NTPC to Forge Ahead with Coal Projects in Lanka and Bangladesh

Undeterred by the fluid political developments in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, state-run NTPC said it was going ahead with its projects in those countries. The clarification came after a section of the media reported the company is losing projects to China. NTPC and the Sri Lankan team recently met in New Delhi to discuss changes to the power purchase agreement (PPA) and the implementation agreement for the 2×250 MW  imported coal-based power project at Sampur in Trincomalee district in Lanka. The negotiations took place on the heels of India’s decision to vote in favour of a US-sponsored resolution censuring Sri Lanka on its human rights violation.

“NTPC is going ahead with the proposed 2×250 Mw coal based joint venture in Trincomalee. A JV company (Trincomalee Power Company Limited) between NTPC and Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has already been incorporated and the project agreements, including PPA, are expected to be signed soon,” an NTPC spokesperson told Business Standard.NTPC and CEB had signed an agreement in 2011 to set up a coal fuel-based 500 Mw plant at a cost of Rs 4,000 crore at Sampur. An NTPC team led by chairman and managing director Arup Roy Choudhury was in Sri Lanka in February to hold talks on the project.

Sri Lanka’s Treasury Secretary P B Jayasundera had already dismissed news reports that NTPC was pulling out of the project. Similarly, in Bangladesh, NTPC is not worried about the fluid political situation due to the face-off between the ruling and opposition parties there. The company is going ahead with the development of the 2×660 MW imported coal-based project at Khulna division.

The NTPC spokesperson said, “NTPC is going ahead to develop project at Khulna in a joint venture with the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDP). NTPC and BPDP have already signed a JV in January 2012. The feasibility report for the project has been finalised. The project agreements like PPA are expected to be signed soon. ”NTPC with its total installed capacity 40,674 MW (including JVs) has set a target to have an installed power generating capacity of 1,28,000 MW by 2032.