in collaboration with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India, the company is now looking to develop nuclear power plants in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Gujarat among other states and is in the process of identifying potential sites and getting requisite approvals.
NTPC Ltd has over the years diversified into renewable energy sources including wind, solar, hydro, nuclear energy, and chemicals like ethanol and methanol. The company is now also planning to set up a pumped storage plant of 1,000 megawatt (MW) capacity in Tamil Nadu.
The company also intends to come out with the IPO of its green arm NTPC Green Energy Ltd in November this year aiming to offer 10% ownership through new shares in the firm.
At the time of IPO, NGEL is expected to have 4 GW of operating capacity, with 8 GW under-construction, and another 8 GW under various stages of development, as per the official.
“Our balance sheet is very robust and healthy, and we can raise money easily. However, as a stated objective, we will go for 10% to start with, followed by 15% through OFS (Offer for Sale) and raise about a billion dollars,” the company’s chairman and managing director Gurdeep Singh had earlier told FE.
The CMD had said that the company plans to raise close to Rs 8,000 crore from its initial public offering of NTPC Green Energy Ltd. NTPC has also awarded a tender for purchase of 1 million tonne of coal from a commercial mining company for the first time in an attempt to reduce its imports.
Source: The Financial Express
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