Goindwal Sahib Thermal Project achieve financial closure
VINOD KUMAR GUPTA
Tuesday, 02 February 2010
CHANDIGARH: Goindwal Sahib Thermal Project with two units each of 270 MW each would start generation in 2012 -13 is now a certainty after it attained financial closure.

GVK power in a press release has informed that the total debt component of the project has been pegged at Rs 2,400 crore. The firm today signed the financing documents with the consortium of lenders to finance the Rs 3,200 crore project.

Punjab Government had announced the setting up of thermal project in Goindwal Sahib with much fanfare in year 2000and a power purchase-agreement was executed between GVK and the PSEB .The MOU for sale of power from the project was signed in early 2006.The initial cost of the project was around Rs 2,500 crore which has now touched 3200 crore.

The Work on the 540 MW Goindwal Sahib thermal power plant begun on October 18 last when Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal performed the ground-breaking ceremony.

With the financial arrangements now made for the project the first unit of the project would start producing power from end 2012 onwards, the second unit would follow after three months. After completion, both the units would be producing 540 MW or 4020 million units of power per annum.

The plant has witnessed a number of roadblocks but with the financial closure of the project it seems certain that project has now started in right earnest.