The Hindu Business Line : Strengthening of Koyna Dam spillway to be completed by May

Mr Ankineedu Maganti, Director, Soma Enterprise Ltd, said the strengthening of the spillway had been envisaged by the Water Resources Department, Maharashtra to safeguard the dam against earthquakes as the Koyna Dam Reservoir is situated in a seismic zone prone to high intensity earthquakes.

The strengthening of Koyna Dam Project was awarded to Soma Enterprise in a joint venture with SSHPR of Russia at a cost of Rs 93.78 crore.

Underground tunnel

He said the project also includes construction of a 4.5-km long underground headrace tunnel, under the reservoir to tap the additional water, which has hitherto been unutilised,at a cost of Rs 170 crore.

Work on the tunnel started in May 2002 and is scheduled for completion in September 2006, he said.

The strengthening of spillway of such a large dam is being done for the first time in India.

Once concrete backing to the downstream portion in the overflow section of the dam is completed, the storage level would be raise by five feet, which in turn would increase the storage capacity of the dam by 6.5 TMC (thousand million cubic feet). Work on the strengthening of the dam commenced in August 2004 and will be completed in May 2006, two months ahead of schedule, he said.

Being one of the largest dams in India, Koyna Dam has a current installed capacity of 1,960 MW. Out of the 98 TMC storage capacity, 67 TMC is diverted for power generation.

About 25 to 30 TMC of water is sent as per requirement for irrigational and drinking purposes in parts of western Maharashtra in Satara and Sangli.

Other projects

Talking about other projects, Mr Maganti said the company has bagged the Bangalore-Electronic City Elevated Access Controlled Expressway Project, worth Rs 765 crore, on BOT basis in joint venture with Nagarjuna Constructions and Maytas Infra Ltd and Pimpalgaon Dhule Project in Maharashtra, on BOT basis, worth Rs 556 crore. He said currently Soma is implementing the Maddur-Mysore road project in Bangalore, which provides a direct link between Bangalore and Mysore. The company has also bagged the civil construction package in hydel sector — the Subansiri Lower HE Project in Assam & Arunachal Pradesh, valued at Rs 1,098 crore.

It is also executing three projects for the East West Corridor for NHAI: Gujarat Package — 1 project worth Rs 193 crore, Package MP — 1 project worth Rs 295 crore, and Package RJ — 2 projects worth Rs 411 crore, he added.

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