20 Apr 2008

It is reported that, after the centre declared 420 MW Lakhwar Vyasi as national project, National Hydro Power Corporation and Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited are the 2 major contenders in the race to clinch the final deal.

Centre has so far remained non committal regarding the allotment of the project, which is hanging due to paucity of funds for the last 20 years. An investment of nearly INR 3,000 to INR 4,000 crore is proposed in the project.

Sensing that the NHPC was preparing the revised detailed project report of the project, UJVNL has intensified efforts for the allotment. The allotment process for the Lakhwad Vyasi, which will benefit several northern states like Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, got hotter after centre declared it as a national project and promised to bear 90 per cent of its cost following techno economic appraisal of the DPR and investment clearance by the Planning Commission.

After Uttarakhand came into being in 2000, the state government handed over the responsibility of preparing the revised DPR of the multipurpose project, being built on the river Yamuna, to NHPC. Once the project is completed, it would likely produce 927 million units of power besides irrigating 40,000 hectares of land through east Yamuna canal.

The construction of the project initially started in 1979 by the Uttar Pradesh irrigation department. But due to paucity of funds, the project could not see the light of the day. There is going to be 200 meter high arch gravity concrete dam, underground power house with 2.7 kilometer long headrace tunnels.

News Source: http://steelguru.com

15 Apr 2008

BS reported that, in a bid to tap the state’s vast water resources, Uttarakhand government is likely to invite open bids for nearly 30 to 50 hydropower projects by the end of April 2008. A government official said that all these projects are ranging between 5 MW and 25 MW and are situated all over the state. He added that “We are probably going for open bidding for all these projects.”

Investments estimated to be in the range of INR 3,000 to INR 5000 crore are proposed in these projects which would be built on various tributaries of Ganga and Yamuna rivers. This is the first major decision since early this year when the government had announced the new power policy while deciding to give preference to local entrepreneurs and gram panchayats to build micro and mini hydel projects with a slew of sops.

Besides gram panchayats and locals, societies registered in the state are also being given preference in the power generation program. The projects have been divided broadly into 3 categories namely micro, mini and small. Projects with capacity up to 100 KW will be categorized as micro, mini will comprise between 100 KW and 5 MW, while small projects will be in the range of 5 to 25 MW. Big projects, however, will have a capacity above 25 MW.

The state government has also made provision for self identified projects. In this category, developers may identify projects, prepare the detailed project report and ask for allotment. In the other category, the state government or state sponsored agencies may identify the projects of any size, prepare the report and allot them. However, small projects would be open to all and there would be no reservations. For this, premium would be decided as and when they are allotted depending upon the capacity of the project.

News Source: http://steelguru.com