Dordikhola to generate electricity from April

The Dordikhola Hydropower Project under construction by Himalayan Power Partner Limited Company is scheduled to start generating electricity from the first week of April.

Muna Shakya, head of the project, said that most of the work of the 27-megawatt project under construction in Dordi Khola of the district has been completed and it will generate electricity from the first week of April.

He said, "We have completed the construction of the project and have done a month long test." He said that there were minor problems in the meantime and work was underway to put up walls and repair the dam site and other areas damaged by the floods of last June. He said that the remaining works would be completed within the month of April and final tests would be carried out.

Even though the construction of the project has been completed 100 percent, the seapage of the tunnel damaged by the floods of last July and the 'gate' constructed at the dam site are being repaired.

According to him, work including electro-mechanical, intake of penstock and fielder pipe has been completed. All of them have been successfully tested. Similarly, most of the constructions including laying of pipes and digging of tunnels have been completed, the project said. The project has stated that the entire work of digging 700 meters, 3,200 meters tunnel and laying pipes and another 2,270 meters tunnel has been completed.

The dam site of the project is 212 meters 'Grosshead'. There is a power house in Ramchowk Basin, Ward No. 11 of Bensishahar Municipality. The project, which started construction in September, 2018 AD, had set a target of generating electricity on September 25,2018 AD. The project has stated that the work has not been completed on time due to blockade, damage to machinery due to infiltration of water from the Marsyangdi River into the power house during the previous rainy season.

Although an agreement was reached to complete the construction by mid-April 2020 AD by extending the time, the agreement was reached to complete the construction by July 2020 AD as the construction was not completed in the same period. After failing to complete the construction at that time, it had moved ahead with the goal of generating electricity in January, 2020 AD.

 Even though it was not possible to generate electricity at that time, the target of generating electricity by April 2021 AD was not achieved. After that, despite the target of generating electricity within the coming April, it will be generated only in the coming April.

Although the project was initially estimated to cost Rs. 4.23 billion, it is estimated to cost up to Rs. 4.64 billion as the construction period is getting longer. The Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) has invested 35.7 percent in the project, IME Group 34.3 percent and the general public 30 percent. A PPA agreement was signed between Nepal Electricity Authority and the company on July 20, 2008.

According to the project, an agreement has been reached to purchase electricity at Rs 8.40 paisa in dry season and Rs 4.80 paisa in rainy season. Earlier, half a dozen hydropower projects in the district have been generating electricity by completing construction work. Similarly, as more than half a dozen projects could not complete the construction on time, the project is moving ahead by setting the date of power generation time and time again.