The Mundra Thermal Power Plant of Adani Power Ltd., in Mundra, Gujarat, India, on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023. Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
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Adani Power—controlled by billionaire Gautam Adani—said it has won the bid to build three thermal power plants with a combined capacity of 2,400 megawatts in the eastern Indian state of Bihar.
The Bihar State Power Generation Company picked Adani Power after it offered the lowest electricity rate in a tightly contested bidding exercise, the company said in a statement on Thursday. It expects to sign separate power supply agreements with the state-owned utilities soon.
“We will set up a new greenfield plant with an investment of $3 billion, which is expected to further aid industrialization in the state,” S.B. Khyalia, CEO of Adani Power said in the statement.
The first of the three coal-fired power plants is set to be operational in four years, the company said. The project is expected to create up to 12,000 jobs during construction and about 3,000 once commercial operations start.
The project is proceeding ahead of state elections later this year in Bihar, which accounts for the fourth-largest share of parliamentary seats, making it crucial to the fate of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s coalition government. Adani, an ally of Modi, has revived investment plans after a U.S. probe last year slowed his expansion binge.
With an estimated net worth of $60 billion based on Forbes‘ real-time data, Adani is the second-wealthiest person in India. He is the chairman of the Ahmedabad-based Adani Group, which has interests in airports, cement manufacturing, edible oils, energy, logistics, media, mining, ports, power, and real estate.