Banks invest Rs 5.34bn in Upper Myagdi

Investment has been secured for the 37-megawatt Upper Myagdi Hydropower Project, to be built in Dhawalagiri Rural Municipality-4. Five banks have agreed to invest Rs 5.34bn in the project, which is promoted by Hydro Empire Pvt. Ltd.

Representatives of Siddhartha Bank, Nepal SBI, Citizens Bank, Everest Bank, and Nabil Bank signed the investment agreement alongside directors of the promoting company in Kathmandu on Monday, according to Jit Bahadur Gharti, Managing Director of Hydro Empire.

The total project cost, excluding bank interest, is estimated at Rs 6.69bn. Including interest, the cost rises to Rs 7.63bn, with plans to repay the loan over 12 years.

The project, financed with 70 percent debt and 30 percent equity investment, is expected to generate 215.714 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually upon completion. The electricity will be transmitted to the Dadakhet substation via a 132 kV single-circuit transmission line spanning 10.2 kilometers.

“A 21-kilometer access road and two bailey bridges with capacities of 50 and 30 metric tons have been constructed. Preparations are underway for the construction of the project’s tunnel, dam, and power plant,” said Managing Director Gharti. “A civil contractor has been mobilized with the goal of generating electricity within the next two and a half years.”

The project has purchased 1.69 hectares of private land and utilized 3.69 hectares of government land. Approval has also been secured for the purchase of explosives required for construction.

The dam is proposed on the right bank of the Myagdi River, 130 meters below the confluence of the Sincos and Myagdi Rivers. An underground sand pond and a headrace tunnel will be built on the left bank, with the powerhouse located one kilometer upstream of the Myagdi and Mudi Rivers’ confluence.

Water channeled through a 3.553-kilometer tunnel will be delivered to the powerhouse from a 300.88-meter-high head. A 797.96-meter-long penstock pipe will connect the outlet to the powerhouse to generate electricity.

Four additional hydropower projects have been approved for construction along the Myagdi River, which flows through the foothills of the Dhaulagiri Mountains. The 53.5-megawatt Upper Myagdi First project has commenced construction, while the 14.7-megawatt Mudikhola and 57.3-megawatt Myagdi Khola projects are constructing access roads.

Meanwhile, Dhaulagiri Kalika Hydro Limited laid the foundation stone for the 25-megawatt Darwang Myagdikhola Hydropower Project in Malika Rural Municipality five years ago, but progress on the project has stalled.