India has recommended
strengthening of quality control,
supervision and monitoring of
works and procurement of its mega
hydropower projects coming up in
Bhutan. India is tapping Bhutan's huge
hydropower potential and is aspiring to
build 10,000 mw of generation capacity
in the hilly nation by 2020.
At a recent meeting of an empowered
group of ministers, the secretary,
external affairs ministry mooted better
monitoring of India's hydropower
ventures given that out of the ten
projects envisaged so far under the
bilateral deal, three have already entered
construction stage. By the end of this
year, the DPRs for the remaining three
would be completed. The Centre
expects that all projects would be under
various stages of construction by 2013.
The external affairs secretary noted
that with a significant number of
hydropower projects also coming up
back home, there could be shortage of
qualified contractors. In order to avoid
deterioration in the quality of
construction due to a possible shortage
of qualified contractors, there is a
critical need to institute stringent
quality control and monitoring
standards in the hydropower projects,
the secretary asserted. He also
mentioned that India should capitalize
on its experience in addressing typical
problems in operation and maintenance
of large hydropower plants, so as to
obviate repetition.
To address these concerns on quality
control, supervision and monitoring of
works and procurement for the mega
hydropower projects, the secretary
recommended the managements to
report to their respective authorities on
a regular basis; through quarterly
reports and at authority meetings on
quality control, supervision and
monitoring of works and procurement.
In a related development, Indian
authorities have advocated adopting a
two-stage process for finalization of the
joint venture agreements with Bhutan
companies for development of
hydropower projects in that country.
India feels that the JV agreements
pending for the 600-mw Kholongchhu,
180-mw Bunakha, 670-mw
Chamkharchhu-I and 600-mw
Wangchhu hydroelectric projects
should be signed only after finalizing
the memorandum of understanding.
The MoU would outline the broad
features and would be common for all
the JV projects. Following this, a joint
venture agreement should be signed for
the individual JV project's
requirements, Indian officials said.
Untitled Document
Indo-Bhutan Hydropower |
| Project |
MW |
Completed |
| Chukha (1988) |
336 |
| Kurichhu (2002) |
60 |
| Tala (2007) |
1,020 |
Under Construction |
| Punatsangchhu-I |
1,200 |
| Punatsangchhu-II |
990 |
| Mangdechhu |
720 |
Planning |
| Sankosh |
4,060 |
| Kuri-Gongri |
1,800 |
| Amochu |
620 |
| Bunakha |
180 |
| Chamkharchu-I |
720 |
| Wangchhu |
900 |