Himachal Power Corp. Hands HCC, Patel Engg, VATech Rs 636 Crore Contracts Jobs

Shimla: Flush with funds provided by Asian Development Bank, HP Power Corporation Ltd (HPPCL) has stepped up on executing hydropower projects in a time bound manner for which three major civil and electro-mechanical contracts were awarded recently.

Tarun Kapoor, managing director HPPCL told My Himachal News that a civil works contract for the 243 MW Khasang power project in Satluj valley basin was awarded to Hindustan Construction recently.

The contract awarded is worth Rs 296 crore and involves involves construction of water diversion works, intake barrage, power shaft and power house for the Khasang project.

He said that there were four stages to the Khasang project and HCC is to construct the complete civil works for the 1st stage only. However the power house which is also part of the package would be used for the combined generation from stage 1, 2, & 3 and would have a generation capacity of 195 MW.

Separate contracts for stage 4 would be awarded later. Target for completing this job is March 2012, said Kapoor.

A civil package for the 111 MW Sawara-Kuddu project on Pabbar river worth Rs 155 crore has been awarded to Patel Engineering, Kapoor disclosed. The job involves power house, surge shaft and pen stock construction. Target for completion of this contract is early 2012, he added.

The electro-mechanical contract package for the Sawara-Kuddu project worth Rs 180.53 crore has been awarded to VATech, said the MD of the newly set up government owned power generation company.

The electro-mechanical package involves turbines, generators and electrical equipment. VATech, which has been taken over by a new company now, is renamed as VATech Andritz. This contract also has been scheduled for completion by March 2012, he said.

He disclosed that bidding for intake barrage contract for the Sawara-Kuddu project and the electro-mechanical package for the Khasang project has been thrown open and many reputed companies are showing keen interest in them.

For tapping available hydropower potential ADB has sanctioned a $ 800 million loan to HPPCL.

The state government has awarded Sawara-Kuddu (111 MW) in Shimla district, Kashang (195 MW) in Kinnaur district, Sainj (100 MW) in Kullu district and Shongtong-Karchham (402 MW), also in Kinnaur to HPPCL for execution.

These project are estimated to cost about $1.5 billion, of which ADB has financed $800 million and has a 25 year repayment periond. Targeted to be completed by 2014 the loan would be provided through a multi-tranche financing facility, with allocation based on project readiness.
Kapoor said construction work has commenced on the Sawara-Kuddu and Kashang projects.

Ravinder Makhaik

As Editor, Ravinder Makhaik leads a team of media professionals at Hill Post.

Spanning a career of over two decades in mass communication, as a Documentary Filmmaker, TV journalist, Print Media journalist and with Online & Social Media, he brings with him a vast experience. He lives in Shimla.