Chandigarh: The prestigious 1,200 (2 x 600) MW Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power Project, Khedar, in Hisar district is all set to break all records of speedy project implementation. This was claimed here recently by Sanjeev Kaushal, MD of the Haryana Power Generation Corporation (HPGCL), after reviewing the progress of the project. He said an overall progress of over 73 per cent had already been achieved and in the fields of project engineering and procurement a progress of 85.80 per cent and 80.90 per cent, respectively, had been achieved. The project had achieved a record by conducting the hydraulic test of the boiler of unit-1 on March 1, a period of 24 months and 29 days, which is the fastest hydraulic test in India. In unit-2 also the hydraulic test was successfully completed on April 18, around 4 months before the schedule. Kaushal said with this landmark achievement, the construction of the project would proceed at an accelerated pace and the HPGC would leave no stone unturned to achieve the next major milestone of boiler light up of unit-1 during August, two months ahead of schedule. The first unit of this project would be commissioned before December and the second before March, 2010. He said an overall expenditure of Rs 2,445 crore had so far been incurred on the project, which was more than 56 per cent of the total estimated cost of the project. Kaushal said most of the major construction activities like boiler erection, turbine generator erection, etc were going on as per schedule or ahead of schedule. Many critical works, such as construction of cooling towers, plant buildings, raw water reservoir, chimney and 400 kV switch yard were nearing completion. The cooling towers of the project were the tallest in the country with a height of 173 metres and the chimney was 275 metres and it was the tallest structure of the project. Giving details of the work force engaged in the implementation of this project, he said more than 40 reputed contractors and around 5,000 workers were working round the clock to meet the challenging schedule of the project. The manpower was likely to peak to around 8,000 during the final stages of construction.