Aizawl:The much-awaited 210 MW capacity Tuivai hydro-electric project in Mizoram has stalled due to lack of investor and the contractor’s disagreement with the terms and conditions.
‘The biggest ever power project in Mizoram cannot take off as even a single investor has submitted financial bid even after extension of the date,’ minister of state for power Lal Thanzara said.
Moreover, the terms and conditions need to be changed as the contractor cannot agree with a clause that says the company cannot increase the cost of power produced from the plant before 30 years after commissioning.
The state government has sought permission from the department of economic affairs under the ministry of finance for modification of the terms and conditions, he said.
On July 23 this year, the Union finance ministry approved Rs 1750.6 crore for the project, to be provided under the viability gap funding and would be taken up in the public private partnership mode.
Mizoram is the first state to avail funding under the VGF and the first northeastern state to take up a mega project in PPP mode.
The biggest ever power project in Mizoram would be set up on the banks of Tuivai river in Champhai district in the eastern part of the state.
According to an official document of the Mizoram government, the Tuivai project, conceptualised in 1995, will have a 155-metre dam to generate power.
‘The dam would submerge 1,600 hectare, but not residential areas,’ power department engineer-in-chief C L Thangliana said.
The power project, to be commissioned within the next five years, would be the first of any projects in Mizoram requiring no compensation for takeover of land.Environment clearance for the project had already been obtained from the union ministry of environment and forests.
As per the agreement, the company will own the project for 35 years during which the power generated will be purchased by Mizoram at the cost of Rs 3.55 per unit. Any surplus will be sold to outside.
At present, Mizoram requires 120MW of power during summer, against a supply of 80 MW by the thermal and mini hydel projects of the N Eastern Electric Power Corporation and National Thermal Power Corporation in the northeast region.(UNI)