The approval of the West Bengal Cabinet is granted to establish a 660-megawatt supercritical power plant in Sagardighi, Murshidabad district, as announced by Power Minister Arup Biswas. The Cabinet has also agreed to plans for constructing an additional five power plants.
"We will be setting up a new 660-mega-watt supercritical power plant in Sagardighi. This will be the first such power plant in eastern India. Even the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) or the DVC do not have it," the power minister said after the Cabinet meeting.
He stated that completion of the supercritical power plant work stands at 95 per cent. "It will be made of the latest machinery and 95 per cent of its work is complete," Biswas said at the secretariat.
He said that the modern power plant, where less coal would be required to produce more electricity, would be ready by next March. The Cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, also gave its nod to set up a new power plant of 1600 MW and a global tender will be floated in this regard. We are not taking a single penny from anyone," he said.
It would be the first time that a power plant has been planned based on a PPP model. "We will set up four more power plants and the paperworks for them is being done," he said.
When inquired about the location of the 1600 MW power plant, the minister mentioned that the decision would be left to the company in charge and the state government will adjust their actions accordingly. The government of West Bengal currently operates power stations in Sagardighi, Bakerswar, Kolghat Bandel, and Durgapur.
