Raipur, Jan 13 (IANS) GMR Energy Ltd, a unit of GMR Infrastructure, will begin construction work on its 1,200 MW thermal power project in Chhattisgarh by March, a company official said Wednesday.

GMR Energy signed the deal for the 1,200 MW project with two units of 600 MW each in June 2007 with the state government. It will come up in Raikheda area of Raipur district, about 35 km from state capital Raipur.

"The construction work will begin latest by March. The first unit will be commissioned after 45 months and the second will come up in 50 months from the commencement of construction," the company spokesperson told IANS.

He said the Rs.6,000 crore project needs about 1,000 acres land and the company is nearing the end of the land acquisition process.

The official informed that the power plant will get water from Mahanadi river, some 40 km from the proposed plant site.

The spokesperson said the company will be taking a number of measures to contain environmental pollution to develop the plant as one of greenest projects in India.

"For GMR Chhattisgarh project, we are using an Electrostatic Precipitator (ESP) with 50 mg/Nm3. Also, we are disposing ash using HCSD (high concentrated slurry disposal) technology, which minimises environmental impact. It will have a zero discharge system along with setting up an effluent treatment plant," the official said.

He said a large amount of the ash generated would be supplied to the cement plants of nearby areas.

Officials say GMR Energy chose Chhattisgarh for a major power project because of easy access to coal. Also, the project's location is ideal for power distribution to other states.