With 56,000 MW hydropower potential, Arunachal emerging hydro-capital of India: CM Khandu

Itanagar, July 31 (IANS) Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Thursday said that with 56,000 megawatts of hydro power potential, the state is emerging as hydropower capital of India.

Highlighting Arunachal Pradesh’s huge power potential and its transformative role in economic development and community welfare, taking to social media platform X, the Chief Minister wrote: “With 56,000 megawatts of hydro potential, Arunachal is rising, not only as the hydro capital of India, but as a beacon of how natural beauty and modern progress can walk hand in hand.”

CM Khandu sharing details of several mega hydro power projects said that 600 MW Kameng hydro electric projects in West Kameng district have already completed.

The power project was commissioned by the state owned North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO).

The Chief Minister said that the 2,000 MW generation capacity Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project is nearing commissioning.

The Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project is located on the Subansiri River, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, on the border of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.

The project is being developed by another government owned company National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), a Mini Ratna category government enterprise.

It is a run-of-the-river project with a concrete gravity dam and a surface powerhouse housing eight 250 MW Francis turbines.

Union Power Secretary Pankaj Agarwal last week reviewed the final stages of the Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project in Kamle district.

According to a state government official, Agarwal assured central support for the critical infrastructure being developed at Dollungmukh, along the Arunachal-Assam border.

The Union Power Secretary was accompanied by National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) Rajendra Prasad Goyal and Director (Projects) Sanjay Kumar Singh.

Khandu in his post said that the 2,880 MW Dibang Multipurpose Hydropower Project is set to become India’s largest hydro power project in Lower Dibang Valley district of Arunachal Pradesh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of 2,880 MW Dibang Multipurpose Hydropower Project, being commissioned by the NHPC, at a Viksit Bharat Viksit North East Program in Itanagar on March 9, 2024.

The Chief Minister said that 13 new power projects with a total generation capacity of 15,000 MW, are on the way in the next three years.

“With the commissioning of these several power projects, free power worth Rs 4,171 crore would be supplied back to the state and in view of the setting up of these power plants Rs 735 crore would be invested directly into the welfare and development of the local communities. The state government would get Rs 1,884 crore dividends annually, after the commissioning of these power projects strengthening our economy,” Khandu said in his post on the X.

He added that this is not just about power generation, it’s about powering people’s lives.

--IANS

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