VPT to set up 10-MW solar power plant by March 2016

VISAKHAPATNAM, November 1: The Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT) plans to commission a 10-MW solar power plant by March 2016 in two phases, port authorities said. The first phase would involve setting up 2 MW solar power plant here by January 15, 2016, whereas the remaining 8 MW would be commissioned by March 20, 2016, VPT Chairman M T Krishna Babu said. VPT is the first among 12 major ports in India to go ahead with the solar power project, following the directions given by the Ministry of Shipping, he said. The contract for the project has been awarded to Jakson Engineers Limited, Noida, that would maintain it for seven years, he said. The VPT Chairman said the total project cost is estimated at Rs 60 crore, including annual maintenance cost of Rs 2.5 crore. The project would supply around 150 lakh units of power to VPT and the surplus would be given to public-private partnership (PPP) operators, he further said. VPT has installed a 100-KW rooftop solar plant at the Golden Jubilee Port Hospital in the city and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is likely to inaugurate it this week, he added. VPT is in talks with SECI to assess the feasibility of setting up a 500-KW rooftop solar plant at the VPT Sports Complex here, he added.