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Saturday, December 19, 2009
Challenges for Financing Indian Power Projects Discussed at 17th Global Symposium in New Delhi
Reported by David Pells in New Delhi
The opening keynote presentation on Day Two of the 17th Global Symposium 2009 - Managing Projects, Programs & Portfolios - held during 14 - 16 December 2009 at the Hotel Hyatt Regency in New Delhi, India, was by Mr. Satnam Singh, Chairman and Managing Director of the Power Finance Corporation (PFC). Mr. Singh's presentation was entitled "Challenges in managing financial closure for power projects."
PFC is India's leading Power Sector Public Financial Institution which provides funds and non-fund based support for the development of the Indian power sector. PFC provides financing for thermal and hydro power plants, power transmission and distribution projects, power plant renovations and modernizations and other projects, including renewable energy. Under Mr. Singh's leadership, PFC has been transformed into a global company recognized for its size and performance.
During his presentation, Mr. Singh described the paradigm shift in the power sector since 2005, which mirrored a similar transformation in the 1970s. According to Mr. Singh, "In the 1970s there as a major emphasis on delivering power project faster and cheaper, with implementation schedules falling from 5 to three years. A similar shift is now occurring, but with more emphasis on speed and higher productivity. Schedules are now in the range of 18 months. In addition, the role of the private sector has increased from 17 to 36%."
He added, "In the 11th Plan, India will add more power capacity than in the last three plans, with a target of an additional 78,700 mega watts. The challenge is a huge funding gap of approximately 20%."
Other challenges mentioned by Mr. Singh included capacity shortages, including not enough project implementation capacity; fuel supply and price risks; environmental issues; land acquisition; coal ash disposal; and silt.
In response to a question from the audience, Mr. Singh stated, "The recent financial crisis did not affect India very much. It had no impact on Indian power financing!"
Other speakers on day two of the 17th Global Symposium in New Delhi included: Adesh Jain, Honorary President, PMA, India; The Honorable A Nair, Principal Secretary, Prime Minister's Office, Government of India; Mr. Pratyush Sinha, Central Vigilance Commission; Dr. S N Dash, Secretary of the Ministry of Heavy Industry; Mr. David L. Pells, President & Managing Editor, PMForum, Inc. USA; Anjan Roy, Advisor, FICCI; S. Behuria, Chairman and Managing Director, Indian Oil Corporation; Dr. R C Panda, Member of the Central Administrative Tribunal; Dr. Nitish Sengupta, Chairman of BRPSE and former Planning Commissioner; A K Jain, Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Pumps & Compressors Ltd; G K Pillai, Chairman and Managing Director of HEC; and Mr. R P Singh, Advisor to the Managing Director of TISCO and Vice Chairman of TCE.
The 17th Global Symposium provided an opportunity for Indian government officials, project managers and company executives to come together for presentations and discussions about managing projects & programs in India. The 17th Global Symposium was jointly organized by Project Management Associates (PMA) and the Centre for Excellence in Project Management (CEPM), in association with the International Project Management Association (IPMA). The 17th Global Symposium in New Delhi was organized under the Chair of Mr. B K Chaturvedi, Member, Planning Commission, Government of India, who is also the Chair of the 2009 International Advisory Committee (IAC). The Programme Director was Mr. Adesh Jain, Honorary President of PMA. For information about the symposium or to see copies of presentations, visit http://www.cepm.com/gs09/default.aspx.
Founded in 1993, Project Management Associates (PMA) is a non-profit registered professional body of projects and business managers, aimed at strengthening project management in India. PMA's vision is to be an apex agency for promotion of project thinking in India and worldwide for continuously enhancing delivery potential of programs and projects, thereby providing competitive edge to organizations, and growth to individuals. Based in New Delhi and with branches in Hyderabad, Pune and Ranchi, PMA serves members and stakeholders throughout India. PMA is the Indian national association member of IPMA. The Managing Director of PMA is Mr. Arvind Agarwal; the honorary president is Mr. Adesh Jain. For more information, visit www.pma-india.org. For more information about IPMA, visit
The Centre for Excellence in Project Management (CEPM) is a project and programme management education, training and consulting organization based in Noida, New Delhi, India. The company offers basic and advanced project management courses, on the web, in public seminars and in-house workshops. CEPM's Certificate in Project Management (CIPM) is a high quality, low-cost project management qualification; CEPM also offers certification training in support of both PMI's PMP® certification as well as IPMA's 4-level competence-based certification program. For more information, visit http://www.cepm.com.
Photos courtesy of PMForum, Inc.
The opening keynote presentation on Day Two of the 17th Global Symposium 2009 - Managing Projects, Programs & Portfolios - held during 14 - 16 December 2009 at the Hotel Hyatt Regency in New Delhi, India, was by Mr. Satnam Singh, Chairman and Managing Director of the Power Finance Corporation (PFC). Mr. Singh's presentation was entitled "Challenges in managing financial closure for power projects."
During his presentation, Mr. Singh described the paradigm shift in the power sector since 2005, which mirrored a similar transformation in the 1970s. According to Mr. Singh, "In the 1970s there as a major emphasis on delivering power project faster and cheaper, with implementation schedules falling from 5 to three years. A similar shift is now occurring, but with more emphasis on speed and higher productivity. Schedules are now in the range of 18 months. In addition, the role of the private sector has increased from 17 to 36%."
He added, "In the 11th Plan, India will add more power capacity than in the last three plans, with a target of an additional 78,700 mega watts. The challenge is a huge funding gap of approximately 20%."
Other challenges mentioned by Mr. Singh included capacity shortages, including not enough project implementation capacity; fuel supply and price risks; environmental issues; land acquisition; coal ash disposal; and silt.
In response to a question from the audience, Mr. Singh stated, "The recent financial crisis did not affect India very much. It had no impact on Indian power financing!"
Other speakers on day two of the 17th Global Symposium in New Delhi included: Adesh Jain, Honorary President, PMA, India; The Honorable A Nair, Principal Secretary, Prime Minister's Office, Government of India; Mr. Pratyush Sinha, Central Vigilance Commission; Dr. S N Dash, Secretary of the Ministry of Heavy Industry; Mr. David L. Pells, President & Managing Editor, PMForum, Inc. USA; Anjan Roy, Advisor, FICCI; S. Behuria, Chairman and Managing Director, Indian Oil Corporation; Dr. R C Panda, Member of the Central Administrative Tribunal; Dr. Nitish Sengupta, Chairman of BRPSE and former Planning Commissioner; A K Jain, Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Pumps & Compressors Ltd; G K Pillai, Chairman and Managing Director of HEC; and Mr. R P Singh, Advisor to the Managing Director of TISCO and Vice Chairman of TCE.
The 17th Global Symposium provided an opportunity for Indian government officials, project managers and company executives to come together for presentations and discussions about managing projects & programs in India. The 17th Global Symposium was jointly organized by Project Management Associates (PMA) and the Centre for Excellence in Project Management (CEPM), in association with the International Project Management Association (IPMA). The 17th Global Symposium in New Delhi was organized under the Chair of Mr. B K Chaturvedi, Member, Planning Commission, Government of India, who is also the Chair of the 2009 International Advisory Committee (IAC). The Programme Director was Mr. Adesh Jain, Honorary President of PMA. For information about the symposium or to see copies of presentations, visit http://www.cepm.com/gs09/default.aspx.
The Centre for Excellence in Project Management (CEPM) is a project and programme management education, training and consulting organization based in Noida, New Delhi, India. The company offers basic and advanced project management courses, on the web, in public seminars and in-house workshops. CEPM's Certificate in Project Management (CIPM) is a high quality, low-cost project management qualification; CEPM also offers certification training in support of both PMI's PMP® certification as well as IPMA's 4-level competence-based certification program. For more information, visit http://www.cepm.com.
Photos courtesy of PMForum, Inc.