China won contracts to design coal- fired power plants in India, Asia's third-biggest economy, as slowing domestic orders prompt companies to expand overseas.

A venture by China's largest nuclear-power plant builders and a construction company in the eastern province of Shandong will design two generators of 1,980 megawatts each in India, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission said today in a statement on its Web site.
Equipment and labor shortages have slowed the construction of power plants in India, where demand from homes, factories and shopping malls is outstripping electricity supply. China may face a surplus of power within the next two years as demand falls and more capacity comes online.

State Nuclear Power Technology Corp., the venture designing the generators for India, is also making ``good progress'' in South Korea, Brazil, Myanmar and Mozambique to counter a ``significant'' decline in domestic orders for thermal power plants, the commission said today.
China's power production slumped 9.6 percent last month, the second straight month of decline, as factories shut because of reduced exports amid the global recession.

State Nuclear is a venture owned by China National Nuclear Corp., China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group Co., China Power Investment Corp. and China National Technical Import & Export Corp.
India's peak electricity shortage may widen to 18.1 percent in the year to March as demand outstrips supply in the world's second-most populous nation, according to a government report.
Source: Bloomberg