Hyderabad: State-owned engineering firm BHEL on Friday said it has commenced civil works at 660-MW Sagardighi supercritical thermal power project in West Bengal.

Following the strategic completion of pre-engineering activities for the project beforehand, ground breaking has begun on zero date itself, a BHEL statement said.

This is a major achievement as conventionally it takes a few months after the zero date to initiate civil works on-site, the company said. Valued at approximately Rs 3,500 crore, the turnkey order for Sagardighi Thermal Power Project Extension Unit-5 was won by BHEL against stiff international competitive bidding.

The order for the project located at Manigram village in Murshidabad district of West Bengal was placed on BHEL by West Bengal Power Development Corporation (WBPDCL). The notice to proceed was issued after obtaining the necessary approvals like environmental clearances.