Centre committed to Katwa thermal power plant: Shinde

Farakka (West Bengal), Sep 28 (PTI): The Centre today said it is committed to setting up the Katwa thermal power project in West Bengal.

"NTPC will set up a power plant in Katwa. I also announce that we will offer 50 per cent of the capacity to the state," Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said here today.

He was speaking at the inauguration of full-load commercial operation of NTPC''s 500 MW stage III unit at Farraka.

With the addition of 500 MW, the Farraka thermal power plant''s total capacity increased to 2,100 MW.

Shinde''s assurance brought new hope to the power project, which is mired in problems of land acquisition, although he asked the state government to arrange for land and water.

State power minister Manish Gupta, who was also present at the event, said that the government would offer full cooperation and support to Centre’s power projects in the state.

The West Bengal Power Development Corporation is supposed to transfer the 1,320 MW thermal power project to the NTPC which has acquired only 458 acres out of 1,100 acres required for the project.

NTPC Chairman Arup Roy Choudhury also expressed hope, saying the new land policy favours government support of infrastructure projects.

"We are also ready to pay the land owners directly the price the WBPDCL had paid. We need the original land owners'' list from the government," he said.

Gupta called for permission for setting up hydel power projects in the northern part of the country and in Bhutan.

Meanwhile, NTPC is targeting to reduce share of imported coal for Farraka plant to 10 per cent from 20 per cent by increasing domestic coal supply.

Adra project in limbo as Railways, NTPC differ on land value

Sat, Sep 03, 2011

Debjoy Sengupta, ET Bureau

KOLKATA: National Thermal Power Corporation's proposed project at Adra in West Bengal, which it plans to execute with the Railways, has hit a roadblock over valuation of land on which it is to be built. The power producer now plans to approach the Railway Ministry for a resolution.

The 1,3200-mw thermal power plant is to be executed as a 26:74 joint venture between the two state-run entities. Over 1,300 acres of land identified for the project belongs to the Railways. NTPC and the Railways need to agree on its pricing for the project to take off.

"We feel the price being asked is on the higher side. The land is valued nearly at par with that in Kolkata, and NTPC executives are not too happy with the price being asked," an NTPC source said, adding, "NTPC officials are planning to take up the issue with the Railway Ministry so that it can be solved amicably."

The power producer is also waiting for the go ahead from the state government for acquiring land for another proposed 1,600mw thermal power plant at Katwa in Bardhaman district. The state government has acquired about 575 acres of land for the plant. NTPC needs another 1,000 acres to start construction.

"We cannot start construction work on this 575 acres," NTPC chairman Arup Roy Choudhury had said, adding that 0.7 acres of land was needed for every megawatt of power generation capacity.

The memorandum of understanding for the plant had been signed in December.