DURGAPUR POWER EXTEN

closed

The Durgapur Power Extension project for India will provide a credit to the Government of India for the expansion of the Durgapur power station and associated transmission system of the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC). The DVC is a semi-autonomous organization created in 1948 to carry out a unified scheme of development of the Damodar Valley in the States of Bihar and Bengal. This project follows three previous Bank loans to help with the development of the Damodar Valley by DVC. The components of the project are the construction of a 140 MW thermal generating plant and additional transmission facilities. The thermal plant is a hydrogen cooled turbo-generator and will be an extension of the existing Durgapur power station. It will be adjacent to the Durgapur steel plant, and will use coal middlings which are a waste product from an adjacent coal washing plant. The transmission system enhancements will include: a) transmission line construction comprising about 5 miles of 132 kv double circuit line and about 12 miles of 33 kv line; b) modifications and extension of substations at Durgapur, Bokaro, Chandrapura, Sindri, kalipahari, Ramgarh, Luchipur, Ramkanali, Burdwan, Oyaria, and Maithon; and c) construction of a central load dispatch and system control station at Maithon. The report notes that even with the additional capacity generated by this thermal plant, DVC will not be able to fully meet power demand in the area. This report finds the project to be sound and cost estimates to be reasonable. The DVC has agreed to adjust its rates to assure a return of at least 7 percent. It will employ a firm of chartered accountants, approved by the IDA, to assure an adequate return. This project is suitable as a basis of a credit to the Government of India which will in turn supply to the DVC the foreign exchange required for the project.