Power Minister may decide on Sasan bid

New Delhi: The Power Minister, Mr Sushilkumar Shinde, is likely to adjudicate on the fate of the Sasan Ultra Mega power project bid in the wake of changes in the composition of the winning consortium.

The move to refer the issue to the Government comes in the wake of a meeting last week of an evaluation committee that selected the winning consortium for the project, sources said.

The proposed 4,000 MW coal-based project was originally awarded to a consortium of Lanco Infratech Ltd and Globeleq Singapore Pte Ltd in December last year. Subsequently, Globeleq Singapore's parent firm — Bermuda-based Globeleq Ltd — sold off its 100 per cent stake in the subsidiary, which was acquired by Jindal Steel and Power Ltd and an investment arm of the Lanco Group.

The panel appointed by the Government to award the bid, at its meeting last week, concluded that it had no mandate to examine the legality of the entry of Jindal Steel and Power into the project, sources said.