In a bid to transform itself into a multi-national company, state-owned National Thermal Power Corporation on Friday said it plans to enter the European market with a foray into England.

NTPC has been roped in by a foreign investor to bid for an operations and maintenance contract for a thermal power plant in England.

The O&M contract relates to a 430 MW power station owned by Carron Energy.

"We have been invited by an investor who is interested in taking over a power project in England for acting as their O&M contractor," C P Jain, chairman and managing director, NTPC, told PTI in New Delhi.

Jain did not divulge the name of the investor for commercial reasons. He said NTPC had been asked to come on board for the due diligence exercise.

"If the investor succeeds in taking over the project, we will bag the O&M contract," Jain said, pointing out that the corporation's chances of bagging the project were linked to the fortunes of its partner.

The move comes soon after NTPC announced plans to tap the West Asian market with bids for power and desalination projects in Oman and Saudi Arabia.

NTPC is in the fray for Shoiba integrated project, 90 km from the city of Jeddah. It has put up a bid for another project in Oman.