90 firms bid for 23 Himachal hydel projects

Thursday, 05 July 2007, 19:30 IST
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Shimla: Reliance Energy and Brakel Corporation of Netherlands are among 90 firms in the fray for building 23 hydel projects in Himachal Pradesh. The projects will be in the tribal districts of Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur and Chamba, officials said Thursday. Lahaul and Spiti, which has some of the roughest mountain terrains in the country, would have at least 16 projects. Official sources in the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB) said LNG Bhilwara Group, Gammon India Limited and Patel Engineering were among the other applicants. Around 120 applications were sold and the HPSEB received 90 applications, said sources. The 23 hydel projects have a joint power generation capacity of 3,307 MW involving an investment of around 132.28 billion. Of the applications, 53 are for projects less than 100 MW capacity, while the remaining for more than 100 MW. "The projects will be awarded by the boot system (build, own, operate and transfer). Some big power companies have applied," said state Power Minister Vidya Stokes. According to sources, it could take three months to award the projects.
Source: IANS