Gati Infrastructure's Chujachen Project on Track for Commissioning in September 2012

Researched by Industrial Info Resources India (Delhi, India)--Gati Infrastructure Limited's (Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh) 99-megawatt (MW) Chujachen hydroelectric project in Sikkim seems to be on track to achieve its latest commissioning target in September 2012. Mired by a host of geological surprises, such as landslides, flash floods and earthquakes, the project has been running almost two years behind the original commissioning schedule.

Poor geological conditions in the Himalayan terrain also added to the difficulties faced in the construction of the project. The excavation of the head race tunnel has been the worst hit. A flashflood in April 2009 washed away the Coffer Dam, delaying the project by over six months.

The 99-MW project is a run-of-river scheme, with two interconnected reservoirs. The project has been developed on the Rangpo and Rongli rivers, in the Chuzachen village of East Sikkim District of the state. Both these rivers are the tributaries of the Teesta River, the main river in the state of 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 tunnel of 2,578 meters and 2,256 meters in length; a 103.9-meter-high surge shaft of 12-meter diameter; a 645-meter-long surface penstock of 3.3-meter diameter; a surface power house to accommodate two 49.5-MW, vertical-axis Francis turbines and generators.

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

Gati Infrastructure Limited 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. The company also owns a stake in a coal-mining project in Indonesia.

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