Mr Anil Razdan secretary at union ministry of power said that Power Finance Corporation will soon call for proposals for the 4,000 MW Tilaiya ultra mega power project in Orissa.

Mr Razdan said that the project will start before the end of 2008. He added that the ministry is also looking into the proposal from Orissa government for 3 new sites for setting up UMPPs.

A site near Tilaiya village in Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand has been identified by the Central Electricity Authority in consultation with the government of Jharkhand, for development of a pit head coal fired power project of 4,000 MW with the scope of expansion in future.

Mr Razdan said that if all the planned power plants go on line, then by end of 11th Plan, India would require 40 million tonnes of imported coal. He added that "We are in active dialogue with concerned ministries for faster handling of coal at the ports."

Mr Razdan said that coastal UMPPs do not require large area of land for handling coal because ash content of imported coal is less. There is a possibility of reducing land requirement. He added that "We need to keep in mind that the land requirement for UMPPs is huge and India is a densely populated country."