India's maiden attempt at constructing large power transmission lines through private sector participation has met with encouraging response with around 30 companies expressing interest in setting up two projects costing around Rs 6,000 crore in eastern India.
International names in the list include AES Corporation, China Light & Power and Isolux of Spain. Prominent amongst Indian companies were Tata Power, Reliance Energy, GMR Group, Torrent Power, Essar Power and RPG Transmission.
Power Finance Corporation Ltd, the nodal agency, will soon seek technical and financial bids to select the private sector developers using the competitive bidding route. The two projects currently offered are the Rs 4,200 crore Maithon-Bokaro system to evacuate power from Damodar Valley Corporation's upcoming Bokaro, Mejia, Maithon and Koderma projects, and a Rs 1,800 crore scheme to enable imports from the surplus eastern and north-eastern regions into the northern region.
Moving on the lines of the ultra mega power project series, PFC will form special purpose vehicles (shell companies) for each transmission project. These shell companies, incorporated as wholly-owned subsidiaries of PFC, will carry out pre-project work before handing the project over to the private sector for development on BOO basis.
India has planned to offer 14 large transmission projects for private sector development in its attempt to create inter-regional transmission capacity of 37,500 mw by the end of the 11th Plan period, up from 11,450 mw as of October 2006. Power Finance Corporation and Rural Electrification Corporation will act as nodal agencies for these projects. REC has also invited EoI for two transmission projects that would facilitate power evacuation from NTPC's North Karanpura and Talcher projects, respectively. The response to this EOI is awaited.