Arunachal Pradesh & NEEPCO ink pact for two power-producing projects

OUR CORRESPONDENT

ITANAGAR: Arunachal Pradesh, on Saturday, signed a MoA (Memorandum of Agreement) with NEEPCO (North East Electrical Power Corporation Ltd) for the development of two hydro-power projects in the State.

The MoA is for construction of the 90-MW (megawatt) 'New Melling' project in Tawang and the 120 MW Nafra project in West Kameng district, stated a communiqué from the CMO (Chief Minister's Office) here.

The MoA was signed by Hydro Power Commissioner P.S. Lokhande on behalf of the State government and NEEPCO Chief Managing Director V.K. Singh, in the presence of Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein.

Speaking on the occasion, Khandu said the CPSUs (Central Public Sector Undertakings) will be the harbinger of investment in Arunachal. He also appreciated the performance of NEEPCO in developing hydropower in the Himalayan State.

After the signing of MoA, the total project allotted to NEEPCO shall be six with total installed capacity of 1325 MW. Of the six projects, the NEEPCO has already commissioned three projects – 600 MW Kameng, 405 MW Ranganadi and 110 MW Pare.

"To harness the hydropower potential in the state, the government had allotted such projects to several private developers and the CPSUs through the MoA route. However, most of the private developers failed to implement the project. The government had already started terminating the MoA for dismal performance in executing the projects and so far 40 projects have been terminated," Khandu said.

The chief minister requested the NEEPCO CMD to resolve the issue of Kurung project (330 MW) whose, MoA was signed in the year 2015, but the implementation has not yet started. He also assured to render all necessary help in terms of local problems in developing projects allotted to NEEPCO.

Khandu desired that the hydro potential in the state should not be in paper only but it should be developed physically. He informed that the NHPC has scheduled to commission two units of Subansiri project (2000 mw) by August 2022 and full-fledged commissioning by August 2023.

The Deputy Chief Minister while appreciating the performance of NEEPCO requested the power giant to commission the projects with them in a time bound manner.

Mein said that the government is committed to develop self-sufficient hydropower from the hydro penitential in the state under the leadership of the present Chief Minister.

On the occasion of signing of the MoA, Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar requested the NEEPCO CMD to liaise with concerned DC and allot contract works to local contractors where expertise does not involve. The CMD assured to deploy their staff at the site for taking the allotted project in full swing with immediate effect, added the communiqué.

Also Read: Arunachal Pradesh Setting-up Agreement with NEEPCO for Developing Power Projects

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