Larsen & Toubro has received an initial go-ahead to build the main plant package of the 1,600 MW Chandrapura thermal power project in Jharkhand, a development that moves the state-backed generation project closer to construction while keeping the final notice to proceed dependent on environmental clearances.
L&T Energy CarbonLite Solutions, the engineering major’s power and low-carbon solutions business, said it had secured a Limited Notice to Proceed from DVC CIL Power Pvt Ltd (DVCCIL). The joint venture is owned by Damodar Valley Corporation and Coal India Ltd and is developing the project at Chandrapura.
The Chandrapura project will consist of two 800 MW ultra-supercritical power units. L&T’s package covers the design, manufacture and supply of major equipment, including boilers, steam turbines, generators and electrostatic precipitators. The company will also undertake installation, testing and commissioning, along with associated mechanical, electrical, control and civil works.
The Limited Notice to Proceed is an initial project instruction rather than the final authorisation to begin the full scope of work. According to L&T’s regulatory filing, DVCCIL will issue the notice to proceed after the project receives the requisite environmental clearances and completes the Limited Notice to Proceed period.
The project’s institutional structure places a central public-sector power utility and the country’s largest coal producer together as its developers. That arrangement links the plant to the wider electricity system in eastern India, where industrial expansion and economic activity are increasing demand for dependable generation capacity. The filing did not provide a commissioning date, project cost or details of the environmental clearance process.
L&T said the use of ultra-supercritical technology would enable higher thermal efficiency and lower specific emissions compared with less advanced thermal generation technologies. The project will nevertheless remain subject to the statutory clearances and implementation conditions required for a large thermal power facility.
For L&T, the award covers the core equipment and construction responsibilities required to establish the two generating units. For DVCCIL, the next formal milestones are the completion of the Limited Notice to Proceed period, securing the required environmental approvals and issuing the notice to proceed for the main works.
The company’s announcement identifies the project’s installed capacity as 1,600 MW and says it is intended to support rising electricity requirements associated with industrial expansion and economic development. No further implementation timeline was announced in the filing.
