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Bashir Pathan
GANDHINAGAR, Oct 26: The Sumitomo Corporation of Japan has sanctioned a credit loan worth 26,500 million Japanese Yen (about Rs 850 crore) to the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNNL) for setting up a 1,200 mw hydro power project at the Narmada dam site.
This will enable the SSNNL to receive the much-awaited six turbine generator (TG) sets from the Sumitomo Corporation for the ambitious Narmada hydro complex. Each of the TG units will have a generating capacity of 200 mw.
Sources told The Indian Express here on Sunday that the first consignment comprising two TG sets was expected to arrive from Japan in December.
With the loan sanctioned, work on the power project is expected to begin soon and the project is expected to be commissioned in the next two-and-a- half years.
The sources said besides granting the credit loan, the Japanese firm had decided to waive Rs 150 crore towards interest and demurrage charges on the TG sets.
The Gujarat Government has agreed to provide guarantee forthe loan, while the formality of providing a counter-guarantee from the Government of India is expected to be completed soon, sources said.
The power plant, however, will not benefit Gujarat alone; the home State will receive 16 per cent of the electricity generated, while Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra will receive 57 per cent and 27 per cent respectively.
The contract to supply the TG sets was awarded to Sumitomo by the State Narmada Ministry in 1986. The fund was to be financed by the Overseas Economic Corporation Fund (OECF) of Japan as per its agreement with the Government of India.
However, the sets' import was delayed as foreign exchange could not be raised in time. To resolve the issue, the Government of India had constituted a negotiating team comprising representatives from the Centre and the governments of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat. After several rounds of talks, the Sumitomo Corporation agreed to grant the credit loan to the SSNNL.
To carry out work on the Narmada hydroproject, the Gujarat Government has already provided an outlay of Rs 96.10 crore in its annual plan for 1998-99. Of this, an outlay of Rs 20 crore is provided under the State Plan, while the balance will be met with the SSNNL's own resources.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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