Rs 3096 cr project to commence operations in 2007

September 10, 2005, Surat

Construction of the power plant of Torrent Power Generation Limited’s (TPGL) 1147.5MW ‘SUGEN Project’ was commenced today by Shri Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Gujarat, in the presence of Shri Kashiram Rana, Member of Parliament, Shri Narottambhai Patel, Minister for Water Supply, and Shri Saurabh Patel, Minister of State, EPD, Planning and Protocol at Akhakhol village of Surat district.

Addressing the august gathering on the occasion, Shri Narendra Modi said: “The SUGEN project is an important milestone in the socio-economic history of Gujarat. It is a vital economic development which would provide impetus to the growth of the state. Torrent had signed an MOU with the Gujarat Government during Vibrant Gujarat. I am happy to see that this SUGEN Project is the fructification of that MOU.”

Shri Sudhir Mehta, Chairman, Torrent Group said that with the SUGEN Project, Torrent Power would gain a significant share of Gujarat’s power generation scenario. “The SUGEN Project has an outlay of Rs. 3096 crores and is expected to be completed by the 1st quarter of 2008. This project is part of the vertical integration strategy of Torrent Power. 75% percent of the power generated by the project, will be used by our group companies for distribution and the remaining 25% would be sold to Power Trading Corporation (PTC) for inter state sales and to others”, he added.

According to Shri Markand Bhatt, Managing Director, TPGL: “The SUGEN Project, one of the first Mega power project will not only be an asset to the power infrastructure of Gujarat, but also an example of how we can execute an environment friendly power generation unit with competitive cost.”

The EPC Contract for the project has been awarded to Siemens, AG of Germany. The project will operate with advanced class gas turbines having higher thermal efficiency in 3 Blocks of 367 MW each. Natural draft cooling tower, DM plant and a 220/400 KV switchyard would also form a part of the project. The entire enabling infrastructure like intake well, water pipelines, reservoir, approach roads and boundary walls has already been developed.

The SUGEN project, which achieved financial closure in September 2004, would be financed through a debt equity ratio of 70:30. Debt to the tune of Rs. 2167 crores is being funded by a financial consortium led by IDFC, while the Torrent Group will pick-up the entire equity in this project, out of which Rs. 279 crores have already been funded.

This gas based project has distinctive advantages. Natural gas has been found to be the best in terms of availability on a long term basis. Also, it is environment friendly with generation cost competitive. The plant is strategically located at Akhakhol village in Surat district. Both Tapi River and National Highway are within 2.5 km. The main market Torrent Power SEC is within 30 km from the site. Hazira LNG terminal is 50 km from the plant and Dahej LNG terminal is 100 km from the plant. HBJ pipeline is at 12 km from the plant and GSPCL pipeline is at 20 km from the plant. Also the proposed Dahej-Uran pipeline is within 19 km from the site.

About Torrent Group
The Torrent Group is one of the biggest industrial houses in Gujarat having focused interests in the Power and Pharmaceutical sectors. The Group’s turnover, which was Rs. 596 crores in FY 1995-96 increased to Rs.3125 crores during FY 2004-05 at a CAGR of 19%. While Torrent Pharmaceuticals is its flagship company, the power business is represented by Torrent Power AEC Ltd., Torrent Power SEC Ltd., and Torrent Power Generation Ltd. and Torrent Cables Limited.