Czech firm tops bidding in $500-mn power deal

Czech engineering company Skodaexport said on Monday it was the highest bidder in an Indian tender to build a $500 million coal-fired power station. Deputy general director Zdenek Sima said the deal had still to be approved by the government in Jharkhand. "We were selected as the best bidder," Sima said. The deal for the three power-generating blocs of 210 megawatt output each would be the biggest single foreign order for a Czech company in a decade. Sima said Skodaexport was also bidding to build a 300 megawatt coal plant and a 400 megawatt hydroelectric plant elsewhere in India. It has previously won deals for upgrades of smaller power plants there. Unlisted Skodaexport is majority state-owned. It contracts mostly Czech and Slovak companies to supply equipment.