JICA executes Rs 5000 crore loan for 1000 MW Turga project

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has executed a Rs 5,000 crore loan agreement for the 1,000 megawatts (MW) Turga pumped storage project in Purulia, an official statement said Thursday. This is the second pumped storage project in West Bengal which is estimated at Rs 6,922 crore, it said.

The West Bengal cabinet has already approved the project and now JICA loan agreement had been executed, it said. The project entails building four reversible pump-turbine of 250MW each. The state was seeking a grant from clean energy cess from the Centre but there was no sign of any progress till now, it said.

West Bengal Power Minister Shobhondeb Chattopadhay said the plan to feed solar power also does not seem to be a possibility due to difficulty in managing a large land tract of 4,000 acres to install the solar park.

(With inputs from agencies.)