Minister of State: No info on abandoning Margherita power project

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The Union Ministry of Power, while urging Assam Power Generation Corporation Ltd. (APGCL) to reconsider the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the proposed 1,600 MW (2x800 MW) Margherita Thermal Power Project (TPP) in Tinsukia district, has clarified that no formal communication has been received from APGCL about abandoning the plan to set up the proposed plant.

This was stated by Minister of State (MoS) in the Ministry of Power Shripad Naik in the Lok Sabha, while replying to an unstarred question from Nagaon MP Pradyut Bordoloi.

MoS Naik informed that APGCL had planned the pithead coal-based project with an estimated cost of Rs 16,850 crore, for which a Detailed Project Report (DPR) was prepared by NTPC in 2019. The company had submitted a coal linkage request to the Ministry of Coal (MoC) & Ministry of Power (MoP) for 4.11 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) from the North East Coalfields of Coal India Ltd., considering coal of a gross calorific value of 6,900 kcal/kg.

The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) had advised APGCL that the non-availability of sufficient coal in Northeast coalfields may hinder the possibility of developing Margherita TPP as a pithead plant as provided in the DPR. Therefore, APGCL needs to reconsider the DPR and explore the alternative of sourcing coal from other coal companies like Eastern Coalfields Ltd. (ECL), Bharat Coking Coal Ltd. (BCCL) and Central Coalfields Ltd. (CCL). Accordingly, APGCL was advised to approach CIL for their coal requirement from the above-mentioned coal companies.

Moreover, the Power Ministry said it has not received any communication from APGCL regarding the project's revised plan or its potential scrapping.

The ambitious project, if executed, is expected to significantly boost power generation in Assam and strengthen energy security in the Northeast.

Also Read: China pushes for CPEC-II; Pakistan fails to tame Taliban

Also Watch: