Mumbai: Indiabulls Power Services, the power sector company promoted by Indiabulls and owned by Indiabulls Real Estate, has been awarded the 1,600-mw Bhaiyathan power project in Chhattisgarh along with a 350-million tonne coal block in the state.

The company beat two other bidders, Sterlite Industries and the GMR group for the right to build the coal-based facility in the eastern state of Chhattisgarh

With international coal prices touching $100 per tonne, pithead coal power plants provide attractive opportunity for power producers, said industry observers

The Chhattisgarh government had called bids for the sale of 65 per cent power produced by the plant, in which Indiabulls Power placed the lowest bid of Rs0.81 per kWh for the project. Sterlite Industries and the GMR group, the other two major bidders for the project quoted Rs0.88 per kWh and Rs0.89 per kWh respectively.

The total cost of the project is Rs8,000 crore and it will be completed within three years.

Of the total power to be generated from the project, 65 per cent would be supplied to the host state at a tariff of 81 paise per unit. The company is free to sell the balance 35 per cent to private consumers and industries.This will average out the overall realisation of the plant.

About 10 leading power producers, including Reliance Power and Tata Power were in contention for the power-project.

Indiabulls Power Services had recently raised Rs1,600 crore from steel baron L N Mittal and Farallon Capital by divesting 28.6 per cent to pursue its power business. (Also see: LN Mittal and Farallon Capital buy 13.33 per cent in Indiabulls subsidiary)

The company is also setting up two mega thermal power plants in Maharashtra with an aggregate capacity of 3,960mega watts.