Gati Infrastructure's Chujachen Project Rescheduled for Commissioning in February 2013

Researched by Industrial Info Resources India (New Delhi, India)--The commissioning of Gati Infrastructure Limited's (Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh) 99-megawatt (MW) Chujachen hydroelectric project in Sikkim has been rescheduled again. The project's previous schedule was December 2012, but now, it is likely to be fully operational by February 2013. The project has been running more than two years behind its original commissioning schedule because of a host of geological surprises, such as landslides, flash floods and earthquakes.

The construction of the project also faced difficulties because of the poor geological conditions in the Himalayan terrain. 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-the-river scheme, which has 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 of these rivers are the tributaries of the Teesta River, which is 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 with a 12-meter diameter; a 645-meter-long surface penstock that has a 3.3-meter diameter; and 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), which is a government of Sikkim undertaking. The government of Sikkim has worked on a build, operate, own and transfer basis in the state for the development of three hydro projects. As for 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. Gati Infrastructure Limited is the power generation arm of Gati Limited (BSE: 532345) (Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh), a cargo and supply chain solutions company.

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