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Efforts on to start work on Barh, Sipat projects

NEW DELHI: Seeking to kick start the ‘giant projects’ stalled for many years and break ice, the Minister of State for Power, Jairam Ramesh, on Saturday met the Russian Ambassador to India, V. I. Trubnikov, to seek his intervention in getting the Russian companies to start work on these two most important and India’s first super critical technology projects.

Mr. Jairam Ramesh told Mr. Trubnikov that keeping in mind the strategic and sensitive relationship both the countries had, Russia could play a very important role in the future of super critical technology. Both discussed how to get the two big projects back on stream and ensure that Sipat Stage-I first unit of 660 MW was commissioned by March 2009. Both the projects had been delayed by almost two years.

Mr. Jairam Ramesh was informed that a team of the Russian company Power Machines was coming to India on May 20 to review both the projects. It supplies turbines for both the power plants. “The Ambassador has assured me that he would do his best to ensure that work on both the projects is resumed at the earliest and all the differences are resolved without any further delay,” Mr. Jairam added.

Work on the 3X660 MW Barh and Sipat 3X660 MW Stage-I had been delayed due to differences between the Russian companies executing the major works and the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC). While it is estimated that the Barh project would cost around Rs. 8,700 crore, Sipat Stage-I is also likely to cost around Rs. 8,500 crore.

NTPC has been asked to get in touch with the Russian companies in India and Moscow to sort out the differences over various issues in the next one month. “NTPC officials will visit Russia in June. We cannot allow this situation to continue. This involved an investment of nearly Rs. 17,000 crore and major addition of power to the national grid,” Mr. Jairam Ramesh said.

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