As per the agreement, EPF will start disbursing loans at an interest rate of 14 percent per annum to the project after the promoter spends 50 percent of its equity.
Binod Bhandari, CEO of Tamakoshi Hydropower Company, said that with the loan investment signing completed, the construction work of the project will proceed ahead. "The loan investment agreement for the project has been signed. We planned to proceed with the project construction within the current fiscal year," he said. The company had called for contracts for the construction of the civil component of the project in July 2022. Two Chinese contractors—Sino Hydro Corporation Limited and China Gezhouba Group Company Limited were shortlisted. However, it was found that the cost proposed by the companies was more than the estimation and the tender was canceled. According to CEO Bhandari, a new tender will be called soon. “Preliminary work is being done for the construction of the project now. As the previous tender has been canceled, we are preparing to invite a new tender,” he said. As the project is a cascade project of the 456 MW Upper Tamakosi Project, it does not need to build a dam as it takes its water directly from the tailrace tunnel of the Upper Tamakoshi Project. The power produced from the project will be connected to the 220kV transmission line of the Upper Tamakoshi Project. The underground powerhouse will be made at Suri Dobhan in Bigu Rural Municipality-3. The Department of Electricity Development (DoED) issued a power generation license to the project in 2017. An additional environmental study of the project was carried out with a grant from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). The construction of the project is targeted to be completed within 2027. According to the promoter company, the Tamakhoshi-V will be constructed under the engineer procurement construction (EPC) model. Under an EPC contract, a single contractor takes responsibility for all components like design, engineering, construction, and procurement.
