UP to set up 1,000 MW power project in Allahabad

Lucknow, Oct 4 (UNI) Power-starved Uttar Pradesh has chalked out an ambitious plan to set up a 1000 MW thermal power plant in the southern part of the state.

The new power project, after the Anpara C and D projects, would come up at Shankergarh in Allahabad district, for which Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) would submit its report within a week.

However, it has now been decided -- after the Dadri controversy -- that all new power projects would be set up on barren lands and no agricultural land would be used for the purpose.

Senior Samajwadi Party leader and MP from Allahabad Reoti Raman Singh said here today that the new power project would certainly cover the evergrowing power demand in the region, particularly in the adjoining Bundelkhand area.

The state cabinet is also expected to approve the new power project in the next fortnight.

Sources in the state power department said here that a team of experts would be visiting Shankergarh shortly and submit a report within one week of their visit.

The new project costing around Rs 5,000 crore, would be awarded to a private energy generation company by floating global tenders after UPPCL acquires about 1000 acre of land for the purpose.

''As barren land would be acquired for the power project, their would be no problem in acquiring such huge quantity of the land on the banks of river Yamuna,'' Mr Singh said.

According to preliminary project report prepared by the UPPCL for the new thermal power plant at Shankergarh, the initial generation capacity would be 1000 MW, which can be extended upto 3000 MW in the near future.

The Allahabad MP claimed that the new power project would certainly tide over the power crisis in the region and would help the state to gain self sufficiency in the power sector.

Meanwhile, UPPCL was also contemplating two more 1,000 MW power projects, one in eastern UP and another in western part of the state. The new projects will be set up in the private sector.

Recently , UPPCL had awarded the contract for the 1,000 MW Anpara C thermal power project to the Hyderabad based Lanco Kundapalli .

The state government has also endorsed a proposal for the construction of the another 1,000 MW Anpara D thermal project, in the public sector. The state government had approached the Power Finance Corporation for funding the project which would cost around Rs 5,000 crore.

The Lanco Kundapalli group had outbid Reliance Energy and Essar Group for the 1,000 MW Anpara C thermal power project on June 6, 2006. Showcased as the first tariff-based competitive bidding project, the power project has already major approvals included the coal linkage in place. The expected cost of the Anpara C project is 4,000 crore.

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