State-owned NHPC Limited has bagged the responsibility to complete Teesta VI hydropower project years after the initial builder – Lanco Teesta Hydro Power Ltd (LTHPL) – went into insolvency and the 500 MW project hit a roadblock.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) headed by the Prime Minister has approved the investment sanction for the acquisition of LTHPL and execution of the remaining work by NHPC.
“It is a big responsibility that we are happy to shoulder. With only around 30 percent job done, the project will now require new planning and execution including situation analysis and fresh tendering,” said Debajit Chattopadhyay, executive director, NHPC.
According to officials, the project will be implemented at an estimated cost of Rs 5,748.04 crore, which includes the bid amount of Rs 907 crore for acquisition of LGPL.
The run of the river project in Sirwani village is aimed at utilizing the power potential of the Teesta river basin. It envisages construction of a 26.5-meter high barrage across the river, two horse shoe shape head race tunnels of 9.8-meter diameter and 13.76 km length, and an underground powerhouse with four generation units of 125 MW each.
The project is expected to generate 2,400 million units of power in a year when the annual generation has the probability of being equal to or exceed 90 percent of the time on an annual basis during the expected period of operation of the scheme. While 12 percent of this output will go to the host state Sikkim as royalty, the rest will be taken to the national power field.
NHPC has set a deadline of five years for the completion of the project. “We do not apprehend any chance of cost or time overrun on this. But geological surprises and natural calamities may alter the scenario,” said Chattopadhyay.
