Chandwa Power Project

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Chandwa Power Project is a cancelled power station in Dhadhu, Chandwa, Latehar, Jharkhand, India. It is also known as Matrishi Usha Jayaswal.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Chandwa Power Project Dhadhu, Chandwa, Latehar, Jharkhand, India 23.739508, 84.781859 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the power station.

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

  • Phase I Unit 1, Phase I Unit 2, Phase I Unit 3, Phase I Unit 4, Phase II, Phase III: 23.739508, 84.781859

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology Start year Retired year
Phase I Unit 1 cancelled coal - unknown 270 subcritical
Phase I Unit 2 cancelled coal - unknown 270 subcritical
Phase I Unit 3 cancelled coal - unknown 270 subcritical
Phase I Unit 4 cancelled coal - unknown 270 subcritical
Phase II cancelled coal - unknown 675 supercritical
Phase III cancelled coal - unknown 660 supercritical

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name Owner
Phase I Unit 1 Asset Reconstruction Company (India) Ltd [100.0%]
Phase I Unit 2 Asset Reconstruction Company (India) Ltd [100.0%]
Phase I Unit 3 Asset Reconstruction Company (India) Ltd [100.0%]
Phase I Unit 4 Asset Reconstruction Company (India) Ltd [100.0%]
Phase II Corporate Power Ltd [100.0%]
Phase III Corporate Power Ltd [100.0%]

Financing

Source of financing:

Background

Phase I of the Chandwa Power Project consists of 4 units, each 270 MW, or 1,080 MW total. In both 2011 and 2014, the company stated that the first 270 MW unit will be commissioned by September 2012 and the fourth by April 2014. The proposed power station is located at Chandwa in Latehar district, Jharkhand.[1]

In 2012 the Central Electricity Authority said that the four units will all be commissioned in 2013.[2]

Photos on Google Earth show that on March 19, 2014 the first two units were substantially complete and two more units were under construction.

Construction suspended

In March 2015 Abhijeet Group sought intervention of the Jharkhand Chief Minister to ensure completion of the stalled 1,080 MW Chandwa plant. The chief minister has proposed to commission the project jointly with NTPC and the lender bank SBI. The project was stalled after the India Central Bureau Investigation filed a report in September 2012 in connection with the Coalgate scam against JAS Infrastructure, a unit of Abhijeet Group.[3]

In May 2015 a major fire broke out at the project. The fire did not spread to any of the four power generating units located on the premises, although the coal-handling plant was damaged. Company officials said they suspected sabotage.[4]

In May 2016 the Rural Electrification Corporation and Power Ministry said they would assist Abhijeet Group in completing the coal plant. Talks with NTPC for a take-over of the plant had reportedly fallen through.[5]

In the October 2016 Broad Status Report, it is reported that the project has been on hold for four years: "Work held up due to payment issue to BHEL since 11/12."[6]

Take-over by Arcil

In July 2016 the project was taken over for valuation by Asset Reconstruction Company (India) Ltd (Arcil). Arcil has sought the state government's help for revival of the project. Arcil plans to evaluate the plant assets by end-2016 and then launch a search for interested companies, PSUs or private firms, to run it by mid-2017.[7]

According to sources, Arcil has requested the state government to seek allotment of Chittarpur coal block, which was earlier with Abhijeet Group but was de-allocated in 2014, to Jharkhand State Mineral Development Corporation Ltd (JSMDC) to supply the plant. Arcil has also asked for revalidation of all approvals/ clearances/ licenses that were given to Abhijeet Group and their transfer in favor of the entity designated by Arcil.[7]

According to Telegraph India: "The sources also claimed that Arcil chief executive officer and managing director Vinayak Bahuguna requested the state government to deploy a unit of Jharkhand Industrial Security Force (JISF) at the Chandwa project site to protect the exiting infrastructure and assets."[7]

As of April 2017, Arcil received no bidders for the coal plant.[8]

The project appeared in the November 2017 Broad Status of coal plants under construction as "Matrishri Usha Jayaswal Thermal Power Plant," but it continued to have no activity and was presumed abandoned.[9]

Liquidation

In 2021, government documents listed the following about the project: "Admitted to NCLT on 19.02.2020; No compliant resolution plan were received, hence no resolution has been implemented. The liquidator may explore for sale of company as a going concern under the liquidation process after receipt of the liquidation order from the NCLT."[10]

The November 2023 Broad Status report stated that the liquidator is trying to sell the company.[11]

Proposed Phase II and III

In 2011, the company submitted tenders for bids for Phase II, which will consist of 5 x 135 MW or 675 MW total.[12] The company applied for additional coal to support a 660 MW Phase III of the project. No reference has been found to Phase II.[13]

As of 2016, no mention of future phases was made on the Abhijeet website, and no applications were made for environmental permits. Phases II and III were presumed abandoned.

Contact

Web: http://power.abhijeet.in/p_details.php

Articles and Resources

References

  1. Abhijeet Group, "Project Details", Abhijeet Group website, accessed November 2011 and August 2014.
  2. Monthly Report on Broad Status of Thermal Power Projects in the Country, Central Electricity Authority, September 2012
  3. "Abhijeet Group seeks Jharkhand CM Raghuvar Das's help to revive power plant," The Economic Times, Mar 23, 2015
  4. "Sabotage cry in plant blaze," The Telegraph, May 24, 2015
  5. "Abhijeet renews interests in State power plants," The Pioneer, May 11, 2016
  6. "Monthly Report on Broad Status of Thermal Power Projects in the Country," Government of India Ministry of Power, October 2016
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Meet to speed up power plant revival," Telegraph, Sep 6, 2016
  8. "No bid for defunct power plant," Telegraph India, Apr 19, 2017
  9. "Monthly Report on Broad Status of Thermal Power Projects in the Country," Government of India Ministry of Power, November 2017
  10. “Broad Status Report,” Thermal Project Monitoring Division , Central Electricity Authority, November 2021
  11. "Broad Status Report of Under Construction Thermal Power Projects" (PDF). Central Electricity Authority. November 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. "IFB NO. CCPL/Chandwa/004," Abhijeet Group, accessed February 2012
  13. "PENDING APPLICATION OF IPPs UP TO 31ST JULY,2011," Ministry of Coal

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.