Adani Power will soon take over the management of Lanco Amarkantak Power Plant, located at Patadhi on Champa Road. The group of public sector undertakings and financial institutions that have given loans to Lanco Amarkantak Power, which is going through the bankruptcy process, has issued a letter accepting the offer made by Adani Power. Adani Group has informed SEBI regarding the same. This is Adani Group’s third power plant acquisition in State. Earlier, Korba West Power located in Raigarh district and RKM Power Plant located in Raipur district were acquired. Lanco Amarkantak Power Plant insolvency proceedings were going on in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for the last three years. Lanco’s parent company Lanco Infratech had failed to repay the loan of about Rs 54,000 crore.

 

There was a loan of Rs 14,000 crore on Lanco Amarkantak Power Plant, out of which about Rs 7 thousand crore was given by the Central Government undertakings Power Finance Corporation and Rural Electrification Corporation. Apart from them, 12 other banks and financial institutions had also given loans. In the last phase of the bankruptcy process, on February 9, Adani Power gave a bid of Rs 4101 crore. Ambani group and PPL, the joint consortium of PFC and REC, did not bid in the auction process. Lanco Amarkantak Power Plant has 3 phases of construction. Land has already been acquired for all these three phases. In the first phase, two units of 300 MW each were installed, which have been producing electricity for the last 7 years.

 

The plant also has contract with other states to sell electricity. In the second phase, the work of two units of 660 MW has been completed 70 percent, while the work of the third phase has not been started yet. Experts say that since this power plant is located close to the coal mines of SECL, the construction of its second and third phase will also be done rapidly. There is also a rail line for this plant to transport coal from the mines, while water is sent here through an anicut in the Hasdeo river flowing near the plant. In view of the increasing demand for electricity in the country, while focus is being placed on solar power, construction of coal based plants has also increased.