The Prime Minister, Mr A B
Vajpayee, laid the foundation stone of transmission system
associated with Tala hydel power project on 24 December 2003.
The project consists of 400 kV
double circuit transmission lines and substations for transfer of
power from the 1,020 MW Tala hydel power project in Bhutan, to
eastern and northern regions of India.
The estimated cost of the
transmission line project is around Rs.1,980 crore and the
project is expected to be commissioned in phases coinciding with
the commissioning of units of the Tala hydel power units by
mid-2006.
The project will be executed in
two parts:
- The transmission lines (1,171
km) from Siliguri in West Bengal via Bihar to Mandola in
Uttar Pradesh are being executed by Powerlinks
Transmission Ltd, a 51:49 joint venture between Tata
Power and Power Grid Corporation. This section is likely
to cost Rs.1,100 crore. The power transfer capacity of
the transmission line would be around 3,000 MW.
- Construction of 4 new
substations and extending 6 existing substations, to be
implemented by Power Grid Corporation. Cost of this
portion is estimated to be around Rs.880 crore, and would
be part-funded by World Bank.
The main beneficiary states are
Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Sikkim, Haryana, Punjab,
Rajasthan, UP, J&K and Delhi.