Consortium led by IDFC signs agreement to finance Rs. 2167 crores to gas based 1095 MW Mega Power Project of Torrent Power Generation Limited in Gujarat

Mumbai, September 22, 2004

Agreements have been signed today between the financial consortium led by Infrastructure Development Finance Company Ltd. (IDFC) and Torrent Power Generation Ltd. (TPGL), a Torrent group company, for the 1095 MW combined cycle mega power project. With the execution of the financing agreements, TPGL’s 1095 MW gas-based CCPP has achieved financial closure today. These agreements were executed in the presence of Shri R V Shahi Saheb, Secretary, Ministry of Power, Government of India, Shri Deepak Parekh, Chairman, IDFC and Shri D Rajagopalan, IAS, Principal Secretary, Department of Industries and Mines, Government of Gujarat. The project, being set up by TPGL at a total cost of Rs. 3096 crores at Akhakhol village of Surat district in the State of Gujarat is expected to be commissioned in 2007. Out of the total cost of Rs. 3096 crores, the financial consortium led by IDFC will provide Rs. 2167 crores in the form of long term loans. The financial consortium comprises IDFC, PFC, IDBI, UCO Bank, Canara Bank and Punjab National Bank. Out of the total equity of Rs. 929 crores, 60% will be contributed by the Torrent Group. The Torrent group has already invested Rs. 264 crores in TPGL.

The power generated by the project will be supplied to Ahmedabad Electricity Company Ltd. (AEC), Surat Electricity Company Ltd. (SEC) and Power Trading Corporation (PTC) for inter state sale. AEC and SEC would be utilising 75% of the project capacity by 2007 based on their existing purchases from the State Electricity Board and the expected growth rates.
The project envisages use of advance class gas turbines with higher thermal efficiency in 3 Blocks of 365 MW each.

Government of Gujarat has accorded its consent for establishment of 1000+ MW power generation project. Government of India has accorded in-principle mega power project status to the project on the recommendation of Government of Gujarat. The project has obtained all necessary clearances including the Environmental clearance from Ministry of Environment & Forest (MoEF) and Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB).

This gas based project has distinctive advantages over the domestic coal based projects. NG has been found to be the best in terms of availability on a long term basis. Also, it is environment friendly with generation cost per unit being competitive. It has been found that domestic coal is an unviable option due to its adverse environment impact, infrastructure bottlenecks and absence of long term fuel supply arrangement. The plant is strategically located at Akhakhol village in Surat district. Both Tapti River and National Highway are within 2.5 km. The main market SEC is within 30 km from the site. Hazira LNG terminal is 40 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 18 km from the plant. Also the proposed Dahej-Uran pipeline is within 20 km from the site.