Jairam Ramesh to inaugurate 740 MW power project in Tripura

Agartala, Oct 25 (UNI) Union Minister of State for Power Jairam Ramesh is scheduled to inaugurate the Northeastern region's biggest power project, the 740 MW Palatana power project in South Tripura district, tomorrow.

Official sources here today said the Union Minister would arrive here tomorrow to kick off the construction work of the project at an estimated cost of Rs 4,000 crore.

He will also inaugurate an office of the ONGC Tripura Power Corporation Ltd (OTPC), set up with the collaboration of the ONGC, Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (ILFS) and Tripura government.

Mr Ramesh will also meet Chief Minister Manik Sarkar to discuss various issues related to the mega power plant.

In the first phase, the gas-based project will generate 375 MW power, Assistant Engineer of BHEL F Kisko, who had already arrived here to supervise the construction work, said.

''The work of the first phase will have to be completed within the next 36 months,'' he said.

All the Northeastern states, reeling under severe power crisis, could receive power from the proposed project as assured by the Centre.

Tripura has already inked an agreement to buy 300 MW power from the proposed power plant.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had laid the foundation stone for the proposed power plant at Palatana in Udaipur subdivision on October 29, 2005.

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