Dhaka to provide transit facility for ONGC Tripura project

With Bangladesh having agreed to provide transit facility through Ashuganj port for transportation of heavy duty equipment, the work on the 727-MW gas-based project being set up by ONGC Tripura Power Co Ltd (OTPC) is gaining pace.

On completion, OTPC will be the largest power project in the North-Eastern region. Moreover, it would help ONGC monetise its 5.5-6 million standard cubic metre gas production capacity in Tripura. The reserves are now mostly capped due to the lack of industrial demand in the region.

According to company sources, General Electric (GE) has already shipped the first turbine of 363.3 MW from the US. The turbine will reach Haldia port in West Bengal in mid-July and is scheduled to start its journey for Ashugunj river port, located close to the OTPC project site at Palatana in Tripura, after the monsoon. The first unit is scheduled to start commercial generation in December 2011.A consortium of Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) and GE is the EPC (engineering procurement and construction) contractor for the power project. GE is currently assembling the second unit of identical capacity at its facility at Hyderabad, which will be transported through Haldia later. The second unit is scheduled to start generation in March 2012.

Strengthening road

“Bulk of the equipment for the first unit is already shipped from the US. We may have to keep them in Haldia or Kolkata before they are moved to the project site ,” a company source said.The source, however, added that before sending the consignment to Ashugunj, the EPC contractors would have to strengthen the road and other requisite transport logistics from Ashugunj to the Indian border at Akhaura in Tripura.

“The project contractors may start preparing the roads once the monsoon is over. Since the monsoon in this part of the country is heavy and lasts longer, we expect the work to start sometime in September-October,” the official said. “OTPC is a milestone project in the history of Tripura and the entire North-Eastern region in terms of its size and the logistics hurdles in transporting heavy equipment to the landlocked hilly State deprived of proper road connectivity. What is more important is the regional cooperation (between India and Bangladesh) it has enjoyed so far in overcoming such hurdles. Naturally, if there is any delay in project implementation, we have to take it in our stride,” a source said.