NTPC puts 1,600 MW Gajmara project on back-burner.

Power major NTPC has put on back-burner its plan to set up a 1600 MW coal-based project at Gajmara in Odisha as it has enough projects in hand, a top official of the PSU said.

'Gajmara is not is our first round of attention. Gajmara is nowhere near our thinking process,' NTPC Chairman and Managing Director Arup Roy Choudhary said.

'We have enough in hand. We have Barethi, Khargone, 4,000 MW (power plant) in Telangana, 4,000 MW (power plant) in Andhra Pradesh. Then we have now been asked by Odisha government to expand Talcher,' he said.

The PSU had earlier proposed to invest over Rs. 11,000 crore to set up the coal-based project at Gajmara in Odisha.

According to a company official, NTPC is yet to sign power purchase agreement with the state government.

'From the past two years the PPA for the Gajmara project has not been signed,' the official said. The proposed debt equity ratio for the power plant is 70:30, the official said.

BS