Hydel firm to move beyond HP

The Satlej Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (SJVNL) a Himachal Pradesh-based power company, is now planning to take up hydel projects outside India, in Nepal and Bhutan.

"We are in the process of submitting bids for the 400 Mw Arun-III project and 300 Mw upper Karnali project in Nepal," said SJVNL Chief HK Sharma.

He said a team of officials of the Bhutanese government is currently visiting and studying our hydel projects in Himachal Pradesh and has assured us that SJVNL would be invited to bid for hydel projects in that country soon.

The company is also looking to build a hydel project in Arunachal Pradesh among other places.

Speaking about the SJVNL's work in Himachal Pradesh, he said the public sector undertaking, which has 75 per cent stake of the Centre and the rest of the Himachal government, will generate a record 6000 million units of power by the end of this financial year.

"The SJVNL contemplates to become a 4000 Mw company by the end of eleventh plan for which a number of projects in Himachal and neighbouring Uttaranchal have been taken up for preparation of a detailed project report (DPR) and subsequent execution," he said.

"In Himachal, we are preparing DPRs of Rampur 412 Mw, Luhri 700 Mw and Khab 1020 Mw projects. While in Uttaranchal we are redesigning the DPR of Devsari dam 300 Mw project. We are also preparing DPRs of the Naitwar project 33 Mw and Jakhol 33 Mw projects," Sharma said.

Two years ago SJVNL built the 1500 Mw Nathpa hydel project in Himachal, the largest hydel project in the country. Desilting is a major concern for engineers at Nathpa due to which the project isn't able to run to full capacity often.