A joint venture company will construct the 1150km power transmission lines from Siliguri in West Bengal to Mandaula near New Delhi. The project is due to be operational in 2006, according to the ADB.
Under this arrangement, the joint venture company, Tala-Delhi Transmission, will handle the operation of the system for 30 years and then turn it over to the Power Grid Corp, an Indian-government-owned transmission utility.
ADB said the power lines will carry electricity from the Tala Hydro Electric Power Project in neighbouring Bhutan as well as surplus power from India's eastern region to the northern areas where homes and businesses suffer from chronic power shortages.
