The government will finalise the developer of the 4,000-Mw ultra mega power project at Tilaiya in Jharkhand by the end of this year even as it selected sites for three more such projects.
“The developer for the fourth UMPP, which is being set up at Tilaiya in Jharkhand, would be finalised by the year-end,” an official statement said. The government has decided to set up three more UMPPs in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Orissa.
The Tamil Nadu government has confirmed a site at Cheyyur, along with a captive port at Paramankeni for the development of the UMPP. It also requested for another one at Cuddalore for which the site details would be sent shortly. The Maharashtra government has also confirmed the availability of Munge site for setting up a 4,000-Mw ultra mega power project. Orissa has already confirmed the availability of water for the already identified site at Bedabahal.
The central government also said it would conduct studies at the sites suggested by the Karnataka government for the UMPPs before locating one in the state as the proposed sites are not in coastal areas. The study regarding the availability of water for the identified site in Chhattisgarh is already under progress.
Considering the pace of the earlier three UMPPs at Mundra (Gujarat), Krishnapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and Sasan (Madhya Pradesh), the government said it would be possible to add 3,000 Mw capacity from these units in the Eleventh Plan Period (2007-12).
This was decided at a meeting convened by Union Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde to expedite decisions on development of UMPPs in Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu.
The meeting had been called to expedite decisions in respect of five more UMPPs against the backdrop of substantial progress already having been achieved for four projects at Mundra, Sasan, Krishnapatnam and Tilaiya.
The meeting was attended by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Minister of Law and Justice H R Bhardwaj, Minister of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Kapil Sibal and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who are members of the Empowered Group of Ministers on UMPPs.
The state governments were represented by their power ministers.
