AGARTALA, March 10 (TIWN): After much delay and long wait, the turbine of NEEPCO’s Manarchak power plant started rolling on Monday mid – night said an official. He claimed that if all goes well, the plant would start generating power from Tuesday.From February last ONGC has started charging gas in the 101 MW capacity power plant was set up at cost of p a Rs.9.50 billion.The ONGC recently laid a 10-km pipeline from its gas gathering station at Khedabari (in western Tripura) to the NEEPCO power project to supply five lakh cubic metres of gas per day.The foundation stone of the Monarchak power project was laid during the previous National Democratic Alliance government in March 2002 and the Tripura government allotted the required land to NEEPCO in 2003.

Besides Manarchak, NEEPCO by using the latest technology, the generation capacity of three existing power plants in Tripura will be augmented by around 70 MW without increasing fuel consumption.

To enhance the production capacity of two gas-based power plants and one hydel power project, NEEPCO in association with the Tripura government would invest Rs.500 crore.

The Rokhia and Baramura gas-based power plants in Tripura are at present in the open cycle system. Both the power plants would be converted into the combined cycle mode to generate additional power without using extra fuel.

NEEPCO would also increase the capacity of the Dambur hydel power plant, commissioned in 1974, from 8 MW to 15 MW.