German bank to fund Green Energy Corridors project

The Rs.1,593-crore Green Energy Corridors project of the Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation (TANTRANSCO) will be the State’s first power project to be funded by the KfW, a German development bank. Announced in the State budget tabled in the Assembly a few days ago, the project will cover essentially southern and western districts of the State, where most of the wind mills have been established. It will take care of transmitting power from wind mills, the point of generation, to sub-stations. Originally, the State government had sought the Centre's support for the project. As there was not much progress, the authorities decided to seek the assistance of the KfW. A senior government official says the KfW has agreed to fund the project. The Corporation is carrying out transmission projects at a cost of Rs.5,000 crore, with loan assistance of Rs.3,572 crore from the Japan International Cooperation Agency to strengthen the transmission network, especially in Chennai. Besides, works are in progress for the establishment of 400 KV substations, along with associated 400 KV lines at Thappugundu, Anaikadavu and Rasipalayam to evacuate wind power at a cost of Rs.1,192 crore. These works are being financed by the Power Finance Corporation and the Rural Electrification Corporation, both falling under the administrative control of the Union Power Ministry. As part of the State government’s continued support to the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation for providing subsidised power supply to certain sections of consumers, a sum of Rs. 5,400 crore has been provided in the budget for 2014-2015 and Rs.2,000 crore as share capital assistance. Urban project In the area of urban infrastructure, the government has proposed one more project - Tamil Nadu Sustainable Urban Development Project. To be implemented with the aid of the World Bank, the project would cost Rs.3,600 crore, of which loan component accounts for Rs.2,400 crore. An official in the department of the Municipal Administration says the project has already been sent to the Centre for submission to the multilateral agency. The department hopes to complete formalities in a year. Till now, the Tamil Nadu Urban Development Project, in three phases, was taken up, covering Tier II and Tier III cities of the State for infrastructure projects in areas such as water supply and sewerage.

Keywords: Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation, TANTRANSCO Green Energy Corridors project, KfW http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/german-bank-to-fund-green-energy-corridors-project/article5694235.ece?homepage=true