Commissioning of India's Parbati II Hydroelectric Project Delayed

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Construction of NHPC Limited's (BSE:533098) (Faridabad, Haryana) 800-megawatt (MW) Parbati II Hydroelectric Project in Haryana has been delayed by more than two years due to engineering failure and slow progress of civil and structural work at the site area by NHPC. Other delays have been caused by failure of the tunnel-boring machine and copious leakage of mountain water. The plant, which was originally slated for commissioning in November 2011, is now expected to be online by March 2013.

According to NHPC sources, the project was initially delayed because of certain contractual issues and a delay in widening the project roads by Himachal Pradesh Public Works Department and a ban on the operation of the stone crusher by the Honorable High Court of Himachal Pradesh. In November 2006, there was a heavy ingress of water and slush while boring the tunnel phase, causing total stoppage of work. The tunnel-boring machine suffered extensive damage. A landslide in the powerhouse area in February 2007 was largely responsible for this delay.

The project is valued at $ 8.5 billion. Civil works contracts were awarded to Gammon India Limited (BSE:509550) (Mumbai) and Patel Engineering Limited (BSE:531120) (Mumbai) in September 2002. The scope of work for the contract involves all civil, structural and architectural work for the main power block and the balance-of-plant units. The electromechanical package was awarded to Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BSE:500103) (BHEL) (New Delhi) to install four 200-MW Pelton Turbines.

As of February 2011, 75% of the dam and intake structure has been completed, 31.5 kilometers of tunnel has been completed, and 5 kilometers of tunnel excavation remains. Excavation of both inclined pressure shafts has been completed, and lining is in progress. The project is scheduled to be completed by June 2013. The first unit is expected to be commissioned by March 2013.

The Parbati II Hydroelectric Power Station is located in Village Sainj, in the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh .The plant will have with a generation capacity of 800 MW, comprising four 200-MW units. After the completion of the project, the annual generation will be 3.2 million kilowatt-hours, and the beneficiary states will be Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

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