Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday dedicated the NTPC’s 2,980 MW Sipat Super Thermal Power Station in Chhattisgarh to the nation at a grand function held at Sipat in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur district.
Singh also laid the foundation stone of 1600 MW Stage-I of NTPC’s lara Super Thermal Power Project through remote. The project which will come up at lara village in coal-rich Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh will have two units of 800 MW in stage I and will have an ultimate installed capacity of 4000 MW.
“The coal based Sipat Super Thermal Power Station is capable of generating 2980 MW of electricity and it will not only cater to the demands of Chattisgarh, but also adjoining States like Madhya Pradesh and as far as Jammu and Kashmir,” the Prime Minister remarked in his brief speech while dedicating the project to the nation.
“In the 11th five year plan, India achieved a record power generation capacity of about 55000 MW which was double the capacity added in the 10th plan period,” Singh said, adding, “In the 12th Plan the Government has set a target of adding over 118000 MW of power generation.”
PM dedicates NTPC's 2980 MW Sipat plant Rs 13,000 crore, NTPC has for the first time used the super critical technology in the Sipat plant. The Prime Minister was accompanied by Chhattisgarh Governor Shekhar Dutt, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, Union Minister of State for Power Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Charandas Mahant who is also the Chhattisgarh unit chief of the Congress and Arup Roy Choudhury, CMD NTPC, during his trip to Chhattisgarh.
The Prime Minister said: "The Ministry of Power is now taking steps to encourage indigenous manufacturing of super critical technology. This is being done by inviting bulk tendering for manufacture of super-critical units. The 800 MW units of lara thermal plant will be set up with the help of this process." He further said that in the 13th Plan, thermal plants based on only super critical technologies will be set up.
The Prime Minister said that Advanced Ultra Super Critical Technology is now being developed in the country. He lauded the efforts of NTPC, BHEl and Indira Gandhi Centre for Nuclear Research for working in tandem to develop this technology.
In his welcome address, Scindia said that power is key to the growth of any country and capacity addition is doing better year after year in the country. He said that new capacity generation in the year 2012-13 was 23000 MW which is a record.
lauding the efforts of the NTPC, Scindia said: "It is not only a Maharatna in the country, but also in the world.'' The Minister further added that Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutikaran Yojna (RGGVY) under the leadership of the Prime Minister is a visionary plan which will bring light to every village and every household in the country.
Scindia also said that in the coming years, Chhattisgarh will become the country's electricity hub as the Government is planning to make investment of Rs 62,000 crore in the power sector in the state in various projects of generation, transmission etc.