Dilip Buildcon Ltd has received the letter of intent from bid process coordinator REC Power Development & Consultancy Ltd (RECPDCL) for an intrastate-TBCB scheme in Karnataka, housed under “Mekhali Power Transmission Ltd.”
As reported by tndindia.com on December 26, 2025, Dilip Buildcon Ltd was named L1 bidder for the intrastate scheme that is formally termed as “Establishing 400kV substation at Mekhali along with associated transmission lines (Belagavi District).”
As per the standard practice, the project SPV “Mekhali Power Transmission Ltd,” currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of RECPDCL, will be formally transferred to Dilip Buildcon Ltd in due course.
The intrastate transmission scheme entails developing of a new 400/220/33kV substation at Mekhali and associated lines, in Raibag taluk of Belagavi district, Karnataka. The proposed substation will have transformation capacity of 2×500 MVA.
The scheme’s objective is to relieve loading on the existing 400/220kV Narendra substation of Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd (KPTCL) that currently serves most of the 220kV substations in Belagavi and Bagalkot districts, according to information available with tndindia.com
The Mekhali scheme marks Dilip Buildcon’s debut in the power transmission development space. It may be recalled that Bhopal-headquartered Dilip Buildcon was in the race for the Mekhali alongside three big players – Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL), Adani Energy Solutions Ltd (AESL) and Resonia Ltd.
Dilip Buildcon Ltd will develop the project under the build, own, operate & transfer (BOOT) model, involving a 35-year concession period. The EPC works of this project, to be executed by Dilip Buildcon Ltd, are valued at around Rs.1,850 crore (exclusive of GST), and the project has an envisaged implementation period of 24 months.
Karnataka TBCB update
According to an independent analysis by tndindia.com, the Mekhali scheme is likely to be the first intrastate-TBCB scheme in Karnataka to be transferred to its winning developer. This will be followed by “Hampapura Power Transmission Ltd” for which Resonia Ltd has been named L1 bidder. Meanwhile, the Ryapte scheme for which five bidders were shortlisted has recently come up for re-bidding, as reported exclusively by tndindia.com on March 9, 2026.
At least two more schemes – Hebbani and Humnabad – are currently under bidding, while five others are expected to come up for bidding soon.
Featured photograph is for representation only