Tamil Nadu government is all set to establish the state’s first 800 mw supercritical coal-based power plant, with Chief Minister Jayalalithaa laying the foundation stone for the Rs 6,000 crore project. Public sector unit BHEL has been awarded contract for the Rs 6,376 crore project which will come up at Athipattu in Tiruvallur district over 250 acres of land.

This is the first time in Tamil Nadu that a 800 mw unit is being established under the supercritical technology. The project will be completed in August 2019 and 19.2 million units of power a day will be generated. In the first phase, BHEL has been awarded a Rs 2,759 crore contract towards taking up works relating to Boiler, Turbine and Generator, besides engineering, procurement and construction, among others, it said.

Jayalalithaa gave away the work order to BHEL MD Atul Sobti. The release said the project was part of state government’s efforts to make Tamil Nadu ‘power-surplus,’ even as demand for electricity, which was key for agricultural and industrial growth, was also increasing.