NEEPCO Scouts for EPC Contractor for Agartala Gas Turbine Expansion Project

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources India (Delhi, India)--India's state-run power producer North Eastern Power Corporation Limited (NEEPCO) (Shillong, Meghalaya) is scouting for an engineering-procurement-construction (EPC) contractor to develop its 43-megawatt (MW) Agartala Gas Turbine Expansion Project in Tripura, a northeastern state in India. NEEPCO issued a notice-inviting tender on Monday for the selection of the EPC firm, via an international competitive bidding route.

According to NEEPCO, the scope for the contract will involve the design, engineering, manufacturing, testing, inspection, packing, transport and supply, including transit insurance, erection, testing, and commissioning of waste-heat recovery boilers (WHRB), steam turbines, generators, air-cooled condensers, balance-of-plant (BoP) equipment, switchgear, electrical controls, and control and instrumentation systems with all necessary spares. The EPC firm also will be responsible for the execution of the associated civil, architectural and structural work. The last date for the submission of bids for this package is October 20, 2011.

Agartala Gas Turbine Station, which is at Ramchandra Nagar in the West Tripura district, has an installed generation capacity of 84 MW through four simple-cycle, gas-turbine units of 21 MW each. The gas requirement of 750,000 standard cubic meters per day for the existing units is met from the supplies by GAIL (India) Limited (BSE:532155).

The execution of the project has been delayed, considerably, due to the delay in the granting of a $64 million investment approval by the government of India's Cabinet Committee for Economic Affairs.

The proposed expansion envisages conversion of the open-cycle gas turbine plant to a combined-cycle power plant, using an air-cooled, steam-condensing system to facilitate the addition of two steam-turbine units of 23 MW each. With the completion of the project, the capacity of the Agartala power station would increase to 130 MW.

The project has been funded through a debt-equity ratio of 70:30. NEEPCO will arrange for $45.4 million from various financial institutions, while it will contribute another $19 million from its internal resources. The cost of the project will include interest during construction of $5.6 million, while the projected completion period is 30 months from investment approval. The new generation units are likely to afford generation of 377.58 million kilowatt-hours annually.

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