KATHMANDU, July 5: Electricity produced by the long-awaited Upper Tamakoshi Hydroelectric Project has been connected to the national grid from Monday.

The 456-MW national pride project has been constructed with domestic investment. Inaugurating the mega project through a virtual mode, Prime Minister KP Oli said the completion of the project construction has added confidence that similar larger projects can be built with domestic investment in the future.

Bigyan Shrestha, chief executive officer of Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Limited, said the electricity produced by the first unit of the project has been connected to the 220 KV double-circuit Khimti-Gongor transmission line. The 47-km long transmission line that has been constructed on 127 towers has capacity to carry 1,200 MW of electricity.

The project consists of six units, having fitted with six underground turbines and six generators each with a capacity of producing 76 MW of electricity. According to Shrestha, they have planned to go into full-fledged production by mid-October.

The mega project that started its construction a decade ago has crossed its first deadline by six years to start its actual production. Initially, the total cost till the project completion was estimated at Rs 48.51 billion, which has escalated to Rs 84 billion with delays caused due to various factors.   

 
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