L&T bags Rs.12.45 bn Bhutan dam project

Mumbai, April 1 (IANS) Larsen & Toubro (L&T), the country's leading engineering and construction conglomerate, Wednesday said it has bagged a Rs.1,245 crore (Rs.12.45 billion) contract for the construction of dams as part of the 1,200 MW Punatsangchhu-I hydroelectric Project in Bhutan.

The project is being set up by the Punatsangchhu-I Hydroelectric Project Authority which has been constituted through an agreement between the governments of India and Bhutan, a company statement said.

The project site is located across Punatsangchhu River, about 80 km from the Bhutan capital Thimphu.

Under the contract, L&T will be required to construct the diversion tunnel, dam, intake and desilting arrangement including hydro-mechanical works. The project needs to be executed in 66 months, the statement said.

This is the first of a series of 10 hydro-power projects jointly identified by the governments of India and Bhutan and to be implemented for a total installed capacity of 11,576 MW by 2020.

For L&T, this is the second hydroelectric power project in Bhutan. The first was the 1,020 MW Tala Hydroelectric Project.

The project will be executed by L&T's construction division.