The turbines and generators for the 1200MW river bed Sardar Sarovar power project have arrived in India.

The present consignment is the first of six turbines for power generators to be imported from the Japanese manufacturer Sumitomo. The company had won the contract in 1985 but pulled out of the project when the World Bank withdrew its support for the scheme.

However, after a series of consultations, the Japanese company agreed in 1998 to provide machinery at the price and conditions that had been agreed upon in 1985. The state government has purchased the machinery for ¥20.6B on a long term loan at an interest rate of 0.5%.