KOCHI: A year after the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) terminated its contact with a consortium of Indian and Chinese firms, hope sprouts for the decade-old Bhoothathankettu hydro electric power project. KSEB chairman M G Rajamanickam told TNIE that the board has taken a decision to revive the project.
The KSEB had signed a contract with a consortium of Sri Saravana Engineering Bhavani Pvt Ltd and China’s Hunan Zhaoyang Generating Equipment Co Ltd on March 18, 2015, for execution of the electro-mechanical works of Bhoothathankettu small hydro electric power project with an installed capacity of 24 MW. The contract amount was Rs 81.80 crore and the scheduled date of completion was February 14, 2016.
The completion date was extended to December 31, 2018, considering the delay in completion of civil works. The deadline was further extended to December 31, 2020, considering the flood and Covid pandemic. However, the contractor demanded an additional amount of Rs 34.92 crore for cost escalation, which was rejected by the KSEB.
The project missed the final deadline of March 31, 2023, and achieved only 86.61% completion after nine years. Meanwhile, the Chinese partner Hunan Zhaoyang went bankrupt and informed that it sold the final consignment of electromechanical equipment, including three turbines and three generators, to another Chinese firm ChangSha XingYue Electrical and Mechanical Equipment Co. Ltd
The new firm demanded an additional amount of Rs 54 crore to ship the consignment. In these circumstances, KSEB terminated the contract, which was approved by a division bench of the Kerala High Court.
“We are facing a shortage of power during peak hours and we need to complete the project immediately. Hence, KSEB has decided to re-tender the work and import the equipment from China. We will expedite the process so that we can complete the project as soon as possible,” said Rajamanickam.
Kothamangalam MLA Shibu Thekkumpuram told TNIE that the KSEB chairman has assured steps to expedite the project. The equipment manufactured for KSEB has been located in China and steps will be taken to import it.
Sources said a team of technical experts from KSEB will visit China to conduct a performance assessment of the generators and turbines manufactured for Bhothathankettu project before approving the import. Besides, a third party also has to assess the quality of equipment imported from China earlier, which includes control panels, neutral grounding system, turbine governor, and pressure plant.