With the Supreme Court today setting aside Ansaldo's appeal seeking to bid for supplying equipment to NTPC, decks are cleared for the state-owned power firm to place orders worth Rs 16,000 crore in next 45 days.

The apex court quashed the Delhi High Court verdict that allowed Ansaldo Caldaie Boilers to bid for providing super-critical equipment to NTPC which had disqualified Chennai-based ACB from participating in the tender on non-fulfillment of minimum criteria.

"This [Supreme Court verdict] has now paved the way for NTPC to award all the 9x660 MW units- 2 each at Solapur, Mouda [Maharashtra], and at Meja [Uttar Pradesh] and 3 units at Nabinagar [Bihar]," NTPC Chairman and Managing Director Arup Roy Choudhury told reporters here.

He said STG (steam-turbine-generator) package has already been finalised and it is expected that NTPC would be able to award these orders worth Rs 16,000 crore within the next 45 days.

This will ensure that all these nine units are delivered within the 12th plan period (2012-2017), he said.

NTPC had floated the bulk tender for securing super-critical --energy efficient and environment friendly-- equipment in 2009.

Bharat Forge-Alstom consortium emerged as the lowest bidder for supplying STG package followed by BHEL.

BHEL, Larsen & Toubro and BGR Energy qualified in the first phase of bidding.

"We would place the order for the equipment at the earliest," Choudhury said.