From correspondents in Gujarat, India, 09:02 PM IST
The central government has sanctioned a second ultra mega power project (UMPP) of 4,000 MW for Gujarat.
Union Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde announced this Friday in New Delhi while addressing an interactive session on power organised by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham). Besides Gujarat, one UMPP each has been approved for Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Tamil Nadu.
The project will be based on imported coal, official sources told IANS here. However, the exact location for the project is yet to be decided.
The first UMPP which is being implemented by Tata Power Ltd is coming up at Mundra, in Gujarat. Tatas have floated a special purpose vehicle, Coastal Gujarat Power Ltd, for executing the project.
The sources said the site for the new project will be finalised by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) as was done in the case of the first UMPP. A team from the CEA has already visited some sites near Dholavira, where a special economic zone (SEZ) is coming up. CEA is likely to choose one of the three sites it visited near Dholavira.
But the state government can suggest some other locations for CEA's consideration if it wants. In such a case, the authority could send another team to study the feasibility of the suggested locations.
Once the site is selected, tenders from prospective developers will be welcomed.
Although Tata's UMPP is located in Gujarat, the state will get only a share of the generated power. According to current indications, Gujarat's share would be around 1,650 MW.
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CONCLD.The Gujarat UMPP is planned to be based on imported coal, but it is likely the import bill will keep rising in sympathy with crude. Hence coal refineries must be expanded and new ones set up to avoid imports.
When a power project is going to get its fuel through imports, it is most likely to become unworkable as petroleum import costs will shoot through the roof. So far it was not so, but now it will be. Do not allow colossal public and govt. money to go drain way in such mega projects by grandiose absurd planning with thousands of 'qualified' employees for it.
Unless power planning is overhauled from concept to implementation,and assessment and planning time are cut to one-twentieth present level, we will continue to suffer long, long spells of severe power shortages and abominable tariffs. CONTD.
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