The dark clouds hovering over Hyderabad-based Satyam Computer Services and Maytas Infra Ltd now seem to be headed towards Himachal Pradesh, where a power project being executed by a consortium including Maytas Infra is likely to land in trouble.

Credit Rating Agency ICRA has assigned a rating of LBB to a Rs 464-crore term loan of the Himachal Sorang Power Private Ltd (HSPPL), which is an special purpose vehicle (SPV) by a consortium of Maytas Infra, Nagarjuna Construction and SSJV Projects because of ?inadequate credit quality.? A rating of LBB by ICRA means that the project carries high credit risk.

?There is uncertainty over the funding of balance equity and debt given the fact that one of the sponsors is facing liquidity problems,? ICRA said. The sponsor in question is Maytas Infra, an ICRA official told FE. ?We as a rating agency depend on the audited balance sheet of a company. Since there is a cloud over the balance sheet of Maytas Infra, it is very difficult to assess its financials,? the official said.

ICRA had in January this year suspended the ratings of Maytas Infra Ltd as well, following the ?developments at Satyam Computers.? At that time, Vikas Aggarwal senior vice president, ICRA had explained, ?As a rating agency, we are just stating that we cannot rate a company without establishing the veracity of information furnished by it.?

The SPV was set up to execute 100 megawatt run-of-river hydro power project across the river Sorang in Kinnaru district of Himachal Pradesh, at a cost of Rs 580 crore. And the state Cabinet approved the leasing out of land on January 2, just five days before Satyam founder B Ramalinga Raju made his infamous confessions. The land was leased out to the SPV at Sarang in Kinnaur at the rate of Rs 1 lakh per bigha, per year, to be paid in advance to the government by the company.

While assigning the LBB rating for the Himachal Sorang Power Project, ICRA has also taken note of the fact that the company has not assigned any Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) so far and power evacuation risk exists as the agreement for transmission line too remains to be executed. The rating agency, however, said, ?It draws comfort from the positive outlook for power projects in India given the power deficit status of the company.?

The Himachal Sorang Power project was allotted to the consortium by the Himachal government and will be implemented on a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) basis for a period of 40 years, beginning March 31, 2010. The Rs 580-crore project is funded by equity of Rs 116 crore, senior debt of Rs 406 crore and subordinated debt of Rs 58 crore.

Significantly, the Rs 12,200-crore Hyderbad Metro Rail Project, which is being executed by a consortium including Maytas Infra, too has run into financial trouble. Maytas Infra on March 17 sought a three month extension from the Andhra Pradesh government to achieve financial closure. The company had said at the time that it was affected by the global recession, and raising the debt, including external commercial borrowings, is proving to be a challenge in the market. Besides, the ongoing PIL (public interest litigation) was having ?a deleterious effect on our ability to achieve the financial closure,? said the company.