Tata Power Company, which is developing India's first 4,000 mw ultra mega power project in Mundra signed on Wednesday contracts reportedly worth $1 billion with Korea's Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Company for supply of super-critical boilers and development of ancillary civic structures.

"The contract covers 45 per cent of the total orders under this project," a statement from the company said.

The contract to Doosan was awarded on an engineering, procurement and construction basis. The company's scope of work would, therefore, include civil works in the areas housing the super-critical boilers, which would be used for the first time in India, claimed Tata Power officials. These boilers and associated super-critical technology would help in the generation of 800 mw of power from each unit of the project, which is 300 mw more than the highest generating unit in existence at present.

The order, which includes five units of 800 mw each, comes about three weeks after the company formally took over the reins of the project in Gujarat, which is based on imported coal.

While the company has 64-69 months under the contract to commission the first unit, it expects to advance the schedules "ahead of the bid stipulation". This means that the first unit would be commissioned within the 11th Plan period itself (2007-2012).

Tata Power bagged the Rs 16,000 crore (Rs 160 billion) Mundra project against competition from the likes of Sterlite, Adani, Essar, Reliance Energy and L&T by committing to supply power at the the lowest rate of Rs 2.26 a unit (a levelised rate for 25 years).

The project would feed 1,900 mw to Gujarat, 800 mw to Maharashtra, 500 mw to Punjab and 400 mw each to Haryana and Rajasthan.

Tata Power recently acquired 30 per cent equity in two major Indonesian coal producers to feed the Mundra plant.