India's NHPC Limited Considering Investment of $5.6 Billion on Hydropower Projects in Myanmar

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--NHPC Limited (BSE:533098) (Faridabad, Haryana), India's public-sector hydropower producer, has announced plans to invest $5.6 billion on hydroelectric projects in neighboring Myanmar. S.K. Garg, the chairman and managing director of NHPC, said that the company also was mulling over two projects in Myanmar with generating capacities of 510 MW and 520 MW, respectively. A team of experts has been sent to Myanmar to investigate sites and develop detailed project reports (DPR).

According to sources, NHPC is turning its attention to developing hydroelectric projects in neighboring countries, including Bhutan, Myanmar and Tajikistan. The shift in focus has been attributed to delays in the commissioning of domestic projects. According to Bharatsinh Solanki, the Minister of State for Power, India's hydropower potential is nearly 148,710 megawatts (MW), of which only 25% has been tapped. Resettlement and displacement issues, resistance from villagers, and environmental concerns have caused considerable delays in domestic projects. Garg also indicated that there were projects with combined generating capacities of nearly 10,000 MW awaiting clearances from government agencies. Of these, NHPC is proposing to independently develop projects with a total capacity of 6,315 MW.

Given the domestic constraints, NHPC has set a target of generating 10,000 MW from hydropower projects in Bhutan by 2020. The company also has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Bhutanese government to perform detailed project studies for the 1,800-MW Kuri Gongri and the 670-MW Chamkharchhu-I hydropower projects. The project reports are likely to be submitted by December 2011. The project report for the 720-MW Mangdechhu hydroelectric power project has been submitted to the government of Bhutan.

NHPC is already executing the 1,200-MW Tamanthi Dam project on the Chindwin River of Myanmar. The project is being developed in association with Colenco Power Engineering Limited (Baden, Switzerland), and construction began in 2007. However, construction has been stalled. On completion, about 80% of the power generated at the plant is expected to be supplied to India. Sources say that the building activities led to resettlement of about 380 households without compensation. It is expected that nearly 30,000 people from 35 ethnic villages will be displaced to complete the project. There has been severe opposition from environmental agencies over the project. Further, the Chindwin River is considered to be the only natural habitat of the Burmese Roofed Turtle. Experts have observed that the new investments proposed by NHPC will assist in completing the project.

Garg also indicated that during the 11th Five-Year Plan (2007-12), NHPC is confident of commissioning 12 new hydroelectric power projects in India. This year, two projects with capacities of 1,030 MW each will be delivered, while in 2010-11, six projects of 800 MW each will be brought online. By the end of 2013, NHPC's total installed hydropower generating capacity is expected to reach 9,500 MW. Presently, the company's hydropower generating capacity is about 5,175 MW, which accounts for about 3% of India's total installed power-generating capability. Last year, NHPC commissioned about 1,000 MW of new generating capacity, which is nearly 20% of its total installed capacity.

The company is also keen to expand its energy portfolio and is looking at opportunities beyond hydropower. NHDC Limited (Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh), a joint venture between the government of Madhya Pradesh and NHPC, was established in August 2000 to develop thermal power plants in the country. The joint venture is now proposing to set up two 1,320-MW power projects at Shahpura, in the Jabalpur district, and at Revapur, in the Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh. A project site has been allocated to NHPC to build a 100-MW wind power plant at Kukru, in the state's Betul district. The company is building India's first tidal-wave power project, with a generating capacity of 3.75 MW, at Durgaduani in West Bengal.

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