Indian portion of Indo-Bhutan cross-border link completed
Indian portion of the cross-border link to facilitate import from Bhutan’s Mangdechhu hydropower project has been recently completed.
Image for illustration purposes
Bhutan, Mangdechhu: Indian portion of the cross-border link to facilitate import from Bhutan’s Mangdechhu hydropower project has been recently completed.
A report by Central Electricity Authority indicates that physical work on the 400 kV double-circuit Jigmeling-Alipurduar was completed in late-March 2021. The “anti-theft” charging was done on 28 March 2021, and the line is expected to start operations soon, albeit much delayed from the original completion schedule of January 2018.
The line spanning 326 km with 466 tower locations is being developed by Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. Jigmeling is a location on the India-Bhutan border while Alipurduar is located in West Bengal.
From Alipurduar, electricity will be transferred to other parts of India through the 800 kV, Biswanath Chariali–Alipurduar–Agra multi-terminal HVDC bipole line.
The Bhutan portion of the link comprises two double-circuit 400 kV lines from Mangdechhu (the location of the hydropower plant) to Jigmeling, via the Goling pooling station. Each line is around 170 km.
The entire transmission system associated with the 720 MW Mangdechhu hydropower project, includes, among various other components, a 400 / 220 kV GIS substation at Jigmeling.
The Mangdechhu hydropower project is a 720 MW run-of-the-river plant built on the Mangdechhu River in Trongsa Dzongkhag district, central Bhutan. The project, with an estimated outlay of $607 M (Rs.4,500 crore), is being funded by the Indian government by of grant (30 %) and loan (70 %). Mangdechhu Hydroelectric Project Authority, an entity jointly constituted by the Indian and Bhutan governments, is the project developer.
Construction work on the project began in June 2012 and the fully completed project was officially inaugurated in August 2019, at the hands of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Mangdechhu project is one of the several projects aggregating 10 GW that Bhutan aims to develop with India’s cooperation.
Source: T&D India