UJVN takes Rs 656-crore loan from REC for Vyasi project

Vyasi project which began in 1986, was abandoned in 1991 due to paucity of funds in the undivided Uttar Pradesh

After getting all clearances, the Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (UJVN), the state-run power generation company, has taken a loan of Rs 656 crore from Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) Ltd for the 120 Mw Vyasi project through open tender process.

“We have taken a loan of Rs 656 crore from REC for Vyasi Project,” said UJVN Managing Director G P Patel. The rest of 30 percent equity in the project will come from the state government, he said.

UJVN is now seeking time from Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna to restart the pending construction work of the much-delayed 120 Mw Vyasi project with an investment of Rs 1000 crore.

“We have sought time from the Chief Minister but he has not confirmed the dates for restarting the construction works,” said a top government official.

The Chief Minister office had initially given Nov 8 and Nov 11 for the bhoomi pujan at Vyasi project but there was no confirmation from Bahuguna.

The stage is set for completing the remaining works of the Vyai after the UJVN roped in National Project Corporation Limited (NPCC) for building the power house and selected Gammon for the construction of the dam.

With all the clearances including that of forest stage-I and II, UJVN is now hoping to resume the remaining 60-70 percent of the work of the project which is hanging fire for more than two decades due to paucity of funds. The project which began in 1986, was abandoned in 1991 due to paucity of funds in the undivided Uttar Pradesh.

The UJNVN had settled all the claims with NPCC, a public sector unit, for the construction of Vyasi hydel project with a capacity of 120 Mw. Under the agreement, NPCC would resume the construction of the power house without seeking its old claims.

Top officials of the UJVN told Business Standard that the total investment in the Vyasi project would be around Rs 1000 crore since 30 to 35 per cent of the work had been completed earlier. The cost of construction of the Vyasi project would now be around Rs 9 crore per Mw which is being seen as not so high as compared to the high inflation during the past few years.

In 2009, the UJVN paid Rs Rs 74 crore to National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) as part of the liabilities after taking over the 420 Mw Lakhwar-Vyasi project. Thereafter, the UJVN bifurcated the project in two parts – 120 Mw Vyasi and 300 Mw Lakhwar.

After commissioning the state’s first big project – 304 Mw Maneri Bhali-II in 2008, the UJVN had suffered a big setback when a series of its major projects including 480 Mw Pala Maneri and 381 Mw Bhaironghati were scrapped on environmental and religious concerns. Since then, UJVN was left with no big project.

“Let’s hope that UJVN will complete this Vyasi project in 4-5 year time,” said G P Patel, Managing Director of UJVN.