In a written reply to a starred question, seeking details of the power generation projects initiated in the private sector in the last two years, the minister said the Central Electricity Authority had approved, in principle, one power project, while the state government had approved three others.

Of these, a 250 MW project of the Gujarat Industries Power Company at Mangrole was nearing completion. Planning work for three other projects was nearing completion. These were a 500 MW expansion project of GIPC at Mangrole, a 655 MW expansion project of Gujarat Torrent Energy Corporation at Paguthan, and a 515 MW expansion project of Essar Power Limited at Hajira.

In another written reply, the minister said the government had plans to create a generation capacity of 11,850 MW in the ninth and tenth five-year plans in view of the increasing demand. At present, the generation capacity in the state was 7,566 MW.

The minister said while a generation capacity of 2,742 MW would be created in the ninth plan, another 9,108 MW would be added in the tenth plan (2002-2007). Efforts were being made to increase generation from non-conventional sources. The government was also encouraging captive power plants and co-generation.

As many as 18 projects had already been identified for the tenth plan, the minister said. During the remaining years of the ninth plan, 761 MW would be added in the current year, 120 MW next year, 909 MW in 2000-2001 and 1,012 MW in 2001-2002, he added.