That is assurances I have been giving at the various senior levels based on the assurances I have been getting from the team OTPC,” said Sharma who is also the Chairman of OTPC.

 

He added that the first turbine from GE USA has already arrived and the second one shall arrive very soon.

The generation project combined with linked transmission project and upstream gas supply project is slated to bring in investments of around Rs. 9,000 crore, the largest ever single investment in the region.

He said that the entire scenario of the North East region which is know for insurgent activities will change with the numerous development activities going on.

Moreover, the project shall not only solve the power crisis but also have excess power and thus bring in a lot of investments to the region.

Sharma said that the project had taken more time than the initially estimated time for completion because of some unforeseen complexities which came about during the process of commissioning the project but at present OTPC is moving in the right direction.

The civil construction at the site has already started though it is lagging behind the original schedule mainly due to slow movement of resource mobilization through hilly terrain.

He informed that with Bangladesh allowing the transit of heavy machinery through the Ashuganj river port on the river Meghna, OTPC has decided to develop the port and bear the cost of widening of the 48 km road between the port and the entry point into India through Akhwara land port.

“I feel that this project which is getting commissioned here is not only significant for the economy of the state, it is also very important for the economy of the entire Northeastern region. Moreover, the project is building bridges between two countries (India and Bangladesh). The cooperation, mutual understanding and the support that we have been getting from the Bangladesh government is an indication of the two countries coming together and this makes us very happy,” Sharma said.

New Delhi and Dhaka in March this year signed a crucial trans-shipment agreement finalising an earlier deal to allow Indian goods to be trans-shipped to its landlocked northeastern state namely Tripura through Bangladesh territory and on the contrary allow Bangladesh vehicles to enter Nepal and Bhutan though India.

Bangladesh also agreed to India’s request for using its Northeastern Chittagong and southwestern Mongla ports under a landmark Dhaka-New Delhi agreement during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to India in February this year.

Sharma added that Tripura has a large stock of natural gas and the success exploration rate of ONGC in this state at 1:2 is higher than in any other part of India where the general success pattern is 1:3.

However, the Chairman said that till date there has been no sign of oil in Tripura.

Pinaki Das