NEW DELHI, Dec 15 � ONGC Tripura Power Co (OTPC), a unit of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp, has signed an MoU with Dhaka to open up a new transport corridor through Bangladesh for transporting heavy equipment for its power plant at Tripura.
The MoU was signed by OPTC Director RK Madan and Azizur Rahman, Chief Engineer, Roads and Highways Dept, representing the Government of Bangladesh, a company press statement said here. Pursuant to this MoU, Bangladesh authorities will, for the first time, allow the use of Ashuganj port on Meghna River and the connecting road network between Ashuganj�Sultanpur�Akhaura check post (around 48 km).
�This will facilitate the transportation of two gas turbines, two steam turbines and about a hundred ODC (over dimensional cargo) items required for the OTPC�s ambitious 726.6 MW combined cycle gas-based power plant at Palatana, Tripura,� it said.
The transit route through Bangladesh shall enable cutting down the commissioning time by around 7 to 8 months compared to the earlier plans of transporting the ODCs through a far challenging and complex route through Karimganj, Manu-Ambassa mountainous tracts and a large number of river crossings in Tripura.
ONGC has 50 per cent stake in OTPC while IL&FS has 26 per cent. Government of Tripura has 0.5 per cent the rest is untied equity.
Company Chairman RS Sharma, while reviewing the project implementation status in the board meeting of OTPC held at New Delhi on December 13, commented: �This historic MoU will facilitate opening up of a new �Silk Route� for the North-East.
�This will immensely help in safe and timely passage of ODCs to the project site ensuring timely commissioning of OTPC�s power plant, within the XI Five Year Plan,� he said.
Combined with the investments for drilling new wells, laying of gas pipelines as well as downstream transmission system, implementation of this project at an aggregated investments in excess of Rs 8,000 crore, is going to be the largest ever investment for any single scheme in the entire north-eastern region, ONGC said.
Post-commissioning, the project will help in monetising the gas discoveries made by ONGC in Tripura during the last two decades, which have remained under-utilised thus far due to lack of appropriate customer demand.
The implementation of this power project would enable ONGC to increase its gas production in the state from the current level of 1.7 million cubic meters a day to over 5.5 mmscmd.
The first unit of the project with 363.3 MW capacity is expected to be commissioned in the last quarter of calendar year 2011. � PTI
