State-owned power producer National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) says it will invest about Rs 1 lakh crore to set up India's largest hydropower project in Arunachal Pradesh. The Siang Upper Project will have a generation capacity of 9,500 MW, enough to light up two cities like Delhi.
"We are in talks with the Arunachal Pradesh government for setting up the project," NTPC's chairman and managing director Arup Roy Choudhury said. "The state has raised a few issues, which we are trying to address." The company is preparing a detailed report for the project, he said.
The Siang valley on the Brahmaputra river has 17,000 MW of hydel power potential, according to some estimates. The 1,500-MW Nathpa Jhakri project is the largest operational hydropower project in India.
A senior power ministry official said Arunachal Pradesh government has expressed concerns over the impact such a big project would have on the state's infrastructure. He said NTPC was conducting the field studies at its own cost.
National Thermal Power Corporation had earlier shelved two projects in Arunachal Pradesh - 4,000 MW Etalin and 500 MW Attunli - after conducting feasibility studies as the state demanded an upfront payment of Rs 5 lakh per MW of electricity produced.
NTPC's first hydropower project at Koldam in Himachal Pradesh is likely to be commissioned next year. The company is also working on a 520 MW hydel project in Uttarakhand. The company is aiming to raise its power generation capacity to 50,000 MW by 2012 from the present 34,000 MW.
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