NTPC has spent Rs. 10,289 crore of the capital outlay upto third quarter of this fiscal as against the revised total capex target of Rs. 10,481 crore, thus achieving 98.16% of the capex utilisation targets. As per the highly backloaded capex plan, NTPC has set a capex target of Rs. 20,200 crore for the current financial year. In other words, NTPC has to spend Rs. 9,911 crore in the last quarter. It may be noted that in the previous year NTPC had spent only 41% of the total capex target of Rs. 8,270 crore during the last quarter. However, power major is confident of achieving its targeted capex for the fiscal year.
NTPC faced many hurdles, both man-created and natural, during the first three quarters of the current fiscal. NTPC faced decade’s worst nature’s fury when flash floods in Uttarakhand caused severe damage to the Tapovan Vishnugad and Lata Tapovan hydro projects stalling capital expenditures in these projects. Compensation and law and order issues for the Pakri Barwadih coal mining project have also resulted in shortfall of the capex target. NTPC was also the victim of Bodoland agitation which affected project work at 3×250 MW Bongaigaon thermal power project. Sluggish paced work by contractor, BGR-Hitachi, affected the supply schedule at Solapur and Meja thermal power projects which in turn impacted its capex plans for the project.
