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Power Grid to invest WB's $ 450 m loan in Orissa and Bihar

The World Bank will give a $ 450 million loan to the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited within four months, says chairman and managing director R P Singh.

The amount will be invested in the company's Talchar high voltage direct current unit in Orissa and the Sasaram HVDC plant in Bihar. Besides, the fund would also be utilised to spruce up functioning at the corporation's eastern and western region load despatch centres.

This loan was, in fact, stated to be the among the first casualties of the economic sanctions imposed against India following the nuclear tests conducted recently.

However, Singh said, ''It has never been a casualty. We had never doubted whether this loan would not come.''

PGCIL is also going ahead with its plans to put in place a grid for South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation countries in a bid to ease the power situation in the region.

''Talks have already been initiated with SAARC nations and a schedule is being chalked out for putting the grid in place.''

PGCIL envisages an investment of about Rs 130 billion for its ongoing and new schemes during the the Ninth Five Year Plan.

The corporation has spread 1,986 km of transmission lines during 1997-98. It earned a net profit of about Rs 4.02 billion and recorded a turnover of Rs 13.8 billion during 1997-1998.

UNI