Bad roads may slow Bina power project

Timely completion of the 99 Mw power project coming up at the Bina Refinery in MP may be affected if the two main roads connecting Bhopal and Biaora to Bina are not built soon.

A source in Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, that is executing the pet-coke based power project, said civil construction at the Rs 10,000 crore refinery was under progress and the project is expected to be complete within 26 to 30 months.

However, the poor condition of two main roads on which heavy and costly equipment has to be hauled does not augur well for refinery.

R P Singh, managing director of Bharat Oman Refinery Limited (BORL), the promoter of Bina refinery, said: "We have requested the state government to speed up the completion of Biaora-Bina roas (147 Km) and the Vidisha-Bina road (80 Km). The road connecting Bina town to Agasod (the refinery site) is so pathetic that it takes half-an-hour for a monstrous sports utility vehicle to cover 12 km." The executives associated with the project say that any delay in construction of the road will escalate the cost of the project.

"The machinery to be used in the project is heavy and a single incidence of toppling of the equipment may delay the project by two months," said a BHEL source.

Among the machines to be lugged to Bina include three 33 MW steam turbine generators and CFBC Boilers and other associated auxiliaries and plant equipment. The equipment for the project will be supplied by the company plants at Hyderabad, Trichy, Ranipet, Bhopal, Jhansi as well as from Bangalore.

Speaking to Business Standard, MP Industry Minister Babulal Gaur said his government would start road construction once the civil work was over.

"The road will get damaged again if we re-construct it now," he said. The civil work is expected to be over after monsoon this year. The work on the project started in January this year.