Dr Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India, said that India would develop 2 new mega hydropower projects namely Punatsangchhu II and Mangdechu. He added that India would also commence preparation of detailed project reports for 4 new projects to achieve the target of importing at least 5000MW of electricity from Bhutan by 2020. India’s plans to scale up its involvement in harnessing Bhutan’s vast hydropower potential comes in the wake of the successful implementation of the jointly implemented 1020MW Tala hydroelectric power project. The move also envisages greater play for Indian firms there. Of the new projects on the anvil, Mangdechu with 670MW and Punatsangchhu II with 990MW projects are slated to be built in 2009-2016. India is already involved in the building of the 1095MW Punatsangchhu project stage I. While for the Tala project, firms including Power Grid Corp. of India Ltd, PTC India Ltd and NHPC Ltd were involved, private sector players including the GMR Group and IL&FS are expected to be in the running for contracts in the upcoming projects in Bhutan, according to industry players.
