Himachal project gets $400 mn WB loan

Public sector Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (SJVNL) today signed a $400 million World Bank loan agreement for building the 412-Mw Rampur hydel project in Himachal Pradesh.

The agreement was signed by SJVNL chief HKSharma and Isabella Guerrio, country director, World Bank, among other officials of the central government in New Delhi today, a SJVNL spokesman said here.

The Rampur project is being built on the Sutlej river in Shimla district 130 km from here.

The project is adjacent to the country's largest hydel project "" the 1500-Mw Nathpa Jhakri project "" also built and run by SJVNL, a Central government and Himachal government undertaking company.

The filtered water of the Nathpa project is being used through underground tunnels by the Rampur project to bring down costs of the project.

The Rampur project is slated to be commisioned by January 2012 within the 11th Plan period and will generate 1,770 million units of electricity.

The Himachal government is a major beneficiary of this project.