December 03, 2008

ONGC Tripura Power project contract delayed

BL reported that uncertainty over feasible means to transport power equipment may delay award of EPC contract for the proposed 740 MW gas based ONGC Tripura Power project.

ONGC has received bids from BHEL and Alstom for the EPC contract in November and the contract was slated to be awarded in April 2008 but Bangladesh government is yet to approve a proposal for transportation of heavy equipment through Ashugunj river port, which is not covered by the Indo Bangla Transport treaty. Asugunj is located merely 65 kilometers away from Akhaura border in Tripura and is connected through adequate road infrastructure with the project site at Palatana.

While surveys were launched for improving the road conditions from Karimgunj port in Assam, which is the only way to approach the project site within the national boundaries, the inadequate load bearing capacity and the circuitous nature of the road may create hurdle for transportation of equipment weighing up to 280 tonne a module in a time bound manner.

Mr Manik Sarkar chief Minister of Tripura said that his government is actively pursuing the implementation of the power project. He added that "We are aware of the problems related to implementation of this ambitious project and is keen to extend every help to ONGC authorities to overcome the same. We are confident that the project will be implemented in time and will be a significant contributor to the economic growth of Tripura."