K'taka plans 6 new thermal power projects

Karnataka will commission six new thermal power projects over the next four years at a combined investment of Rs 17,000 crore to generate 4,000 mw of power.

Announcing this at a press meet, state energy minister H D Revanna said that the Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) has prepared the detailed project reports.

"The state government has cleared the KPCL project reports. We have urged the Centre to allocate coal for these projects to cater to the growing demand for energy," he added.

The power plants will come up at Kudgi in Bijapur district and Kaushika in Hassan district of 1,000 mw each, Raichur, Nandura at Gulbarga district, Chamalapura in Mysore district and Ghataprabha in Belgaum district (all 500 mw each). However, the minister did not reveal the financing aspects of the projects.

On the ongoing power projects, Revanna said that the government is making efforts to secure gas for the 1,400 mw capacity combined cycle power plant proposed at Bidadi on Bangalore's outskirts.

He pointed out that work on the second unit (500 mw) of the Bellary Thermal Power Station and the eighth unit (250 mw) at the Raichur Thermal Power Station will commence in a month.

"The government has planned its ninth unit and tenth unit of the RTPS. The KPCL is in the process of preparing the detailed project reports, which will be forwarded to the government for approval shortly," he stated.