Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Wednesday, Apr 12, 2006
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Wednesday, Apr 12, 2006 |
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Maharashtra Industry & Economy - Power Corporate - Alliances & Joint Ventures Bechtel inks Dabhol pact with BHEL Anil Sasi
On track Bechtel signed contract with BHEL last week to kick-start the project. 10-12 member Bechtel team to work with BHEL, NTPC teams to fire-up the 740-MW station.
New Delhi , April 11 With Bechtel Corporation finally falling in line and signing a payment-for-services contract with Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), the process of restarting the Dabhol project has got a shot in the arm. The ongoing process to kick-start the 740-MW station had been stymied to a certain extent due to disagreements between Bechtel and the new promoters of the project on the consultancy charges claimed by the San Francisco-based engineering major to assist in getting the station up and running. According to officials involved in the exercise, Bechtel — the original EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contractor for the project — had, last week, signed the contract with state-owned BHEL, which has been roped in by the promoters of the project to kick-start the idle plant. The contract is seen as a crucial step in the ongoing efforts to get the project restarted, though players involved in the process say the delay in clinching the deal with Bechtel could result in slippages in the restart schedule beyond the May 1 deadline. Bechtel's involvement in the restart process is seen as vital in re-establishing linkages of the main plant with its 25-odd subsystems, including turbines, regassification plants and the water channels. The contract with Bechtel includes a consultancy and a success fee.
Start-up group
Meanwhile, Bechtel has deputed a 10-12 member special "start-up group", to be flown in from the US, to restart the project. The Bechtel team would work in tandem with a BHEL and NTPC group that is working on firing-up the 740-MW station. According to officials involved in the exercise, Bechtel had earlier handed over original design drawings and other crucial information to the new promoters of the project — including NTPC Ltd and GAIL (India) Ltd — at the time its equity claims on the project were settled. The start-up cost for the project, now rechristened Ratnagiri Gas and Power Private Ltd, is pegged around Rs 870 crore, which includes the service contract payments to be made to Bechtel. The 740-MW first phase of the Dabhol power project is scheduled to be run initially on expensive naphtha as gas supplies are still to be tied-up for the idle project. Around 34,000 tonnes of naphtha, which is already in stock, would help the unit produce electricity for around three hours daily for two-and-a-half months.
Related Stories: More Stories on : Maharashtra | Power | Alliances & Joint Ventures | Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd
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