Following is an excerpt from a report in Pragativadi.

The Orissa government on Tuesday said that 9 of the 13 Independent Power Producers (IPP) have begun working on respective projects while Sterlite Energy Private is expected to generate 600 MW power in two months time.

As many as 13 IPPs had signed MoUs with the state government in 2006 for setting up thermal power plants with a cumulative capacity of 70,000 MW.

Nine of them have progressed in implementing projects, energy minister Surya Narayan Patra said, adding that only two companies have been found lagging.

While GMR Energy Ltd made maximum progress in setting up its proposed thermal power plant at an investment of Rs 4,200 crore, Mahanadi Aban Power Company Ltd and CESC Ltd have been lagging behind the schedule, he said.

The nine IPPs which have made substantial progress had already availed of coal blocks or coal linkages for use.

Even some of the IPPs have already placed orders for equipment with different foreign companies, the minister said.

The IPPs which have made progress are Navbharat Power Ltd, Essar Power, Tata Power, Lanc Industries Limited, Jindal Photo Limited, Bhusan Energy Limited, Monnet Power Company Limited, Sterlite Energy Ltd and GMR Energy Ltd.