India’s Reliance Power has agreed a $2.2 bn deal with General Electric after securing a $5bn loan from the US Export-Import bank for buying US goods and services over the next three years.
In a statement, Reliance Power said it would use the loan to finance a number of power-generation projects including some 8000 MW of gas-fired generation and 900 MW of renewables such as wind and solar.
The loan agreement provides Reliance Power faster access to the bank’s long-term dollar loans, which must be traded in the US. Reliance immediately announced a $2.2 bn deal with GE which includes the expansion of its 2400MW gas-fired plant in Samalkot, India, which will be operational in 2012 and is expected to create 5000 US jobs.
The US Export-Import Bank previously loaned Reliance $917 m for its 3960MW coal-fired power plant at Sasan, India.
India needs more power to support its blooming economy but has to import technology from abroad due to a shortfall in skilled, experienced domestic engineers.
In October, Reliance Power agreed a $10 bn contract for Shanghai Electric to provide power generation technology and associated services contracts for 30 000 MW of power generating capacity.
Furthermore it has begun preliminary discussions with four Chinese banks to borrow $12bn to buy more than forty 660 MW coal-fired power plants from China.