Gati Infrastructure Commissions Chuzachen Power Station

Researched by Industrial Info Resources India (New Delhi, India)--Private-sector power project developer Gati Infrastructure Limited (GIL) (Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh) commissioned its 110-megawatt (MW) Chuzachen hydroelectric project in India's Sikkim state. The project had been running more than two years behind its original commissioning schedule due to a series of environmental disasters, such as landslides, flash floods and earthquakes.

According to Gati Infrastructure, the two units achieved full load on April 24, 2013, and about 20 million units of electricity have been generated so far. Commercial Operation Declaration (CoD) of these units is expected within a week.

The 110-MW project, which is a run-of-the-river scheme, has two interconnected reservoirs. The project was developed on the Rangpo and Rongli rivers, in the Chuzachen village of the East Sikkim District of the state. Both of these rivers are the tributaries of the Teesta River, which is the main river in Sikkim.

The project entails the construction of a 48.5-meter-high concrete gravity dam on Rangpo River and a 41-meter-high dam on Rongli River; two headrace tunnels of 2,578 meters and 2,256 meters in length; a 103.9-meter-high surge shaft, with a 12-meter diameter; a 645-meter-long surface penstock of 3.3-meter diameter; and a surface powerhouse to accommodate two 55-MW vertical-axis Francis turbine generator sets made by Alstom.

Gati Infrastructure had entered a tripartite agreement with the Sikkim Power Development Corporation Limited (Gangtok, Sikkim), an undertaking by the government of Sikkim, for the development of three hydro projects in the state on a build, operate, own and transfer (BOOT) basis. As per the terms of the agreement, Sikkim will get 12% free power from the project. After 35 years of operation, the project will be transferred back to the state government.

GIL is the power generation arm of Gati Limited (BSE:532345) (Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh), a cargo and supply chain solutions company. Gati Infrastructure was established in 2003 to develop power projects with primary a focus on renewable energy sources. The company operates a 1-MW solar power plant in Andhra Pradesh.

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