India races to build power plants in region claimed by China, sources say

NHPC

09/07/2024 12:27

By Sarita Chaganti Singh
       NEW DELHI, July 9 (Reuters) - India plans to spend $1
billion to expedite the construction of 12 hydropower stations
in the northeastern Himalayan state of Arunachal Pradesh, two
government sources said, a move that could raise tensions with
China that lays claims to the region.
        The federal finance ministry under Nirmala Sitharaman
recently approved up to 7.5 billion rupees ($89.85 million) in
financial assistance to each hydropower project in the
northeastern region, the sources said. 
        Under the scheme, about 90 billion rupees will likely be
allotted for the 12 hydropower projects in Arunachal Pradesh,
said the sources, who have direct knowledge of the matter.
    

    The scheme is likely to support northeastern states and help
them finance equity holdings in the projects they host. Having
state governments on board generally helps in expediting
regulatory clearances, locals rehabilitation and negotiations on
sharing electricity with the host state. 
    The plans for the hydropower stations are expected to be
announced in the 2024/2025 federal budget that Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's government will unveil on July 23, the sources
said, declining to be named as the information remained
confidential.       
    The Indian finance and power ministries and China's foreign
ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for
comment. 
    Last August, the government awarded contracts to state-run
firms NHPC  NHPC.NS , SJVNL  SJVN.NS  and NEEPCO for the
construction of the 11.5-gigawatt-capacity plants entailing an
estimated investment of $11 billion, as part of a broader
project to develop infrastructure in the border region. 
    None of the companies responded to a request for comments. 
    These power plants were earlier enlisted with private sector
firms, but remained non-starters due to various reasons. 
    India has built less than 15-gigawatt hydropower plants in
the last 20 years, while installations of new coal and other
renewable sources of energy were nearly 10 times of the new
hydropower projects.     
    
    
    India and China share a 2,500 km (1553.43 mile) largely
un-demarcated border, over which they fought a war in 1962.     
    India says Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of the
country, but China claims it is a part of southern Tibet, and
has objected to other Indian infrastructure projects there.
   The Indian government is pushing projects in the eastern
region following reports that Beijing could construct dams on a
section of the Brahmaputra river, known as the Yarlung Tsangbo
in China, that flows from Tibet through Arunachal Pradesh. 
    India is concerned that Chinese projects in the region could
trigger flash floods or create water scarcity.     
    Both countries are working to improve infrastructure along
their border regions since clashes in western Himalayas left 20
Indian and at least four Chinese troops dead in 2020.
    Last week, India Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Kazakhstan where the two
agreed to step up talks to resolve issues along their border.


    ($1 = 83.4710 Indian rupees)
    

    <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
India's sluggish hydropower capacity growth in 19 years    https://reut.rs/4cou6Gt
India's Arunachal Pradesh holds maximum hydropower potential   
https://reut.rs/4csx24S
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
 (Additional reporting by Krishn Kaushik in New Delhi; Editing
by Miral Fahmy and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
 ((Sarita.ChagantiSingh@thomsonreuters.com;))