Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Power is likely to announce the financial closure of its 3,960-Mw Sasan ultra mega power project (UMPP) in a few weeks.
The company was hopeful of achieving this in 2008 itself but could not do so due to the global financial meltdown post September.
The financial closure is likely despite the writ petition filed by Tata Power in the Delhi High Court challenging the permission granted to the company to use the coal mines meant for the Sasan project for other projects.
Senior Reliance Power officials said the company had been able to tie up over Rs 12,000 crore for this pithead-coal project in Madhya Pradesh. The project is worth over Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 200 billion).
Company executives said a consortium of banks led by State Bank of India, Power Finance Corporation, Axis Bank, Rural Electrication Corporation and India Infrastructure Finance Company has committed over Rs 12,000 crore (Rs 120 billion) for the project.
"We are talking to a group of banks for another Rs 2,500 crore (Rs 25 billion) and this will be finalised in the coming days," said an executive. The project will have a debt-equity ratio of 70:30.
"The closure should happen within a few weeks. We have time until at least July this year for achieving financial closure according to our contractual obligation," claimed a top-level executive.
This is the largest integrated power project and the first one with captive coal mines being financed in India.
Ultra mega power projects are to achieve financial closure within 14 months of the issue of the letter of intent (LoI), or within 12 months of transfer of the special purpose vehicle (SPV) for implementing
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