The award-winning India-assisted 720 Megawatts Mangdecchu Hydroelectric Power Project has been handed to Drunk Green Power Corporation ( DGPC ) in Bhutan. The handover ceremony was held in Thimphu on December 27 and was attended by Bhutan’s Minister of Economics Affairs Lyonpo Loknath Sharma and India’s Ambassador to Bhutan Sudhakar Dalela.
Bhutan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs stated that with the passing on of this project, India and Bhutan have successfully completed four mega hydroelectric power projects. The statement further said “The 720 MW project Mangdechhu Hydroelectric Power Project was jointly inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bhutanese counterpart Lotay Tshering in 2019. The commissioning of the project has increased Bhutan’s Electrical Power Generation Capacity by 44 per cent and it is now at 2,326 Mega Watts”.
India-assisted hydropower projects in Bhutan are an example of win-win cooperation that consistently provide inexpensive and clean electricity to India and generate export revenue for Bhutan
The tweet from the Embassy of India came as:
Lyonpo Loknath Sharma thanked all the officials, engineers, designers and workers for making it a reality. He further expressed gratitude to the Indian Government for providing financial and technical assistance for the construction of the project.
Speaking at the event, Sudhakar Dalela called the project a ‘benchmark project ‘completed in an optimal cost and timeframe.
The statement further said that the hydropower sector will continue to contribute in a “significant way” to Bhutan’s economic growth and development on the basis of the philosophy of Gross National Happiness (GNH).
Hydropower revenues of Bhutan increased by 31 per cent in 2020. In 2021, Mangdechhu Hydroelectric Power Project exported electricity worth Rs 12.13 billion to India which shot up Bhutan’s electricity exports up to Rs 24.43 billion. The project will reduce around 2.4 million tons of Green House Gas emissions each year.
Mangdechhu hydroelectric project was awarded the prestigious Brunel Medal for excellence in civil engineering by the UK-based Institute of Civil Engineers in 2020.
The project was inaugurated by the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on August 2017 2019 during his visit to Bhutan.
The run-of-river power plant, built on the Mangdechhu River in Trongsa Dzongkhag district of central Bhutan at a cost of Rs 4,500 crore, is considered as a symbol of friendship between the two countries.
The Mangdechhu project was funded by India through a 70 per cent loan and a 30 per cent grant.
The Mangdechhu power plant was developed by the Mangdechhu Hydroelectric Project Authority, which was jointly constituted by the Indian and Bhutanese governments.
