Modi to open Tuirial hydro project in Mizoram tomorrow

New Delhi, Dec 15: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate the Tuirial Hydroelectric Power Project in Mizoram to the nation tomorrow, the power ministry said.

Mizoram Governor Nirbhay Sharma, Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla and several ministers as well as officials will be present on the occasion, the Power Ministry said in a statement.

The 60 MW Tuirial Hydro Electric Power Project (HEPP) has been constructed as a Central Sector Project and implemented by North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO), under the administrative control of the Union power ministry.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) cleared the project for implementation in July 1998 with commissioning scheduled in July 2006. After the completion of about 30 per cent of the project activities, the work was totally suspended from June 2004 due to local agitation.

The work resumed in January 2011. The remotely located project faced various hindrances ranging from inadequate communication infrastructure, massive failure of the Power House slopes due to poor soil condition to lack of availability of skilled manpower. Unit-I of the project was commissioned on August 25 this year, and Unit-II on November 28.

The project has been built at a cost of Rs 1,302 crore. It is the biggest power project in Mizoram and will feed the entire energy to be generated to the state, which will help it achieve the Centre's ambitious and flagship Mission '24x7 Affordable Clean Power for All'.

The state's current demand of electricity is only 87 MW and this is being met by the state's mini power projects and availability of its share of power from central sector projects. Mizoram will now be the third power-surplus state in North East India after Sikkim and Tripura.

PTI