The Ganol Stage-I Small Hydro Project in Tura would now cost Rs 590.88 crore to complete after the Meghalaya cabinet granted an extra Rs 30 crore to settle outstanding contractor debts. Following several years of delays, the 22.5 MW project is now complete. The state will move forward with a number of power generation projects, including a renewed contract with Athena Projects Private Limited for the long-stalled Kynshi Stage-I project, according to Chief Minister Conrad Sangma.
The Kynshi project, which has been in limbo for a number of years, will now have a new Memorandum of Agreement signed by the cabinet with Athena Projects. Technical assessments indicated that the project’s maximum feasible capacity was 270 MW, causing cost worries that had halted progress. The facility was initially intended to be 450 MW. After the national government’s new requirements rendered such upgrades unfeasible for both parties, attempts to include pump storage and solar components did not succeed.
The Riangdo Small Hydro Project by Athena was approved by the state government for Rs 14 crore, increasing its capacity from 3 MW to 6 MW. Despite obstacles and an analysis by IIT Roorkee, the government also approved two privately funded hydro projects, the Nongmer Small Hydro Project and the Umran project, to supply the state with free electricity.