December 04, 2008

BHEL signs MoU with TNEB for Udangudi power project

Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited has signed a MoU with the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board to form a JV for setting up a 2x800MW coal based thermal power unit at Udangudi in Tuticorin district of Tamil Nadu. The new JV is expected to be in place by January 2008 with an investment of INR 8,500 crore. The project is expected to be operational by 2011.

The project will be set up through a JV, in which BHEL and TNEB will hold 26% each and the rest is expected to be contributed by financial institutions.

The proposed project will come up on a 938 acre wasteland area at Udangudi in Tiruchendur talk of Tuticorin district in southern Tamil Nadu.

The boilers and the turbine generators will be manufactured by BHEL at its Tiruchirapalli and Ranipet works in Tamil Nadu in technical collaboration with Alstom, France Siemens and Germany respectively.

The project is to come up near the coastal area and a jetty would be set up to handle coal for the power plant, which will use saline water as coolant. A desalination plant will also be set to meet water requirements, a state government release said.