Coal & Oil Group to invest Rs. 10k cr in TN.

Dubai-based Coal & Oil (C&O) Group, building a 1,200-MW thermal plant in Tuticorin district of Tamil Nadu for Rs. 6,800 crore, has said it will invest another Rs. 10,000 crore to increase the capacity by 1,600 MW to 2,800 MW.

R Venkataramani, vice-president (finance and accounts), said public hearing for the proposed expansion of the Mutiara Thermal Power Plant had been completed and work will start once the existing project completes. The company has about 1,000 acres, good enough for the project as well as its expansion.

Recently, C&O Group said it secured additional funding of around Rs. 1,600 crore from a State Bank of India (SBI)-led public sector bank consortium to complete the 1,200-MW plant, being developed at a cost of around Rs. 6,800 crore by Coastal Energen Pvt. Ltd., the power-generating flagship company of the C&O Group. The plant has so far obtained Rs. 5,200 crore in funding from a consortium led by SBI, said Venkataramani.

BS