Group company Reliance Power, which is setting up the gas-fired project, has put on the fast track talks with equipment majors such as General Electric (GE) and Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) for turbines, boilers and generators, a senior group official said.
'We are negotiating with a host of companies including GE, BHEL, Alstom and a couple of Chinese firms. Among them, GE has even given us the assurance that it can execute the project within 24 months,' the official said.
Moreover, he said, the equipment manufacturers have assured that turbines could be supplied within nine to 11 months from the date of placing the order.
Sources in Reliance Power also said the civil work on the site would be started at the earliest. 'We are fully geared to start the project somewhere from March or April.'
Reliance officials also said that once completed, the power plant would be the largest gas-fired project at a single location in the world. The project is estimated to cost about Rs.20,000-Rs.25,000 crore (Rs.200-Rs.250 billion).
The first phase of the gas-based power project comprising 1,400 MW is likely to be operational by mid-2010. Reliance Power hopes to get gas supplies from the Krishna-Godavari basin, being operated by the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries.
The government has already said the power and fertiliser sectors will be given priority for natural gas produced in the country.
As much as 50 percent of the power produced from the Dadri project has been earmarked for Uttar Pradesh, while states in the neighbourhood like Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan are also expected to benefit from this ambitious project.
With the recently-won Tilaiya project in Jharkhand, Reliance Power has a portfolio to generate over 30,000 MW of power in the country. The group is now developing as many as 14 medium and large-sized power projects, company officials said.
Of these, projects in western India will account for 12,220 MW, north for 9,080 MW, east for 4,000 MW, northeast for 2,900 MW and the south for 4,000 MW, the officials added.