A loan agreement was signed January 15 for US$400 million in World Bank funding to build the 412-MW Rampur hydroelectric project on the Satluj River in India’s Himachal Pradesh State.
The World Bank approved the construction loan in September 2007 to developer Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd. (SJVN). (HNN 9/14/07) The loan has 20 years to maturity including a five-year grace period.
Participating in the signing ceremony in New Delhi were officials of SJVN, the World Bank, India’s Finance Ministry, and Himachal Pradesh.
The run-of-river project, which requires no dam or reservoir, is to provide renewable, low-carbon energy to India’s power-short Northern Electricity Grid. It will reuse tailrace waters from SJVN’s 1,500-MW Nathpa Jhakri project to generate 1.77 million kWh annually. The project is to feature six 68.67-MW vertical Francis turbines and synchronous generators.
Himachal Pradesh, with an equity partnership of 30 percent, is to purchase 30 percent of the project power and is to receive another 12 percent of project power free as a royalty valued at US$12 million per year.
SJVN has set up systems to ensure project-affected families and local communities are entitled to medical, educational, income generation, and other benefits.
