CESC takes stake in Maharashtra project

Special Correspondent

Project will be completed in 33 months

RPG group plans to offload equity in Spencer’s

Sanjiv Goenka

KOLKATA: RPG Group company CESC took its first step to go national by buying a Maharashtra-based company which is setting up a 600 MW power project in Chandrapur.

Announcing the acquisition, finalised on Thursday, CESC Vice-Chairman Sanjiv Goenka said that talks were on with power companies in other parts of the country to make similar acquisitions. He said that a war-chest of about Rs. 1,000 crore was ready.

Addressing a press meet, Mr. Goenka said that while Rs. 200 crore had been spent on buying a 50 per cent stake in Dhariwal Infrastructure Private Ltd, the remaining stake would be bought soon.

CESC hopes to achieve financial closure for the project by December and break ground by March 2010. Part of the generation from this plant would be fed to the grid and part would be for merchant sales.

Mr. Goenka said the project would be implemented within 33 months from the zero date. Possession of about 450 acres has been obtained and most of the clearances are in place. He described Maharashtra as one of the most lucrative power zones in the country.

“There is perfect synergy between this project and our own upcoming 600 MW project at Haldia and talks were on with three banks for financing these two projects, for which the engineering project consultant may also be common,” he said, adding that CESC might decide to implement the Maharashtra project through one of its subsidiaries.

Since commencing power generation and distribution in Kolkata in 1899, CESC now has a generating capacity of 975 MW and a customer base of 22 million in Kolkata and Howrah.

It is a vertically integrated company with interests in coal mining, generation and distribution of power. Even as it is set to commission an additional 250 MW capacity at its Budgebudge unit by September (where it has a 500 MW unit), it is planning to set up a new plant at Haldia in West Bengal and also in Jharkhand, Orissa and Bihar.

These will add 5,000 MW of fresh capacity at an investment of Rs 20,000 crore. On Spencer, the retail outfit of the group, Mr. Goenka said 20 per cent of its equity might be offloaded in favour of a private equity firm. “Negotiations are on,” he said.