KOLKATA: The RPG Group is planning to invest about Rs. 16,000 crore through CESC for adding 4,000 MW of greenfield thermal power generation capacity, group Vice-Chairman, Sanjiv Goenka, announced here on Monday. He said CESC was exploring opportunities for getting into power distribution. Addressing a press meet here, he said bulk of this capacity, through projects in Haldia in West Bengal (2,000 MW), Dumka in Jharkhand and Dhenkanal in Orissa (1,000 MW each), would be added by the end of the Eleventh Plan (2011-12).

Around Rs. 4,700 crore of equity would be needed for these projects. CESC plans to meet this requirement through a mix of fresh capital, internal accruals of about Rs. 3,000 crore with some contribution from unlocking the value of its low performing assets. Special purpose vehicles might be floated for these projects, Mr. Goenka said.

Earlier, he signed a Rs. 850 crore turnkey EPC contract with Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) for building CESC's third 250 MW unit at Budgebudge. The Rs. 1,100-crore project is slated to be commissioned by June 2009, 30 months from the zero date (December 24, 2006). Mr. Goenka said the scope of the EPC contract with BHEL included boiler, turbine, generator, coal and ash handling plant, water systems and electrostatic precipitator.

CESC already has two 250 MW units here and Mr. Goenka said there had been a decade-long gap in creating fresh capacity.

BHEL director, Ravi Kumar, said that in West Bengal the company's order book was for building projects with a total capacity of 1,800 MW valued at Rs. 5,562 crore.

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