India’s biggest power producer NTPC Ltd has started due diligence of a couple of stalled power projects that it is considering buying, chairman and managing director Arup Roy Choudhury said on Monday.

He said the company has a huge cash reserve, which would be deployed in viable units that are up for sale. He declined to name the projects his firm is currently eyeing. The state-owned company had reserves of Rs 16,867.70 crore as on March 31, as reported by Mint.

In the 12th five-year plan period (2012-2017), NTPC has budgeted a capital expenditure of Rs 1.5 trillion. It has an installed capacity of 41,184 megawatt (MW) and proposes to add at least another 10,000MW by 2017.

The stalled power projects must measure up to NTPC’s requirements in terms of coal linkages and power purchase agreements, Roy Choudhury said. Many of the power projects that have been stalled have been partly funded by banks.

Following the recent introduction of the new land acquisition law that aims to protect original land owners and users, NTPC estimates land acquisition for new projects to take 48-53 months compared with 36 months earlier, according to Roy Choudhury.

The process of acquiring land will get longer because of the more complex and time-consuming process of consultation with local stakeholders as stipulated by the new land acquisition Act. This will not only impact construction of new power plants but also of mine development.