Thanks to upfront completion of pre-engineering activities, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd could start civil works on the Sagardighi power project on the zero-date itself.
Conventionally it takes a few months after the zero date to initiate civil works onsite, notes BHEL.
Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), in a recent release, said that it has commenced civil works at the 660-mw Sagardighi supercritical thermal power project in West Bengal. This follows the issuance of the Notice to Proceed (NTP) by the developer, West Bengal Power Development Corporation Ltd (WBPDCL), a state government undertaking.
Following the strategic completion of pre-engineering activities for the project beforehand, ground-breaking has begun on zero date itself, BHEL said. “This is a major achievement as conventionally it takes a few months after the zero date to initiate civil works onsite,” the release observed.
Valued at around Rs.3,500 crore, the turnkey order for Unit-5 of the Sagardighi thermal power project, located in Murshidabad district, was won by BHEL under international competitive bidding (ICB). The NTP was issued after obtaining the necessary approvals like environmental clearances.
Scope of works
BHEL’s scope of work in the project includes design, engineering, manufacture, supply, erection, testing and commissioning of the main plant turnkey package, comprising supercritical boiler and turbine generator along with its auxiliaries, electricals, controls & instrumentation, switchyard, flue gas desulphurization (FGD) and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems, coal handling plant and ash handling plant.
The key equipment for the project will be manufactured at BHEL’s Trichy, Haridwar, Bhopal, Ranipet, Hyderabad, Jhansi, Thirumayam and Bengaluru plants, while the company’s Power Sector – Eastern Region division will be responsible for construction and installation activities on site, BHEL said.
Sagardighi TPP
Owned by West Bengal Power Development Corporation Ltd (WBPDCL), the Sagardighi power plant currently has an installed capacity of 1,600 mw, coming from four units. In the first phase, two units of 300 mw each were synchronized in December 2007 and August 2008, respectively. This contract was awarded to DEC, China. The second phase, for which the main plant order was placed on BHEL, saw the addition of two units of 500 mw each, synchronized in March 2015 and December 2015. The third phase, for which BHEL has begun civil works, envisages one supercritical unit of 660 mw. The total generation capacity at Sagardighi on completion of the ongoing phase will reach 2260 mw, making it the largest power generation plant of West Bengal Power Development Corporation Ltd (WBPDCL), by current thinking. Other power stations of the utility include Kolaghat (1,260 mw), Bakreshwar (1,050 mw), Bandel (300 mw) and Santaldih (500 mw).
Supercritical orders
BHEL, in the release, said that it has so far contracted 58 sets of supercritical boilers and 53 sets of supercritical turbine generators, in the domestic as well as overseas markets. In the supercritical segment, BHEL has successfully manufactured and executed 660 mw, 700 mw and 800 mw sets, the Central PSU engineering firm added.
Featured photograph sourced from WPDCL (http://www.wbpdcl.co.in) shows a long view of the Sagardighi thermal power project located in Murshidabad district, West Bengal.
