The diaphragm wall design is usually used either in metro rails or ports. This is the first time where foundations for the pump-house were designed with diaphragm walls in the irrigation sector. The design also facilitated working simultaneously on both the substructure and the super structure which consisted of two slabs - one for the pump and the other for the motor.
This technological advancement was achieved through heavy machinery like trench cutters and grabbers. The equipment arrived in parts and was assembled at the project site.
The construction of Pattisam Project ranked high on the government's agenda. Therefore, the management of MEIL realized early on that risk management will be a critical factor in the successful execution of this project. Most of the associated risks are foreseeable and avoidable. The following steps were taken by the management to mitigate the risks.
» ROW issues: a dedicated team was assigned to deal with ROW issues.
» Floods: the diaphragm wall methodology was adopted with the working level fixed at +22.5 EL.
» Supply of Electro-mechanical equipment: To ensure smooth work progress and to counter procurement hassles, the E&M material orders were placed from multiple vendors.
Due to the mismatch between the magnitude of work and the limited availability of time, the project team had to analyze the work breakdown structure thoroughly to arrive at accurate manpower requirements at crucial points during the execution of project. The required resources were mobilized accordingly as per requirements without any hiccups.
To counter issues relating to the collapse of soil (while grabbing) during the construction of diaphragm wall, a special grade bentonite solution was imported and used. In the month of June 2015, when the collapse of soil strata could not be handed by bentonite solution, the team improvised by adopting ground improvement techniques like cement grouting and boring of BCIS piles.
The pump & rail sole plates were placed in position prior to concreting works which resulted in reduction of civil works. Similarly, the pre-assembly of columns pipes and shafts resulted in speedy erection of pumps whenever site is ready.
During the construction of panels to the diaphragm wall, work was delayed for a while because clay would get stuck to the trench cutter and it had to be drawn back frequently for cleaning. The team countered this issue by using a non-cohesive material (sand) that tackles and removes the stickiness of clay.
At the time of construction of pump house, activities were executed at different levels simultaneously. Due to the constraint of time, micro-level planning was done to execute works at multi levels in a smooth manner. Construction of raft was carried out at +6.5 meters, diaphragm wall works were executed at 10 meters, conventional concrete works & allied works at +22.5 meters, various works relating to electrical cabling, motor erection & water cooling systems at +27.5 meters, and at least 5 activities relating to PEB erection at +44 meters.
The 10 MW Canal-top Solar Project in Vadodara is one of the first of its kind in the world that aims to produce green energy through its strategic canal-top location. Such a location saves costs relating to land acquisition. The plant also saves millions of liters of water from getting evaporated. Because of its multiple advantages, the project is looked upon as a model plant by other state governments.
Global Consultancy Company KPMG has listed the Narmada Canal-top Solar Project in its Economic Power Projects Report which listed out the world's top 100 innovative infrastructure projects. The project is one of the six projects selected by KPMG from India.
Concentrated solar power has been the pace setter for solar energy around the world. MEIL is a great supporter of clean energy and energy efficiency. The high cost involved in the production process is a premium paid by the company to be an early adopter of the technology.
The management stressed on the importance of indigenization of all factors by minimizing the need for imports. In the case of steel, against a total requirement of 8900 tonnes, only 2% of the metal was imported. Various elements of the project like engineering development, sourcing of materials, fabrication of solar field and procurement of components like torque tubes, pylons, cantilevers, bearings etc. were obtained locally. The imports were limited to components like ball bearings, hydraulic drivers, mirrors and receiver tubes.
The Godavari Drinking Water Supply Scheme (GDWSS) project is one of Asia’s largest drinking water supply project which, once completed, will provide drinking water to the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. The scope of the project also includes the construction of a Water Treatment Plant (WTP) at Mallaram, Telangana, with a capacity to treat 735 million liters a day. About 30 million gallons of raw water per day (MGD) will be treated at the WTP and pumped to the city via Kondapaka and Ghanpur reservoirs. The Mallaram plant is the largest WTP in Asia.
This prestigious project from UP Power Transmission Corporation Limited involves the construction of 7 substations & transmission lines for a total length of 1116 circuit km. The salient features of the project include 765 KV & 400 kV substations along with 765 KV single circuit & 400 KV double circuit lines. The project is being executed on BOOT (Build-Own-Operate-Transfer) basis with a maintenance period of 35 years.
The 7 substations of 765 kV (2 nos.) and 400 kV (5 nos.) are of two types: Air Insulated Substations (AIS) and Gas Insulated Substations (GIS). GIS involves the use of an inert gas ‐ sulphur haxaflouride for insulation, because it has a much higher dielectric strength than air or dry nitrogen. GIS is the latest technology attempted in India by MEIL. The project demands the use of advanced technologies like Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) system & Optic Fiber Ground Wire (OPGW) system which are approved by SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition). A total of 200 nos. of technical manpower and close to 1800 nos. of labor workforce have been deployed for the execution of the project.
The establishing, commissioning, operation and maintenance of the above mentioned transmission lines and substations is a capital intensive matter requiring huge investment. Keeping in view the complexities involved in the execution of this high-value project, the management was wary of the fact that even minor delays could lead to heavy penalties. Therefore, vital aspects like engineering, system design & equipment parameter selection were closely monitored to ensure timely execution of the project. Quality has been given the foremost priority. The procurement of equipment was made from reputed suppliers. BHEL supplied transformers and reactors, whereas Alstom supplied other major equipment and was also involved in the erection, testing & commissioning of Air Insulated Substations (AIS).
For the convenience of project management and execution, the project was divided into three lots. Lot-I consists of transmission lines of 203 km. and two substations at Greater Noida and Sikandarabad. Lot-II consists of transmission lines of 429 km. and three substations at Hapur, Ataur, and Dasna. Lot-III consists of transmission lines of 31 km. and two substations at Bijnor and Indirapuram.
The project has been closely monitored by the top management on a day-to-day basis to ensure that it is executed in an optimized manner.