Even as the government offers policy incentives to promote the development of domestic equipment manufacturing facility, in a bid to expedite the pace of power generation capacity addition constraints like the poor health of the country?s roads and bridges pose formidable logistical challenges to ensuring speedy movement of equipment from factory to project sites. It could frustrate the government?s plan.
Transporting over-dimensional power equipment like rotor and stator through the railway network is not an option because of space constraints posed by the presence of overhead high-tension traction cable required to run electric trains. These bulky equipment can be transported only through the road network.
However, all roads and bridges in the country are not strong enough to support loads of these equipment whose individual weight could be in the range of 300 tonnes. ?Logistics is a serious obstacle,? says NTPC chairman RS Sharma. For example, public sector equipment supplier Bhel was recently moving a 280-tonne gas turbine from Mudra port to a power project site in Pipavav, Gujarat. The bridge across the river Kshatrunji near Talaja on the national highway 8E collapsed and the hydraulic trailer, along with the gas turbine, fell into the river.
In another case, NTPC?s contractor for Sipat-I power project had imported equipment at the Mumbai port. From there, the equipment was being shipped by road to the project site. However, the hydraulic trailer got stuck at Kasara Ghat in Maharashtra due to the lack of turning space on the road passing through hills. The result was that the road remained blocked for months.
?With the expansion of power capacity, not only equipment manufacturing capacity, but also associated infrastructure like roads, bridges, port and rail link should be expanded,? RV Shahi, a former Union power secretary, observed.