Reliance ADA Group could do little wrong in terms of projects won and financed in 2009, with Reliance Power and Reliance Infrastructure putting in place benchmark deals for both the Sasan UMPP project and the Delhi Airport Express respectively, at a time of minimal international bank liquidity and vast competition for domestic Indian lending resources.

India's ultra mega power project (UMPP) programme has been dominated by Reliance Power to date. Of the first four UMPPs tendered, Reliance has won three – Sasan, Krishnapatnam and Tilaiya. Sasan was financed in a record breaking domestically banked deal last year and the Rs130 billion debt for the 3,960MW Krishnaptnam UMPP is underway, led by IDBI, and expected to be financed this year. The Tilaiya financing is still at an early stage.

Reliance Power also closed a number of non-UMPP power projects in the 2009 – notably the Rs16 billion of debt for the first 300MW phase of its Butibori captive plant, via a deal led by Axis Bank, and financing for Rosa Power Supply Company Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary, for phase 2 of the 1,200MW Rosa project in Uttar Pradesh. The Rs20 billion deal was led by IDBI and included Punjab National Bank, United Bank of India, Life Insurance Corporation of India, Andhra Bank, Axis Bank, Indian Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Mysore, Syndicate Bank, The South Indian Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Corporation Bank and Vijaya Bank.

Reliance Infrastructure (Rinfra) also had a very strong 2009, emerging as one of India's biggest transport project developers with eight road projects in its portfolio at a total cost of over Rs65 billion.

Rinfra stock has advanced 86% in the past year, outpacing the 78% increase in the benchmark Sensitive Index and Anil Ambani recently invested $405 million to raise his equity to 42.73% from 37.74%, thereby increasing the company's net worth to Rs160 billion rupees and significantly upping its borrowing capability – a signal that further expansion is on the way.

In addition to reaching financial close on Delhi Airport Express – the first privately developed and financed section of Delhi Metro – Rinfra also bagged the 24-year DBFO concession for the Pune-Satara six laning project and the 1-year Jaipur-Reengus DBFOM road concession, both awarded by NHAI.

On the rail side Rinfra also kicked off 2010 by signing the 35 year PPP concession agreement with the government of Maharashtra for the second line of the Mumbai Metro Rail project. Rinfra is in a consortium with Reliance Communication and SNC Lavalin. The total estimated cost of the project is Rs110 billion out of which Rs22.9 billion will be provided by the government as a grant.