R-Infra commissions power line

Reliance Infrastructure on Monday commissioned the second power line of its 1,500-km Western Region System Strengthening Scheme.

The 103-km line was commissioned three months after commissioning of the first line.
R-Infra got the project in 2006 and final clearance in 2009. "This project was bagged on competitive bidding and is tariff-based, and different from all the cost-plus projects which we have been doing until now.

"The returns for this tariff-based project will be in the range of 16 per cent," said Lalit Jalan, chief executive officer and director of R-Infra.

The Rs 1,400-crore (Rs 14-billion) project, which has a concession period of 25 years, will connect Gujarat to Maharashtra, cutting across three important industrial belts of Ahmedabad, Surendranagar and Mehsana.

The project would facilitate the flow of 4,000 megawatt power.

With nine lines, the project can generate Rs 250 crore (Rs 2.5 billion)

in annual revenue after the commissioning of all lines.

All lines are expected to be commissioned by the second quarter of this financial year.

R-Infra has five other transmission line projects. It had bagged two of the ultra mega transmission line projects in 2009, and expects 16-20 per cent returns from these.

"We only have to take construction risk, as revenue is not a risk," said Jalan.

Jalan said the trend would shift towards rate-based transmission line projects.

"Moving forward, the cost-plus method will fade away like in generation. This will give a chance to the private sector to participate more in this business," he said.