Sterlite Power, a power transmission player in India, has secured INR20.7bn ($280m) in debt funding from Power Finance Corporation (PFC), one of India’s largest power sector lenders, for the Vapi II North Lakhimpur Transmission (VNLTL) project.
The financial closing is claimed to have been achieved within four months of the special purpose vehicle (SPV) acquisition of the project.
In June this year, Sterlite Power acquired VNLTL SPV to execute one of the largest inter-state transmission system projects covering the Western Region Strengthening Scheme-XIX (WRSS-XIX) and North Eastern Region Strengthening Scheme-IX (NERSS-IX).
As a single project with several sub-elements, it is expected to supply clean energy from solar, nuclear and hydro power to the western and north eastern regions in the country.
The project was won through a tariff-based competitive bidding process, under a build, own, operate and maintain (BOOM) model for 35 years.
The project aims to decongest Navi Mumbai transmission corridor
Furthermore, the project aims to set up 179 circuit kilometres (ckm) of lines for critical system strengthening to decongest the Navi Mumbai transmission corridor by adding an inter-state transmission feed of about 1GW.
The link is expected to cater to the growing energy needs in the region because of the upcoming Navi Mumbai Airport and Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
Sterlite Power managing director Pratik Agarwal said: “We are pleased to conclude this mega financial deal with one of India’s largest and most reputed financial institution in the power sector–PFC, amidst a tough market situation. This deal is a huge show of trust by PFC in our capability to deliver some of the most challenging and impactful transmission projects in the country.
“Earlier this month, we also inducted REC Ltd. as the Lead Lender for LVTPL, our Green Energy Corridor project. We are an active proponent of greening the grid, and we see about 80 per cent of our new projects to be linked to transportation of renewable energy.”
