KATHMANDU, Sept 22: Under the leadership of Chilime Hydropower Company Limited (CHCL), a subsidiary of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), work has been progressed to produce electricity within a month from the 120 MW Madhya Bhotekoshi Hydropower Project (MBHP) under construction in Sindhupalchowk district.

After reaching an agreement with the locals on the construction of two out of the four kilometers of the transmission line from the switchyard of the project’s power house located in Bahrabise Municipality-5 connecting to the NEA’s Bahrabise substation located in the Bahrabise Municipality-3, the wire pulling is currently underway. The wire pulling work of a total of 220 kV single circuit transmission lines will be completed before Dashain.

On August 29, discussions were held involving Dipak Khadka, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation; Purna Bahadur Tamang, State Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation; Mohan Bahadur Basnet, provincial assembly member of Sindhupalchok-2 ; Sandip Kumar Dev, joint-secretary of the ministry; Kulman Ghising, Managing Director of the NEA; Bal krishna Basnet, Chief of Bahrabise Municipality and ward presidents, assistant chief district officer, and the president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry. They reached an agreement on the construction of the transmission line, which had been obstructed for approximately 14 months. The construction of the dam area has been completed, and testing has already been done by pouring water.

The main tunnel of the project was built and tested in mid-February to mid-March last year. About 1,400 meters of water was leaked in the main tunnel during the test and repairs and improvements have also been completed. Currently, the tunnel is being cleaned and the work of pouring water in the tunnel will commence after 15 days.

The civil construction at the powerhouse has been completed, and the installation and testing of electromechanical equipment are currently underway. The ‘wet test’ will begin as soon as water flows through the tunnel. The remaining work is expected to be completed within a month, with the goal of starting electricity production.

State Minister Purna Bahadur Tamang, MD Kulman Ghising and other team members visited the project site on Saturday and instructed the project management, consultants and construction professionals to complete the work of producing electricity within a month. State Minister Tamang instructed to accelerate the remaining work and to complete the work with all the project management staff staying at the site.

Following the beginning of electricity generation from the MBHP, the Bharabise substations constructed by the NEA will be charged using the same electricity. The construction of the 220/132 kV of Bharabise substations has been completed.

A temporary alternate arrangement has been made for MBHP’s electricity. A total of 220 kV transmission line will be reduced to 132 kV through Bahrabise substation and power will flow from the same line. For this, the 132 kV transmission line constructed by Shiva Shree Hydropower, the promoter of the 220 MW Upper Chaku-A Hydroelectric project, is being carried out to the Bahrabise substation. The work is being carried out with the aim of completing it before Dashain.

From the same transmission line, the electricity of MBHP will be integrated into the national system through the Lamosangu Substation. The temporary alternative arrangement will remain till the completion of the Khimti-Bahrabise or Bahrabise-Kathmandu transmission lines. Following the completion of these lines, electricity will flow through them. Jure landslides, major earthquakes, obstacles at Nepal-India border, flood in Bhotekoshi River, Covid-19 outbreak, weak performance of entrepreneurs has affected the construction of the MBHP.

The estimated cost of the project, excluding interest during the construction period, was Rs 12.28 billion, when a loan agreement was made with the Employees Provident Fund. Among the total initial cost of the project, 50 percent was collected through equity and 50 percent through debt.

Among the founding shareholders of 51 percent of the company’s issued capital, the NEA has 10 percent, Chilime Hydropower Company Limited has 37 percent, Sindhupalchok Hydropower Company, Nepal Araniko Hydropower Limited, Sindhu Investment Company and Sindhu Bhotekoshi Hydropower Limited have one percent share each.

In the total 49 percent ordinary shareholder group, employees of the Employee Provident Fund hold 19.5 percent of shares, the employees of the founding organization hold 3.5 percent, the employees of the lending organizations hold one  percent of, the people of Sindhupalchok hold 10 percent and the general public hold 15 percent. The company has already collected funds by issuing ordinary shares. There are 1.75 million ordinary investors in the company.

The project will produce 542 million units of electricity annually. The NEA will purchase the project’s electricity at Rs 8.40 and Rs 4.80 per unit in winter and monsoon season, respectively. The company will achieve an annual income of Rs 2.8 billion from this.

 
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