RVUNL Shortlists Alstom as EPC Contractor for Chhabra Expansion Project

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources India (Delhi, India)--State-owned Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RVUNL) (Jaipur, Rajasthan) has shortlisted Alstom India Limited (BSE:532309) (Noida, Uttar Pradesh) as the engineering, procurement, construction (EPC) contractor for its proposed 1,320-megawatt (MW) Chhabra thermal power station expansion project.

The power utility in June 2012 floated tender for the EPC contract, and negotiations over the bids started in December 2012. According to RVUNL sources, the construction of the project is now expected to begin by December 2013. The scope of work for the EPC contract involves the designing, engineering, manufacturing and supplying of equipment, along with the execution of civil, structural and architectural work.

The Chhabra power plant currently has an installed generation capacity of 500 MW through two 250-MW, subcritical, coal-fired units. The first 250-MW unit was commissioned in July 2010, followed by the commissioning of the second 250-MW unit in October 2011. The proposed 1,320-MW expansion envisages the addition of two 660-MW, supercritical, coal-fired units.

RVUNL is executing another 500-MW project, comprising two 250-MW units at the same site. The project is at an advanced stage of commissioning.

Planned to be developed at Chowki Motipura village, near Chhabra town in the Baran district of Rajasthan, the land requirement for the project is estimated to be 709 hectares. The coal requirement the proposed units has been estimated at 6.5 million tonnes per annum. To reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide, RVUNL has proposed to use a 70:30 blend of domestic and imported coal. The water requirement for the plant has been pegged at 122 million liters per day, which would be sourced from the adjoining Parwan Irrigation Project.

Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited is a company owned by the state government of Rajasthan that is entrusted with the development, operation and maintenance power plants in the state. The company currently has an installed generation capacity of 4,097.35 MW.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.