IL&FS Tamil Nadu Power Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd is planning to develop a 3600MW thermal power plant in the coastal district of Cuddalore. The project is scheduled to be developed over an area of 1181 acres and spanning several villages, including Ariyaghosti, Kothattai, Silambimangalam and Villiyanallur, along the coastal area of Cuddalore. The venture comprises three individual projects: a thermal power plant, a desalination plant, and a captive port. The coal-fired thermal plant will house two units of 600MW each based on subcritical technology, and three units of 800MW each based on supercritical technology, in addition to the standard infrastructure of steam turbines, generators, electrostatic precipitators, condensers, coal and ash handling systems, and a saline water intake and outfall system. The captive all-weather port, with a capacity to off-take imports of about 15 million tons of coal per year, will comprise two coal-handling berths. The port infrastructure also will cater to imports of plant equipment. The proposed thermal power plant will require about 30 million liters of fresh water per day. A captive desalination plant with a similar capacity will be established. Five streams, each with a capacity of 6 million liters, will process seawater using reverse osmosis technology. The first phase of 1200MW, comprising two subcritical units of 600MW each, will be fully completed in 39 months, with the first unit expected to be brought online by June 2013. The remaining three supercritical units of 800MW each will be completed by 2015, with one unit being commissioned every six months from the beginning of the fourth year of the project schedule. Captive port construction activities are expected to span 28 months.
