Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) now expects to finalize contracts for the Ladakh HVDC scheme during the second quarter (July to September) of the current fiscal year.
At a recent investor conference, R.K. Tyagi, CMD, PGCIL, explained the situation saying that the Ladakh HVDC scheme will involve putting up transmission infrastructure at an altitude of 4,000m to 5,000m above sea level. Globally, there is no prior experience in putting up such HVDC projects at this altitude, Tyagi explained, adding that this has caused potential bidders to raise concerns.
Discussions with HVDC technology suppliers and experts from PGCIL are underway where these concerns are being addressed. Tyagi was hopeful that contracts would be finalized during the upcoming quarter (Q2: July to September) of FY26, and that there would be no further delay.
Officially known as “Green Energy Corridor (GEC) Phase-II – Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) for 13 GW Renewable Energy Project in Ladakh,” the Ladakh HVDC project envisages 713 km of transmission lines (including 480 km of ±350kV HVDC line) and two HVDC terminals — each at Pang (Ladakh) and Kaithal (Haryana).
The Ladakh HVDC project is estimated to have a project outlay of Rs.20,000 crore out of which around Rs.12,000 crore will be for the HVDC terminal stations and the balance for the transmission line. R.K. Tyagi also shared updates on other HVDC projects, as follows:
Khavda V-A
The PGCIL CMD said that the mega Khavda V-A project for which major contracts have been placed is estimated to cost around Rs.33,000 crore as against Rs.25,000 crore estimated by National Committee on Transmission (NCT) at the time of approval. PGCIL has placed HVDC-equipment related contracts for this project on a consortium of Hitachi Energy India Ltd and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, as reported by T&D India earlier. EPC players like KEC International Ltd and Jyoti Structures Ltd have won mandates relating to the transmission line.
The Khavda V-A project, it may be mentioned, is the first HVDC-based power transmission project awarded under the tariff-based competitive bidding route. The project involves setting up of a ±800kV, 6,000 MW bi-pole and bi-directional HVDC link, running 1,200 km, from Khavda Pooling Station-2 (KPS2) in Khavda, Gujarat to Nagpur in Maharashtra.
It may also be noted that PGCIL recently renamed the project SPV “Khavda V-A Power Transmission Ltd,” which was incorporated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of bid process coordinator REC Power Development & Consultancy Ltd (RECPDCL), to “Powergrid West Central Transmission Ltd.” PGCIL, as the winning developer under TBCB, acquired the project SPV from RECPDCL in November 2024.
KPS III HVDC
Speaking of other HVDC schemes, R.K. Tyagi said bids for the Khavda-South Olpad scheme are expected to be finalized soon. This is a TBCB project housed under “KPS III HVDC Transmission Ltd” and involving putting up an HVDC link (using VSC technology) connecting the KPS3 pooling station to South Olpad, both in Gujarat. According to information available with T&D India, this scheme has seen multiple extensions in bid submission date, in turn due to changes in technical parameters, and bids are now likely to be opened by May 30, 2025.
Some other HVDC projects like Barmer (Rajasthan) to Maharashtra, and Kurnool to Vizag (both in Andhra Pradesh) will be coming up for bidding soon, the PGCIL CMD noted. Both these projects will be based on LCC technology.
Paradeep-Andaman HVDC link
As reported by T&D India on February 3, 2025, PGCIL has been nominated as the implementing agency for the HVDC link connecting Paradeep in Odisha to the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Sharing an update on this project, R.K. Tyagi said that the Union power ministry was working on determining the capacity of this line, which is currently estimated at 250 MW. There was also a possibility of extending this HVDC line to Singapore, with an envisaged transfer capacity of 2,000 MW. Clarity on the project modalities is expected during Q2FY26, Tyagi noted.
Featured photograph (source: Hitachi Energy India Ltd) is for representation only
