Bhutan PM holds discussion on hydropower, tourism with Shinde, Soni

New Delhi, July 15 : Bhutan's first democratically elected Prime Minister, Jigmi Y. Thinley, met Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and Tourism Minister Ambika Soni here today and held discussions related to the hydro power and tourism sectors.

Thinley, who arrived here on a four-day visit, also met Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

He is accompanied by a high-level delegation including Foreign Affairs Minister Ugyen Tshering, Economic Affairs Minister Khandu Wangchuk and Finance Minister Wangdi Norbu. Thinley will call on President Pratibha Patil, Vice-President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. He will also meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani. Thinley and his Indian counterpart are scheduled to hold discussions on developing Tala Hydropower Project to India and Bhutan. The Tala power project, which was commissioned on March 30, 2007, is expected to further boost the tapping of the estimated 30,000-megawatt of hydro-power resources that Bhutan possesses. As of now the identified techno-commercially feasible potential is about 23,500 megawatt out which only 1488 megawatt installed capacity is exploited at present. After completion, the project will generate 4,865 million units of power in an average year. It would also provide 1122 megawatt of peaking power throughout the year. Surplus power generated from the project will be exported to India through 400 KV transmission lines to a pooling point in Siliguri, and from there to India''s Eastern and Northern Grids. ANI)

ANI