The Hong Kong-based China Light & Power (CL&P) is staging a comeback into power generation market in India. The company, one of the co-promoters of the non-starter and highly controversial 1,000 mw Cogentrix Project in Karnataka, is close to acquiring a power project in the country.

The company is learnt to have zeroed in on a thermal based power project in Andhra Pradesh which has a generating capacity of 500 mw and is in race with Tata Power for acquiring the project. CL&P is looking closely at project which have had financial closures along with clearance papers from all government authorities.

"They are pretty clear on what they want and they do not want to burn their hands again after the Cogentrix debacle, which got mired in a series of litigations and in the end the project had to be shelved," said an analyst with a financial institution who is involved in the deal.

It is learnt CL&P has earmarked an upfront investment of upwards of Rs 100-Rs 120 crore (Rs 1 billion-Rs 1.20 billion) for this acquisition and will be funneling in subsequent investments after the deal is closed.

CL&P, along with Cogentrix of United States, had made desperate attempts to kickstart the 1000 mw power project in Mangalore and had to wash it hands of after a 10-year long ordeal with authorities and environmental groups.

The consortium had invested pretty heavily on this project with even the infrastructure almost ready for operation which they could not salvage. Detailing further on the current acquisition plans of CL&P, the analyst noted that the power project is being divested from a group which is currently trying to focus on its core competency.

"The target power project does not exactly fit into their scheme of things which they had undertaken earlier trying to expand their operations, but now they are finding it as an unnecessary burden," he added.

Recently, six private projects in Andhra Pradesh got the nod for escrow account from the government with which the financial closure will be smooth for these power projects.