Bad ground conditions have been blamed for the recent delay in tunnel construction at the $500m Srisailam Left Bank hydro-electric project in Andhra Pradesh State in India.
Work is reported to be back on track on this considerably delayed construction project, which began nine years ago. Andhra Pradesh Generation Corporation special officer (projects) T.R.C Bose and the chief engineer, P. Sanyasi Raju, confirmed that a geological fault zone was encountered during construction of the 2.3km long tailrace tunnel, which has a diameter of 15m.
The first 150MW phase of the 900 MW power station is due to be commissioned next June.
The hydro-electric complex features three underground caverns: the 230m long power house, which is 220m below ground level; the 176m long transmission cavern; and a surge pool.
