Reliance Power Ltd. has selected Black & Veatch to design the Samalkot, India, powerplant. The 2,500-MW plant will be located in Andhra Pradesh state, about 400 miles north of Chennai. The plant will comprise three power blocks, each consisting of two 9FA General Electric natural-gas combustion turbines, two heat-recovery steam generators and one steam turbine. Each block will have a capacity of 833MW. The plant will be fueled primarily by local natural-gas reserves.

The plant will be built by Reliance Infrastructure, a subsidiary of the Reliance Group, as is Reliance Power Ltd. Construction is expected to be completed in 2012. The estimated construction cost is $2 billion.

Black & Veatch has over 25 years of experience in India and currently is designing two other large, 4,000-MW powerplants for Reliance Power, the Sasan and Krishnapattnam plants.