PowerGrid Corporation will shortly sign a joint venture agreement with Jindal Power for a transmission line project.
The line will evacuate power from Jindal's proposed 1000-Mw coal-based thermal power plant in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh.
"We are making preparations for signing the agreement. It may happen soon," a senior power grid official told Business Standard. The joint venture is the sixth deal for transmission lines that PowerGrid has signed till date and is worth around Rs 5,500 crore (Rs 55 billion).
The agreements include deals with Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Essar Power, Torrent Power, Jaiprakash Group and Teesta Urja Ltd.
Jindal Power Director Sushil Maroo had earlier said the transmission project needed an investment of Rs 250 crore (Rs 2.5 billion). PowerGrid would hold a minority stake of 26 per cent in the joint venture.
The Jindal power plant is one of the fast track power projects, being monitored by the power ministry and the Prime Minister's Office.
The project cost for the first phase is estimated to be Rs 2,142 crore (Rs 21.42 billion). Power from this project will be available at an all-inclusive and non-increasing tariff of around Rs 2 per Kwh.