Major Thermal Power Project to Be Set Up in Salboni, West Bengal

• 21 Apr 2025

Why in News 

The Chief Minister of West Bengal is scheduled to lay the foundation stone for a Rs 16,000 crore thermal power project in Salboni, located in Paschim Medinipur district. This is the largest private investment in West Bengal's core sector in the last 14 years. 

Key Points 

• About: 
  • The project will establish a 1600 MW thermal power plant, divided into two units of 800 MW each. 
    • The first unit is expected to be operational in four years, and the second unit in the fifth year. 
  • It is being developed by Jindal South West (JSW) Energy under the Design-Build-Finance-Own-Operate (DBFOO) model. 
• Energy and Resource Linkages: 
  • Coal India Ltd will supply coal for the plant through the Shakti B(IV) scheme. 
• Economic and Industrial Impact: 
  • At peak construction, the project is expected to generate employment for 4,000-6,000 people and create 800-1,000 permanent jobs once operational. 
  • It represents a major step in the revival of large-scale industry in western West Bengal. 
• Future Expansion Plans: 
  • At the Bengal Global Business Summit 2025, Sajjan Jindal (Chairman, JSW Group) announced plans to double the plant’s capacity with another major investment. 
  • Additional thermal power projects are also planned in Durgapur, Bakreshwar, and Santaldih. 
  • The state government and JSW Group also plan to establish a new industrial park in Salboni. 
    

Major Thermal Power Plants in West Bengal 

• Bandel Thermal Power Station (sit­u­ated on the west­ern bank of Bha­gi­rathi River, Hooghly district) 
• Bakreswar Thermal Power Plant (Birb­hum district) 
• Kolaghat Thermal Power Station (Purba Medinipur district) 
• Sagardighi Thermal Power Plant (Mur­shid­abad district) 
• Santaldihi Thermal Power Station (Purulia district) 

SHAKTI Scheme 

• The Ministry of Coal introduced the Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyala (Coal) Transparently in India (SHAKTI) in 2017.  
  • SHAKTI Policy is a transparent way of allocating coal to the Power Sector. 
• Under SHAKTI Para B (iv), the coal linkages have been earmarked to the States of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Assam and Kerala for a capacity of 4000 MW, 5600 MW, 6740 MW, 3299 MW, 1600 MW, 2000 MW, 4100 MW, 500 MW and 500 MW respectively.