GMR to invest Rs 60,000 cr in power, coal
NEW DELHI: Infrastructure major GMR Group plans to invest more than Rs 60,000 crore over the next five-six years to enhance its power generation capacity in the country and acquire coal assets abroad.
"We have targeted generation of nearly 12,000 MW capacity in the next 5-6 years. Of these, at least 7,000 MW will be operationalised by 2010," said, GMR Energy CEO Raaj Kumar.
The diversified group currently has a power generation capacity of around 800 MW. GMR Energy, a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure, has three operational power plants of 388.5 MW, 220 MW, 200 MW capacity in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu respectively. It is also developing two thermal power plants of 1,050 MW each in Orissa and Chhattisgarh.
The group is also executing hydroelectric power projects with a total capacity of 640 MW at Alaknanda in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh. It is also pitching in for a few hydel projects in neighbouring Nepal.
The financing of the power addition plan would be done in a debt-equity ratio of 75:25, Kumar said. "A sum of around Rs 13,000 crore would be raised internally. As the projects shape up, we will arrange for the finance. We are in general talks with national as well as international banks," Kumar added.
Of the total investment, an estimated amount of Rs 12,000 crore would be spent on acquiring coal properties in Indonesia and South Africa to fuel the capacity addition plans.
"We are looking at two-three coal blocks in Indonesia and South Africa. We expect to acquire a majority stake in one of the properties," he said.
