R Power said it has received the first disbursement of funds amounting to Rs 2,550 crore ($470 million) from the US Exim Bank and offshore commercial banks.
This is part of the overall financing for Reliance Power’s 4,000-MW power project at Sasan in Madhya Pradesh. The project is being built at an estimated cost of Rs 23,000 crore. The Sasan plant has an overall commitment of over Rs 10,000 crore ($1,900 million) from the US Exim, Chinese and other overseas banks. The funds are for the import of equipment for the coal mines and power project. R Power said Sasan is the first power project in the country to get such a large scale funding on the ‘project finance’ basis.
J.P. Chalasani, Chief Executive Officer, Reliance Power, said, “The disbursement of loans from US Exim and other off-shore commercial banks is a reiteration of the confidence the lenders have on the prospects for the Sasan project and the execution and operational capabilities of R Power.”
UNIT 1 LINKED
R Power has linked up the first of the six 660 MW units at Sasan to the national grid. The other units are to be commissioned at four month intervals. The electricity generated at Sasan will be sold at Rs 1.19 a unit to 14 distribution companies in seven States.
Coal production has begun from the Moher and Moher-Amlohri coal mines that have been allocated to the plant. Another coal block, Chhatrasal, also allocated to the project, has recently received forest clearance and is under development.
The 4,000 MW project will need 20 million tonnes of coal annually. The current coal production is about 7,000 tonnes, which the company said can be scaled up as more units come online.