National Hydro-electric Power Corporation (NHPC)  is planning to start construction on three more power projects on Chenab River in Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) soon after the Indian parliamentary elections are over. Addressing a press conference , NHPC Chairman and Managing Director SK Garg said his organisation had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Jammu and Kashmir State Power Development Corporation (JKSPDC) and the Power Trading Corporation (PTC) for developing Pakal-Dul and two other hydroelectric projects in the Chenab River basin with aggregate installed capacity of 2,100 megawatts (MW) through a joint venture.

“We signed the MoU with the JKSPDC and the PTC in October, 2008 for three projects of 2,100MW capacity. We (NHPC) and the JKSPDC have 49 percent stake each in the JV Company and two percent is held by the PTC,” Garg said. The work on the projects would start soon after the elections, as the IHK government could not approve tenders to award work due to the election code of conduct, he said.

Garg said the NHPC had recorded a 4.6 percent rise in its post-tax profits at Rs 1.05 billion for the financial year that ended March 31, 2009. “Out of this, the corporation has netted Rs 3 billion from three projects – Uri, Salal and Dul Husti – in Jammu and Kashmir, a staggering 33 percent.

“The corporation runs 14 power projects all over the country. Out of these, Kashmir projects are touted as most economical, giving maximum profit,” he said, adding that the company had commissioned two power projects with aggregate installed capacity of 1,030MW during the last fiscal year (2008-09). They were the 520MW Omkareshwar project in Madhya Pradesh and the 510MW Teesta-V project in Sikkim, he said.

About its overseas projects, Garg said the NHPC signed an MoU with Myanmar to study the master plan for hydro power development of the Chindwin River basin, and for reviewing the detailed project reports (DPRs) of the 1,200MW Tamanthi hydroelectric project (HEP) and the 642MW Shwezaye HEP. “The corporation is also constructing Sewa-II (120MW) on Chenab and Uri-II (240MW) on Jhelum,” he said, adding that the Sewa project would be commissioned by October 2009.

The NHPC chairman said initial work on the 330MW Kishangaga project had begun, and the project would be completed by January 2016. He said the survey and investigation to state work on the 1,020MW Bursur project on Marusudar River, a tributary of the Chenab, was in the final phase. The proposed project is located approximately 80 kilometres from Kistwar town. The project consists of a 252-metre-high rock-fill dam. According to the project’s details, like Baglihar, Bursur is also a storage project in which the flow of water could be regulated not only to the benefit of the project but all downstream projects like Pakal Dul, Dul Hasti, Rattle, Baglihar, Sawalkot and Salal hydroelectric projects.

Due to this dam, the NHPC officials said power generation in the Chenab valley power stations will increase three-fold during October to April, and would thus mitigate the shortage of water in the river during the winter months.

Source - Daily Times