Statkraft of Norway has submitted an alternative design for the 600MW Sawalakote hydro power project in northern India. According to a government official, the new design attempts to trim costs and reduce construction time. The project, to be built in Jammu and Kashmir state, will now cost US$693M instead of US$1.01B and will take 18 months less to compete that previously estimated.
Jammu & Kashmir Power Development Corporation signed a preliminary agreement with Statkraft in July 1999 for the construction of the project in Doda district, about 176km east of Jammu. But the July signing could not be converted into a full agreement because the state government could not meet the cost of the plant. So Statkraft submitted a different and less expensive design for a project which uses river flow to generate power, as water storage is not permitted under a water treaty with neighbouring Pakistan.
The project will have a 185m high diversion dam to create the head, an 8km tunnel, a concrete-lined tail channel and a surface power house on the banks of the river Chenab.