Essar Power recently announced the completion of the Rs 8,000-crore capex programme for its 1,200 MW Mahan power plant project with the commissioning of the plant’s second 600 MW unit. Both units of the project are operational and supported by an end-to-end raw material sourcing and evacuation infrastructure.
The second unit is supplied by Harbin Power and is designed to perform at optimum efficiency with domestic coal from pithead mines in the region. The project is expected to provide direct employment to about 250 people, and indirect employment to around 1,250 more, thus spurring ancillary development in the area.
The Gajra Behra siding can handle, at its peak, up to three rakes per day, which will meet the coal requirements of the Mahan plant substantially. Being just 18 km away from the facility, it will reduce the transportation distance by about 90 per cent, as well as help curb pollution. It will enable the plant to obtain domestic coal from Coal India mines, as well as from NCL, besides being able to receive imported coal by being connected to both the east and west coasts of the country.
“The cancellation of the coal mine assigned to us severely affected the Mahan project. Though it led to project delays and cost overruns, we doubled our equity investment to Rs 3,300 crore to ensure the project is completed.
This demonstrates our policy to follow through on our investment commitments and develop worldclass assets despite all odds. With the completion of the capex cycle at Mahan, we now have 3,830 MW of generation capacity, with another 1,260 MW under construction, and a presence in the high-margin transmission sector. We have invested more than Rs 30,000 crore in the power portfolio, which includes Rs 10,000 crore of equity, and are now among India’s largest private power producers,” said Prashant Ruia, Director-Essar.
