New Delhi

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Thursday approved equity investments of Rs 5,607 crore by state-owned South Eastern Coalfields and Mahanadi Coalfields to set up two thermal power projects with total generation capacities of 2,260 MW. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, an official statement said.

According to the statement, South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL) will set up a 660 MW thermal power plant through a joint venture of SECL and MPPGCL. Similarly, Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) will set up a 2×800 MW thermal power plant through Mahanadi Basin Power Ltd (MBPL – a subsidiary of MCL).

There will be an equity capital of Rs 823 crore (plus or minus 20 percent) by SECL with an estimated project capex of Rs 5,600 crore (accuracy of plus or minus 20 percent) for the proposed 660 MW supercritical thermal power plant through JV of SECL and MPPGCL at Amarkantak Thermal Power Station in Madhya Pradesh. The CCEA has also approved an investment of Rs 4,784 crore equity capital (plus or minus 20 percent) by MCL for the proposed 2800 MW supercritical thermal power plant in Sundargarh District, Odisha, with an estimated project capex of Rs 15,947 crore (accuracy of plus or minus 20 percent) through MBPL.

It has given approval to MBPL, an SPV of MCL to set up the 2800 MW Super-Critical Thermal Power Plant. The CCEA also approved equity investment by CIL beyond 30 percent of its net worth in the JV of SECL-MPPGCL (Rs 823 crore plus or minus 20 percent) in the two projects.