Jammu,September 4 (Scoop News) – J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Tuesday said that the economic growth and holistic development of a State like Jammu and Kashmir is largely dependent on the production of electricity adding that power generation has been flagged as one of the most important concerns by his government in the development policy.
Omar Abdullah underlined the importance of construction of hydro-electric projects in the State to harness its vast hydro-electric potential and achieve self-sufficiency in energy generation.
The Chief Minister said that a number of power projects have been launched for execution while many are in the pipeline to achieve the target of generating over 4000 MW of power during the next over 5 years.
The Chief Minister visited Baglihar Hydro Electric Project today at Chanderkote in Ramban district and inspected various units including the dam which is common for the stage 1st and the 2nd of the BHEP.
The Chief Minister was accompanied by the Principal Secretary Power Development Department, Sudanshu Pandey and Managing Director J&K State, Power Development Corporation (JKSPDC), Basharat Ahmad Dar.
The Baglihar Project is most prestigious power project in the State. Its stage 1st of 450 MW was inaugurated by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and the project started commercial generation of power from 1-4-2009. The power plant has generated 10724.06 million unit of energy by the end of August 2012 worth Rs. 4027.450 crore since its inspection against an expenditure of 5506.30 crore.
The Chief Minister was briefed about the status of the implementation of 450 Baglihar stage 2nd. He was informed that the contracts for civil and hydro mechanical works and Electro-Mechanical works stand signed on 31-03-2012. Presently pre-commencement works besides some essential works of Stage 2nd are under execution.
The financial closure for BHEP stage 2nd is being achieved after signing of loan agreement with Power Finance Corporation of India for Rs. 1679.23 crore and with J&K Bank for Rs. 500 crore. The completion cost of the project in 2015 is likely to be Rs. 3113.19 crore. The balance amount of Rs. 933.966 crore will be met out of state equity.
An expenditure of Rs. 673 crore has been incurred on BHEP stage 2nd upto July 2012. The BHEP stage 2nd is scheduled to be commissioned by August 2015. The BHEP stage 2nd will generate 1302 MU of energy annually with an average annual income of about Rs. 500 crore.