Mannavaram Project Inaugurated

Laying the foundation stone for the much-awaited Rs. 6,000 crore power equipment manufacturing plant project, a joint venture between BHEL and NTPC, at Mannavaram near Tirupati in Chittoor district, on Wednesday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh lauded the services of former chief minister Dr. Y S Rajasekhara Reddy to the state.

Talking to reporters, he said, "I am happy to lay the foundation stone for the project a day before the first death anniversary of YSR, who played key role in bringing the project to the state."

The Prime Minister said that the project will provide direct employment to 6,000 and indirect employment to 30,000 people by the time of its completion in 2014-15. The project would also help in the development of this backward region of the state, he stated.

He said the BHEL-NTPC joint venture would produce equipment required for the generation of power of 5000 MW, annually.

Stressing the importance of power, Manmohan Singh said the government had drawn up ambitious plans to ramp up power generation in the country during the 11th and 12th Plan.

Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said that "the project would focus on 'balance of power plant' equipment in the first phase which would be completed in 2012, before graduating to the production of turbines and boilers by 2014-15."

Shinde said that the project would not only reduce the demand and supply gap for power generation equipment, but also enable us to export the much-needed equipment to other countries.

Stating that new power generation capacity in the country had already surpassed the 10th Plan target of 21,000 MW and would reach 3 times the targeted capacity by the end of the Plan period, the Power Minister said that the Government had also put in place an ambitious target of 60,000 MW for the next Plan.

Chief Minister K Rosaiah could not participate in the ceremony due to ill health. Instead, Major Industries Minister Kanna Laxminarayana read out his speech at the meeting.

NBPPL Chairman and Managing Director C P Singh, Governor E S L Narasimhan, Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, and Union Ministers of State Arun Yadav and Bharat Singh Solanki attended the function.

The Prime Minister also offered prayers at the abode of Lord Sri Venkateswara at Tirumala.

Courtesy: INN