Indian President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday thanked Bangladesh for its support in making possible the first unit of 726-megawatt (MW) power plant at Palatana in India`s Tripura state. Visiting the gas-based power plant in the India`s north-eastern state bordering Bangladesh, Pranab expressed hope that this power plant would meet the requirements of power-deficient states in the region and open up avenues for industrialisation in Tripura. Addressing a function at Palatana he dedicated the power plant to the nation. He pointed out that the power project not only constituted the largest investment in India`s north east but it was also the largest project in the world registered under the Clean Development Mechanism of the UNFCC.
The Indian President specially thanked the President, the Prime Minister and the government of Bangladesh for their support in making the project possible, the Indian High Commission in Dhaka said in a media statement today.
Pranab called for increased cooperation between India and Bangladesh in power sector and said it was a much-awaited and proud moment for all stakeholders.
To set up the power plant at Palatana about 50 kilometers to the south of capital Agartala, heavy machinery were brought from India`s western parts through Bangladesh.
Bangladesh provided India with the
opportunity through transshipment system at Ashuganj in Brahmanbaria district and also let India use the Chittagong sea port.
The Tripura state government has been saying that it will provide Bangladesh with at least 100 MW electricity from the power plant project. They are ready to provide more if the New Delhi wants so.
Pranab said that nature has bestowed Tripura with abundant natural gas. The power project by ONGC-Tripura Power Company in a land locked, logistically challenged and difficult terrain is an important feat, the statement said.
It would pave the way for effective utilisation of discovered gas.
Among the dignitaries present on the occasion were Governor of Tripura Devanand Konwar, Chief Minister of Tripura Manik Sarkar, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dr. M. Veerappa Moily, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Panabaka Lakshmi and Chairman of OTPC and ONGC Group of Companies Sudhir Vasudeva.
-With The Independent input
