NTPC Invites Bid for Cooling Tower Package of Kudgi Project

Researched by Industrial Info Resources India (Delhi, India)--India's state-owned power producer, NTPC Limited (BSE:532555) (New Delhi, India), is scouting for a contractor to construct Induced Draft Cooling Towers at its 2,400-megawatt (MW) Kudgi Super Thermal Power Project. Phase I is located in the Bijapur District of Karnataka. NTPC has floated a global tender for this purpose. The power major intends to finance this tower-package through both external commercial borrowings and the company's internal resources.

According to NTPC, the scope for the contract will involve design, engineering, manufacture, inspection, packing, transportation to site, testing and commissioning of seven splash-fill type Induced Draught Cooling Towers. The contractor will also be responsible for successful completion of trial operation of these towers.

As per the pre-conditions laid down by NTPC for this contract, to qualify for this package, a bidder should have designed, constructed and commissioned at least one splash type Induced Draught Cooling Tower in Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) Construction that has a capacity that is not less than 13,000 cubic meter per hour. The tower should have been in successful operation for at least one year prior to the date of Techno-Commercial bid opening for the offered package.

Additionally, in terms of financial standards, the average annual turnover of the bidder, in the preceding three financial years, should not be less than $10.76 million, and net worth should not be less than 25% of the paid-up share capital. The bid documents will be available for sale until October 3, 2012, on the payment of a non-refundable fee of $500. The last date of submission of bids for this package is November 6, 2012. The power project will be entitled to "deemed export benefits" on the purchase of goods and equipment, under the mega power policy of the Government of India.

The 2,400-MW power plant will have three supercritical technology-based units that are 800 MW each. During the 2016-17 time period, the power generated from this project will be supplied to the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

The coal requirement for the project has been estimated at 13 million tonnes per annum. This requirement will be met from NTPC's own captive coal mine at Pakhri Barwadi in Jharkhand state. The Kudgi Super Thermal Power Project is the first project to be set up in Karnataka by NTPC that has a total installed capacity of 4,000 MW in two stages. Phase I will have 2,400 MW. The water requirement for the project has been pegged at 5,200 million cubic meters per annum, and it will be met from the Almatti Dam, which is located 18 kilometers from the project site.

According to NTPC sources, the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board recently handed over 778 hectares of land required for the construction of the main plant. The acquisition of the remaining 647 hectares of land that is needed for the development of the associated infrastructure is underway.

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