State run Rural Electrification Corp has invited technical bids from domestic and international developers to award INR 1,300 crore contract for laying transmission system in Andhra Pradesh. The contract involves laying two high capacity transmission lines of 250 km length each for connecting various independent power stations in Vemagiri to Hyderabad.

Rural Electrification Corp would conduct bidding for the build, own, operate and maintain contract. Last date for submission of technical bids is June 14th 2011.

The government has identified four more such high capacity transmission systems to be awarded to private companies. Power Finance Corp and Rural Electrification Corp would conduct bidding for the projects.

The government have so far awarded six such projects worth INR 10,860 crore pertaining mainly to strengthening of interconnection between north and western region.

Vednata Group's Sterlite Transmission Projects has bagged contracts to build three large power transmission links. Reliance Power has bagged two such projects while a consortium of Simplex Infrastructure, Patel Engineering and BS Transcomm has been awarded a contract.

Power transmission in India is a monopoly of Power Grid Corporation of India that owns and operates about 45% of inter state transmission system. The government has decided that future inter-state transmission system schemes would be built by private sector entities.

(Sourced from ET)