Russians return to Bhakra dam

CHANDIGARH, June 15: The Bhakra Beas Management Board has succeeded in salvaging the Rs 55-crore contract with a Russian firm for upgrading ...

CHANDIGARH, June 15: The Bhakra Beas Management Board has succeeded in salvaging the Rs 55-crore contract with a Russian firm for upgrading of machines on the right bank of the dam which had run into rough weather due to disintegration of the USSR in 1993.

The Russian firm Techno-prom-export TPE, based in Moscow had earlier refused to undertake upgradation of the fifth unit on the right bank of the Bhakra Dam wanting an upward revision of the contract amount in view of the changed economic scenario in that country.

It stopped supply of important equipment and spares for the right bank units. The specialists on site were called back by the company.

According to Satish Loomba, financial adviser, the Russians were insisting that payments be made in US dollars while the contract was signed in 1991 under the barter system also called Escro arrangement. The work now was in full swing and the company had posted back its specialists.

The Reserve Bank of India had been approached by the BBMB to permit conversion of the contract from Escro to non-Escro transaction. The permission was expected any day. A nominal increase of about Rs 10 crore however was agreed by the BBMB in the contract amount, financial adviser said. The other four units at the right bank had been upgraded to generate 157 megawatt of electricity from their previous capacity of 132 megawatts.

With the upgradation of the fifth unit in October next year the total increase in generating capacity would be 125 megawatt. The present day cost of generating a megawatt of electricity from hydel energy works out to be over Rs 6 crore.The BBMB enlisted the support of Union Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of External Affairs to take up the matter with the Russian government. Satish Loomba, financial adviser, besides two senior officers, Ajay Malhotra joint secretary, ministry of external affairs and U.S.Bhatia joint secretary, union ministry for commerce succeeded in raising the matter in a meeting of the Indo-Russian Trade Commission recently, where it was sorted out. Terming the contract conditions as 8220;very good8221; Loomba said that Indian firm Bharat Heavy Electricals BHEL was demanding three times more money for the same equipment supplied by the Russians.