5,000 mw Targeted Over Five Years

Kolkata-based Jain Group of Industries is likely to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Orissa government in July for a 1,000-mw power project in the coal-rich state. It will be part of the group's ambition of achieving 5,000 mw of power capacity over the next five years, Mannoj Kumar Jain, Group Chairman and Managing Director, Jain Group of Industries, told Projectmonitor.
The Orissa power plant will be the third coal-based mega project planned by the group, following two 1,000-mw projects in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh for which MoUs have already been signed. The MoU for the Madhya Pradesh project was signed on June 9, while the Chhattisgarh project was formalised in February this year.
Jain Group has already begun land acquisition for the Chhattisgarh project. Around 50 acres have been acquired so far and agreements have been reached for another 300 acres. The Rs 5,000-crore project, being implemented by group company Jain Energy Ltd, is shaping up at Balpur in Jangir-Champa district. JEL has already made functional a site office in Champa and a project coordination office in the capital city of Raipur.
For the Madhya Pradesh project, coming up in Shahdol district, land acquisition is likely to begin over the next six months. Construction work on both the projects is scheduled to begin in 2009, with completion targeted for 2012.
Regarding sourcing of the main plant equipment, JEL is eyeing international suppliers. "We intend to source plant and machinery from China or Malaysia, or even from the east European block," Jain noted. The group is also open to equity partnership for the power projects, he said.
Discussing future plans, Jain said that West Bengal and Jharkhand were also on the company's radar to further expand the power portfolio. The company has also expressed interest in developing hydropower projects in Arunachal Pradesh.