Gujarat-based Dineshchandra R. Agrawal Infracon Pvt Ltd (DRAIPL) has become the latest entrant in the interstate power transmission development space, under the TBCB modality.
Bid process coordinator REC Power Development & Consultancy Ltd (RECPDCL) very recently issued the letter of intent to DRAIPL for an ISTS scheme called “Transmission system for evacuation of power from Rajasthan REZ Phase-IV (Part 4:3.5 GW: Part-B,” housed under project SPV “Rajasthan IV 4B Power Transmission Ltd.”
As reported by T&D India on November 18, 2024, new entrant DRAIPL was in the fray for this project alongside three most seasoned players – PGCIL, Adani Energy Solutions Ltd and Sterlite Power.
Though no details on the winning tariff are yet available, a senior government official confirmed the issuance of LoI to DRAIPL. It is expected that the formal transfer of project SPV “Rajasthan IV 4B Power Transmission Ltd,” currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of RECPDCL, to DRAIPL, will take place soon.
Ahmedabad-headquartered DRAIPL is a 50-year old company that is primarily involved in construction of roads, highways, buildings, metro rail, railways, aviation infrastructure, etc.
Project details
Estimated to cost Rs.6,395 crore as per National Committee on Transmission (NCT), and with a gestation period of 24 months, this project seeks to build a new 765/400kV, 2×1500 MVA substation (AIS) to be known as “Merta-II substation.” This substation will have connectivity with other substations/pooling stations like Barmer-I, Beawar and Dausa – all in Rajasthan.
Part A
The overall scheme “Transmission system for evacuation of power from Rajasthan REZ Ph-IV (Part 4: 3.5 GW)” has been divided into two components – Part A and Part B. The letter of intent for Part A was issued to PGCIL on November 26, 2024, as already discussed in a recent story.
New entrants
Dineshchandra R. Agrawal Infracon Pvt Ltd joins the list of EPC contractors that have groomed into developers in the ISTS-TBCB development space. Over the past two years, EPC players like Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Ltd, Techno Electric & Engineering Company Ltd and G R Infraprojects Ltd turned into ISTS developers under the TBCB mode. For Techno Electric, it was more of a re-entry as the company was associated with both InSTS and ISTS schemes that were eventually sold off to other developers. The ISTS-TBCB space, in recent years, has also seen the involvement of power utilities like Tata Power, Apraava Energy and Torrent Power debuting in the ISTS development space under the competitive bidding mechanism.
Featured photograph is for representation only
