According to the media reports, the talks are at an initial stage and a deal depends on various factors including valuations, state of the project and how much haircut lenders are willing to take, these people said.
Essel Group is in talks with Adani Transmission and Tata Power to sell its under-construction Warora-Kurnool transmission line in an attempt to lower debt.
The Warora-Kurnool transmission line was the biggest inter-regional transmission project awarded under inter-state tariff-based competitive bidding in July 2016. The 765 kV project, which included laying of transmission lines in central India from Warora in Maharashtra and Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh, was supposed to facilitate distribution of power to the southern region. However, it has been hit by delays as the timeline for the scheduled commissioning of the project is past its November 2019 deadline.
In June last year, Essel Infraprojects had sold two transmission assets namely, Darbhanga-Motihari Transmission and NRSS XXXI (B) Transmission, to Edelweiss Infrastructure Yield Plus Fund. That agreement had given Edelweiss the right to purchase two other transmission assets owned by Essel, the Warora-Kurnool Transmission and NRSS XXXVI Transmission. However, Edelweiss is no longer interested in these projects because of the delays in execution.
The initial contract period for the project was 35 years post commissioning of the project. It is also unclear whether the delays in commissioning will lead to any changes in the contract.
