State to give land for Puthuvypu Thermal Plant
T Ramavarman, TNN Nov 20
KOCHI Nov 20 :The proposal to set up a thermal power plant, near the LNG terminal being set up by Petronet LNG Ltd at Puthuvypu, off Kochi, has moved closer to reality with the Kerala government promising land for this.
The assurance was given to the Petronet officials by the team led by chief minister Oommen Chandy, power minister Aryadan Muhammed and excise and port minister K Babu during their visit to the terminal under construction on Saturday.
The proposal is to set up 1200 mw LNG-based power plant at Puthyvypu, and the Petronet is known to have requested for 50 hectares. "The first phase will be a 356 mw unit and arrangements have been made for providing land for this,'' Aryadan told TOI here.
Asked whether it will be a Petronet project exclusively, the minister said, the initial proposal was to make it a Petronet project. But the KSEB might also take part in it as a partner, if needed. Anyway the KSEB will guarantee that it would buy up the entire power generated there.''
The State government has asked the Cochin Port Trust chairman to identify the land to be allocated to the Petronet for setting up the power plant.
The Petronet has already embarked on a programme to set up a 1200-mw LNG-based power plant at its Dhahej plant. Work on that plant has reached the Detailed Project Report (DPR) preparation stage.
According to the Petronet sources, cash flow will not be much of constraint for the proposed Kochi power plant considering the robust financial position of the company.
The chief minister also drew attention of the Petronet officials to the State's demand to enhance the capacity of the Kochi LNG Terminal.
However, the company officials said this remained a distant possibility now. Only recently, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) gave its clearance to the Petronet's proposal to enhance the capacity of Kochi LNG terminal from 2.5 to 5 million tonne. The Petronet officials informed the chief minister and his Cabinet colleagues that work on the LNG Terminal is on track and it would be ready for commissioning early next year.
