Hinduja plant to start after 22 yrs
Project got delayed due to changes in the country’s regulatory environment
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2014-09-26 03:00 GMT
Vizag: After an inordinate delay of 22 years, Hinduja National Power Corporation Ltd (HNPCL) would commission its 1,040-megawatt power plant at Palavalasa in Visakhapatnam district in a couple of months.According to sources, the first unit would be getting ready immediately and the second unit of 520 MW will also be commissioned by the end of this year or in the first quarter of next year.
The project, which was supposed to have been executed by late 1990s, got delayed due to various reasons, including changes in the country’s regulatory environment. The thermal power plant was initially proposed to be set up as a merchant power facility, but the company subsequently had decided to supply power to the state government. HNPCL is a special purpose vehicle promoted by the London-based Hinduja Group for setting up 1,040 MW thermal power project and an MoU was signed way back in 1992.
The project was again revived in 2008 and the company awarded EPC contract to BHEL in 2011.The total cost of the project was estimated to be Rs5,545 crore. Further, the steam blowing activity of 520 MW unit HNPCL has been made at Palavalasa as part of the commissioning process of the first unit and the second unit of the coal-fired plant would be operational thereafter.