Upcoming ultra mega power projects (UMPPs) in the country have become a hope for orders of capital goods companies like L&T at a time when the order inflows have dried up. Now companies like Larsen & Toubro, Thermax are eyeing orders worth around Rs 24,000 crore from a two mega power projects in Odisha and Tamil Nadu.
These capital goods companies have invested heavily in setting up manufacturing units for core equipment for power projects. The government has revived its UMPP programme after five years by inviting initial bids for two 4,000-mw units each at Bedabahal in Orissa and Cheyyur in Tamil Nadu.
The bid conditions now make it mandatory for developers to source power equipment from Indian or foreign companies, or joint ventures that have manufacturing units in India.
The two projects would need to buy boiler and turbine generators, core equipment for a power plant, worth around Rs 24,000 crore, which could be a shot in the arm for the local equipment making joint ventures — L&T-Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, JSW Energy-Toshiba Corp, Bharat Forge-Alstom, Thermax-Babcock and Wilcox Co, among others.