German lender agrees to fund Rs1700 cr for Thana Plaun proj

German development financial institution KfW has agreed to finance the Rs 1,700-crore project proposed on river Beas in Mandi district, Himachal Pradesh government said today.
The financing would be under 'Himalayan Development Programme' in addition to its existing loan of 150 million euro for electro-mechanical works of Shongtong Karcham hydroelectric project, state power minister Sujan Singh Pathania said.
A three-member delegation of KfW comprising Eva Maria Zenk, Thilo Stefan Heiberger and Binitesh Kumar called on the minister here today to discuss the funding of 191 MW Thana Plaun Hydroelectric Project.
They agreed to provide grant of Rs 13 crore for carrying out technical studies of Thana Plaun project.

The power minister urged the delegation to expedite the process of funding the project as KfW has evaluated the techno-economic aspect of this project.
The international consultant already appointed by KfW has already established feasibility of the dam and other project components.

He said that the state government would provide 20 per cent equity for execution of Thana Plaun hydroelectric project envisaging construction of 107 meter high and 221 meter long concrete gravity dam with storage capacity of 4.5 crore cubic meter.
He said that the detailed project report of this project has been prepared by HPPCL (Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited) and submitted to Central Electricity Authority and Central Water Commission for Techno-Economic Clearance.

The construction of this project would start in 2015 and completed in four years.
The project on its completion would generate 69 crore units per annum and yield an income of Rs 276 crore annually to the state.