GMR Energy eyes rescheduling of R2,600-crore loan

Power-to-airports major GMR Group has approached IDBI Bank, the lead banker to GMR Rajahmundry Energy, to reschedule its R2,600-crore loan.

The group has also asked lenders to allow the company to delay the commissioning of the project to April, 2014. "We have requested the lenders consortium, led by IDBI Bank, to reschedule the loan to the 768-mw gas-fired power plant at Rajahmundry in Andhra (GMR Rajahmundry Energy), due to unavoidable circumstances. We are hopeful that it will be done," GMR Energy CFO Bhaskar Rao said.

He said this is not a debt restructuring, but rescheduling of a standard loan. The highly-indebted GMR Group has debt of R35,000 crore or 3.2 times its balance sheet size at the end of the second quarter.

The R3,250-crore, 768-mw coal-fired Rajamundry project has a loan component of R2,600 crore taken from 11 banks, Rao added. IDBI Bank executive director Ravindra Nath, who looks after the GMR account, could not be reached for comments.

Rao said they have asked lenders to allow the company to delay the commissioning of the project to April 2014 as gas supply issues are yet to be resolved and the civil work is not over so far. GMR Infrastructure, which is the holding company of GMR Energy, has incurred a cost-overrun of R810 crore so far, according to the company.

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