India's three old thermal power plants will be refurbished by the World Bank at an investment of Rs 1,400 crore. The plants are, one in Maharashtra and two in West Bengal. World Bank's initiative is part of a pilot project for the National Programme on Coal Rehabilitation.    

The World Bank will spend about Rs 950 crore in West Bengal to upgrade one unit each of the Bandel and Kolaghat thermal power stations belonging to the State-owned West Bengal Power Development Corp. In Maharashtra, the international funding agency will spend about Rs 450 crore on MahaGenco's Koradi Thermal Power.    

Ashis Khanna, India energy team leader at the World Bank said that the international bank is in talks with both the states for starting the pilot project, which will involve total refurbishment, including the boilers and turbine. It is expected to extend the life of these plants and will also increase plant load factor as well as consumption of coal.    

Khanna said that once the pilot project is seen to work, the National Programme on Coal Rehabilitation will get under way in full swing.