CESC vice-chairman Sanjiv Goenka (second from right) and managing director S. Banerjee (second from left) in Calcutta on Friday. Picture by Kishor Roy Chowdhury

Calcutta, July 29: CESC has submitted a proposal to the Bengal government to set up a 1,000-mw greenfield thermal power plant at Katwa or Haldia.

The total cost of the project is Rs 4,000 crore, which will be funded through a mix of debt and equity in the ratio of 1:2.3. CESC has already initiated talks with banks and financial institutions to fund the project.

“When chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee came to know of our intention to set up a power plant in Orissa he asked me whether CESC has any plans for Bengal. We told him why not. The proposal went to the chief minister four weeks ago,” vice-chairman Sanjiv Goenka told reporters on the sidelines of the 27th annual general meeting of the company.

The power plant will probably come up at Katwa as the state has the necessary approval from the Central government to set up a power plant there. CESC will need environmental clearance from the Union environment ministry.

Goenka said the company was awaiting a formal letter from the Bengal government. Work for the project is expected to begin in the second half of 2006-07.

The new plant would be in addition to the company’s already announced plan to add a 250-mw unit to its existing 500-mw Budge Budge plant. The central government clearance for the Rs 1,000-crore plant is expected to come by end-August. Work will begin by end 2005-06.

Goenka said CESC is also negotiating with the Orissa government for setting up a 2000-mw power plant near Talcher at a cost of Rs 8,000 crore.

The company has decided to expand its operations in other parts of the country and is planning to set up a 100-mw power plant in Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh and a 500-mw plant on the Rajasthan-Chhattisgarh border.

Once work on the plant starts, it would take three years to commission, he said. The 1000-mw plant in Bengal would also take three years to complete once all necessary clearance is received.

Goenka added that the company was in dialogue with at least four other states to get power distribution rights. He, however, did not disclose the names.

CESC has registered a net profit of Rs 41 crore in the first three months of the current financial year compared with Rs 37 crore in the corresponding previous period. Total income has risen to Rs 688 crore from Rs 650 crore.

Promoters up stake

The CESC board has cleared a preferential issue of up to 20 lakh warrants to the management group. This will help promoters to increase their stake from 42 per cent to 45 per cent.

The utility has also planned a $40-million GDR issue, which is to be listed at Luxembourg. The GDR issue will be floated in September and will dilute the promoters’ holding by 0.3 per cent.

PCBL plans

Phillips Carbon Black, an RPG group company, has chalked out ambitious plans to grow.

The company hopes to achieve a 5-lakh-tonne capacity by 2010 and a power generation capacity of 100 mw.