Australia-based investment manager AMP Capital announced that it has established a 50:50 partnership with power transmission infrastructure developer Sterlite Power to develop power transmission projects in India.

The two companies will initially invest around $150 million each to develop four transmission projects in the country. They will also bring in debt financing with a total capital outlay of about $1 billion, the companies said in a press release.

The projects will have a circuit length of nearly 1,800 kilometers of transmission lines, spread across the southern, western, and northeastern regions of the country.

AMP Capital said that the projects would enhance the country’s power delivery infrastructure by providing the necessary infrastructure for energy evacuation from multiple renewable energy generation projects.

The company stated that the partnership’s overall investment size could reach $500 million as both companies may contribute more capital in the future for new interstate transmission projects, which will be tendered by the central government.

“Our investment will create a pool of valuable transmission assets, with long-term contractual arrangements and a robust payment security framework, which are attractive to yield-seeking investors,” said Sharat Goyal, Head of India, Infrastructure Equity at AMP Capital.

AMP Capital said that transmission infrastructure supported the rapid growth of India’s power generation capacity, which was led by renewable energy, over the last decade. The market has a significant expansion potential because of the relatively low per capita power consumption in India.

Pratik Agarwal, Managing Director, Sterlite Power, said: “We are driven by our core purpose to enable access to reliable power while minimizing the impact on climate change. The world is undergoing a clean-energy revolution, and India is leading this effort with its mammoth target of 450GW by the year 2030. Sterlite Power will contribute towards this noble cause by creating the required transmission infrastructure so that green energy can reach the most underserved households.”

In August 2020, Sterlite Power announced that it had sold a 14.7% stake in the India Grid Trust (IndiGrid) for  ₹8.4 billion (~$112.2 million) to institutional and high net-worth individual (HNI) investors.

Mercom earlier reported that Sterlite Power had acquired Vapi-II North Lakhimpur Transmission Limited (VNLTL), a special purpose vehicle (SPV) of PFC Consulting Limited, to execute a large interstate transmission system strengthening project.

Harsh Shukla is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Previously with Indian Express, he has covered general interest stories. He holds a Masters Degree in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune.

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