Processing .....please wait.. 
The article has been forwarded.... 
India's largest hydro-power project kicks off
Tuesday, 14 October 2003, 19:30 IST
SHIMLA: India's biggest hydro-power project finally started generating electricity for power-hungry northern India Tuesday, though six years behind schedule.
Power Minister Anant Geete inaugurated the first unit of the Nathpa Jhakri Power (NJP) project Tuesday in Himachal Pradesh. The five other units will become operational over the next few months.
It has been built on the Sutlej river, India's fastest.
"At 1,500 MW the NJP Corporation (NJPC) project is India's largest hydro-power project," said Y.N. Apparao, chairman and director of the Satlej Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (SJVM).
Although surveys for the project were carried out over three decades ago, work could be started only in 1992.
The project, largely funded by the federal government and the World Bank, was initially expected to be completed at a cost of 
43.36 billion but is now being completed at a whopping 86.57 billion.
Besides being India's largest hydro-electric project, the NJPC is a remarkable piece of engineering for many reasons.
"It boasts of the world's largest underground de-silting complex and also one of the world's longest power tunnels at almost 28 km. The power house is the biggest in Asia," said Apparao.
"Each of the four de-silting chambers has a depth of a nine storey building. The power house is housed in a cavern big enough to house a 17 storey structure," he explained.
"The project presented a big challenge to engineers due to the steep gorge of the Sutlej river which has no flat banks in the high mountains. So 95 percent of the project is built underground, which to is a world record."
"The excavated material (debris) could be spread into an eight-metre wide and 12-metre thick carpet on the Great wall of China. The steel used is enough to lay a rail line connecting India's the four metropolitan cities."
The 14 million bags of cement used are enough to provide a 75-metre pavement around the earth.
Engineers had to struggle against a vagrant weather over the past few years, including flash floods of the Sutlej river three years ago, which besides killing 150 people caused huge damage to the NJPC.
"Machinery worth millions was washed away at the construction site and the power house was inundated with mountains of debris."
"Although located in the cooler region of the Himalayas, construction engineers had to face geological challenges, with temperatures shooting up to 66 degrees Celsius while digging a 28 km long tunnel," said Apparao.
The construction work was carried out by three Indian companies in collaboration with an Italian, Canadian and Japanese companies.
Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh have nearly two thirds of India's entire hydro-power capacity. Only a negligible amount of this has been tapped so far, largely due to lack of resources as large hydro-power projects need huge funding.
Source: IANS
43.36 billion but is now being completed at a whopping 86.57 billion.
Besides being India's largest hydro-electric project, the NJPC is a remarkable piece of engineering for many reasons.
"It boasts of the world's largest underground de-silting complex and also one of the world's longest power tunnels at almost 28 km. The power house is the biggest in Asia," said Apparao.
"Each of the four de-silting chambers has a depth of a nine storey building. The power house is housed in a cavern big enough to house a 17 storey structure," he explained.
"The project presented a big challenge to engineers due to the steep gorge of the Sutlej river which has no flat banks in the high mountains. So 95 percent of the project is built underground, which to is a world record."
"The excavated material (debris) could be spread into an eight-metre wide and 12-metre thick carpet on the Great wall of China. The steel used is enough to lay a rail line connecting India's the four metropolitan cities."
The 14 million bags of cement used are enough to provide a 75-metre pavement around the earth.
Engineers had to struggle against a vagrant weather over the past few years, including flash floods of the Sutlej river three years ago, which besides killing 150 people caused huge damage to the NJPC.
"Machinery worth millions was washed away at the construction site and the power house was inundated with mountains of debris."
"Although located in the cooler region of the Himalayas, construction engineers had to face geological challenges, with temperatures shooting up to 66 degrees Celsius while digging a 28 km long tunnel," said Apparao.
The construction work was carried out by three Indian companies in collaboration with an Italian, Canadian and Japanese companies.
Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh have nearly two thirds of India's entire hydro-power capacity. Only a negligible amount of this has been tapped so far, largely due to lack of resources as large hydro-power projects need huge funding.
Source: IANS