Mangdechhu hydroelectric project to start producing electricity

After missing a few deadlines, the 720-MW Mangdechhu hydroelectric project in Bhutan is likely to come alive by the end of February 2019. Against the initial project planning for completion in 2017, the project was set to get commissioned in the month of June 2018. Following a few minor technical complicacies, the commissioning was shifted first to October 2018, then to November 2018 and later to January 2019. But the January deadline also had to be abandoned. The project, comprising four units of 180 MW each, is expected to export 3 billion units of power to India every year at a mutually agreed per unit tariff of Rs 4.12. The Mangdechhu project is one of the 10 hydro projects planned by the Bhutanese government to generate 10,000 MW of hydropower by 2020 with support from the Indian government. According to its detailed project report, the project cost is around Rs 45 billion. A major part of this amount is being funded by India, in the form of 30 per cent grant and 70 per cent loan. The project is estimated to generate 2,923 GWh of electricity while offsetting 2.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year from atmosphere.