NTPC floats tenders for Mouda power project

Nagpur, May 13: After a long wait, the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has floated a global tender for the supply and installation of a steam turbine generator package for its proposed 1,000 MW thermal power project at Mouda near here.

The NTPC floated the tender for international competitive bidding for the project, which consists of two units each of 500 MW, on May 1. The bids are to be opened on July 31.

The Ministry of Power has granted Mouda the status of a mega power project. It means that the material for the plant would have exemption from various levies like sales tax and import duty, according to Congress leader and former Ramtek MP Subodh Mohite, for whom Mouda is a pet project.

Mr Mohite, incidentally, claims it was he who had first mooted the idea of setting up a thermal power plant in Mouda.

The project would cost around Rs 5,200 crore and is expected to be completed within 45 months from the date of the tender, Mr Mohite told newspersons here last week. The Central Government would monitor the progress of the project and ensure that it is completed in a time-bound manner, Mr Mohite said.

Mahanadi Coalfields Limited has already granted coal linkage to Mouda from its mines in Chhattisgarh. A 65-kilometre railway siding will have to be laid from the existing Mumbai-Howrah line to the plant site to provide a link for the supply of coal, Mr Mohite said.

UNI