JPL will acquire the power plant in Andhra Pradesh’s Nellore district for around INR300 crore and the deal is likely to be sealed in over a week, they said. JPL did not respond to an email sent on Monday seeking comment.
JPL will acquire the power plant in Andhra Pradesh‘s Nellore district for around INR300 crore and the deal is likely to be sealed in over a week, they said. JPL did not respond to an email sent on Monday seeking comment.
Simhapuri Energy is currently under liquidation.
“JPL will acquire the asset and is planning to operate it by importing coal from Indonesia andAfrica. The company may begin operating the plant by the third quarter of this fiscal,” said an industry executive aware of the development. According to a 2020 corporate insolvency resolution process document, Simhapuri Energy had taken secured loans of INR2,474 crore from a consortium of 19 banks, led byState Bank of IndiaandCanara Bank. It defaulted on debt of INR636 crore with an overdue interest of INR308 crore.SBItook it to court in 2020.
The company’s functioning, according to industry executives, was severely affected when the plant was kept idle to reserve power capacity for Andhra Pradesh discoms. JPL holds thermal, hydro and renewable power assets with an installed capacity of 3,400 MW.
According to the company’s website, its arm Jindal Mozambique Minerais Limitada owns and operates a 3 million tonne per annum mining concession at Chirodzi, Tete, in Mozambique. The mine has been operational since March 2013 and production can be expanded to 10 MTPA.
Jindal mines coal in Mozambique and exports coking coal to its steel plant in India. It has allocated capacity on the Sena rail line. A 300 MW power plant is to be developed within the mining concession by a Jindal entity, Jindal Investimentos Lda.
“Capital cost wise, JPL’s acquisition cost stands at INR60 lakh per megawatt. Building a new plant would have cost the company INR6 crore per megawatt. JPL is acquiring the power plant at a very attractive valuation under the liquidation process,” said another executive aware of the development.
Jindal Steel & Power is planning to set up a 2.25 MTPA integrated steel plant.
