NTPC gets green nod for Kudgi project
Work on mega thermal power plant to begin soon
Construction work for the proposed mega thermal power project at Kudgi in Bijapur district is likely to start soon as the state-owned power producer National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has got the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) clearance for its stage one (3x800 MW) project.
Kudgi is the first plant to be set up in Karnataka by NTPC with a total installed capacity of 4,000 MW in two stages, with Phase 1 of 2,400 MW.
The Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board, nodal agency of the Karnataka Government to acquire land, had recently handed over 1,923 acres of land required for the main plant. Land acquisition for the rest 1,600 acres is in progress.
The NTPC Board of Directors recently cleared investment proposal to the tune of Rs 15,166 crore for setting up the project. NTPC would be awarding the main plant package and taking up other infrastructure development works shortly.
“The project will have super critical boilers and latest technology. Coal requirement will be met from NTPC’s own mine at Pakhri Barwadi in Jharkhand,” the statement said.
To meet the water requirement, Karnataka Government has approved 5.2 tmc of water per annum from the Almatti Dam, which is 18km from the plant site.
The proposed plant will have a capacity to generate 80 million units of power a day and 50 per cent of it will be supplied to Karnataka. The remaining units will be shared among other states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry through the Central Grid.
The MoU for the mega project was signed between the Karnataka government, NTPC and the state-held Power Company of Karnataka Ltd in January 2009. Though the company had planned to start the works by the middle of last year, getting environment clearances delayed it till now.
