New Delhi: The Board of Directors of NTPC Limited has approved more than doubling the estimated cost of its Rammam-III Hydroelectric Power Project (HEPP) to Rs 2,865.56 crore, according to a regulatory filing made to the stock exchanges on Thursday. The 120 MW project, located in Darjeeling district of West Bengal, was originally approved in 2014 at a cost of Rs 1,381.84 crore with a scheduled commissioning in September 2019.
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However, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has now listed March 2029 as the expected date of completion, reflecting a delay of almost a decade.
Rammam-III is designed as a run-of-the-river scheme on the Rammam River and will comprise three units of 40 MW each. The project includes a barrage and diversion structure, an 8.2-km headrace tunnel, surge shaft, a vertical penstock of about 1,520 metres, and a 740-metre tailrace tunnel.
Once operational, the plant will add renewable capacity to NTPC’s portfolio, which is under pressure to expand non-fossil generation to meet the company’s target of 60 GW of renewables by 2032.
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Separately, in another disclosure on Thursday, NTPC said its board has approved a partial modification regarding the transfer of its coal mining business to its wholly-owned subsidiary, NTPC Mining Limited (NML). The coal mining business contributed Rs 7,735.54 crore in revenue in FY 2024-25, or 4.05 percent of NTPC’s consolidated turnover. The transfer, valued at an initial purchase consideration of Rs 10,503.27 crore, will be executed in a phased manner.