Indian power producer Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN), a joint venture of the Government of India and the Government of the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, invites expressions of interest from public or private banks, by 31 January, for the debt financing of the 210 MW Luhri Stage-I project.
SJVN seeks a commercial loan for a period of 18 years, including a six-year moratorium, of INR 13.955 billion (approximately US$ 189.96 million), which is equivalent to 80 per cent of the total project cost of INR 17.4437 billion (US$ 237.46 million). The project is expected to generate a return on equity of 16.5 per cent.
The proposed run-of-river scheme, with diurnal storage, on the river Satluj near the village of Nirath in Shimla and Kullu District, is designed to include a dam, 49 m high above the river bed or 80 m from the deepest foundation level, with a powerhouse, to be equipped with two 80 MW and two 25 MW Kaplan units, at the toe of the dam. Luhri Stage-I is expected to generate 758 GWh in a 90 per cent dependable year based on water availability.
The project is scheduled to be completed within a period of 62 months from the beginning of construction works. SJVN signed an MoU with the Government of Himachal Pradesh for implementation of Luhri-I and II and the Sunni dam in August 2017, and received Techno-Economic Clearance from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) in May 2018. Stage-I and Stage-II Forest Clearance was accorded in September 2018 and March 2019, respectively and environment clearance was granted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in March 2020.
Interested lenders are requested to provide the information in the format provided under
Annexure ‘B’ of the tender notification.
The full tender notice can be viewed on SJVN’s website at https://sjvn.nic.in. EOIs with terms for debt financing should be submitted in a sealed envelope by post, courier or in person to the SJVN Additional General Manager at the address given below the next item.
Senior Additional General Manager (F&A)
SJVN Ltd
Tower-I, 6th Floor
NBCC Commercial Complex
East Kidwai Nagar
New Delhi 110023
India
Tel: +91 98 1600 2980
