Barh I power station

Barh I power station is a 1980 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power station comprising proposed by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) to be constructed in Bihar, India. Although the foundation stone for Barh I was laid in 1999, the project was delayed due to issues of land availability and contractual disputes. It is on the same location as the Barh II power station, which was announced in 2006 and was partially completed as of Fall 2013.

Location
The photo below shows the construction site, which is located at Barh in Bihar state.

Background
It is proposed that the plant will use supercritical technology with coal supplied from the Amrapali Block of North Karanpura coal fields and transported by rail. It is proposed that the power station would comprise three 660 MW units. Unit 1 of Barh 1 was originally planned to be commissioned in March 2009 but the start date was subsequently delayed to January 2011. In November 2010, The Times of India reported that the start date of both Barh I and Barh II power station would be further delayed until 2013-14. The delay was the result of a contractual dispute between NTPC and Russia's Technoprom Exports (TPE), the suppliers of the boilers for the project.

Finance
On Christmas Eve 2007 NTPC announced that it had finalised a loan agreement for $US380 million with the Japan Bank International Co-operation (JBIC) to partially finance stage I pf the Barh Super Thermal Power Project. NTPC stated that the loan agreement was signed on 20th December 2007 in Tokyo and that the "the facility will have floating rate of interest linked to the LIBOR and door to door maturity of 18 years."

Investigation of payoffs
In November, 2010, The Times of India reported that India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was investigating alleged pay-offs by Russia's Technoprom Exports (TPE) to secure the contract to supply boilers for the Barh project. TPE received the contract in February 2005.

Project Details
Sponsor: National Thermal Power Corporation Location: Barh, Bihar, India Coordinates: Status: Construction Nameplate capacity: 1980 Type: Supercritical Projected in service: 2013-2014 Coal Type: Coal Source: Amrapali Block of North Karanpura coal fields Estimated annual CO2: Source of financing: part-financed by Japan Bank International Co-operation

Related SourceWatch articles

 * India and coal
 * Proposed coal plants in India