Tata Power plans $4.9 bn capex over 3 yrs
Tata Power plans $4.9 bn capex over 3 yrs
Mumbai: Tata Power Co will spend $4.9 billion over three years to expand capacity and is keen to participate in nuclear power when the sector is opened up for private participation, its chairman said on Thursday.
Ratan Tata told shareholders the company had a pipeline of 10,000 megawatt of projects, without specifying a timeframe. The company currently has an installed generation capacity of 2,785 MW as per data on its website.
Tata Power, which in July raised $335 million from a sale of global depositary receipts, is building a 4,000 MW facility at Mundra in the western state of Gujarat and a 1,050 MW project in a joint venture in the West Bengal state.
Ratan Tata also said the company would like to enter nuclear power generation, which is now not open for private firms. State-owned Nuclear Power Corp is the only operator of nuclear power plants.
“We would like to play a role when it is permissible by the government," Tata said at the annual meeting of shareholders.
India, which sees nuclear energy as indispensable to fight electricity shortages that touch 16% during peak hours, signed a civilian nuclear co-operation agreement with the United States last year giving it access to civilian nuclear fuel and technology for the first time in three decades.
The country hopes to generate 20,000 MW through nuclear power by 2020, boosting supply for its power-starved economy. Existing nuclear power capacity stands at about 4,000 MW.
Shares in Tata Power, valued at about $6 billion, closed 2% down at Rs1,286.85, slightly better than the broader market that fell 2.5%.
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