A high-level team of Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Nepal Electricity Authority visited the under construction Tanahun hydropower project with a reservoir of 140 MW connected capacity on the Seti river in Tanahun.

A team consisting of Director of ADB's Nepal Housing Mission, Arnold Kushwa, and Kulman Ghising, Executive Director of the Authority and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tanahun Hydropower, conducted on-site monitoring of the project on Monday and got information about the construction progress.

team under package-1 140 m. Construction of high main dam, underground power plant under package-2, hydromechanical and electromechanical equipment, main tunnel construction site was monitored.

After discussing in detail with the company and project management, consultants and construction professionals, the team got information about the construction progress, the problems being faced, the construction schedule etc. .  

Kiran Kumar Shrestha, managing director of Tanahun Hydropower and Shyamji Bhandari, project manager, informed the team about the construction progress, the problems being faced, etc. The

team also discussed with Tanahun Chief District Officer Shyam Krishna Thapa, Assistant Chief District Officer, Head of Surveyor's Office, representative of Malpot Office regarding additional land acquisition in the intermediate area (buffer zone) of the project and the problem of Ilani land.

The team including the chief district officer was requested for the necessary support and facilitation to solve the land-related problems . Mentioning that ADB has a special interest in the implementation and technical aspects of the environmental and social protection issues implemented by the

project, Director Kushwa requested that the current problems be resolved immediately and the construction completed within the specified time and quality .

Mentioning that there will be a great contribution and support of the Tanahun project, which has a reservoir nature, to eliminate the imbalance of electricity demand and supply during the dry season, Ghising, the executive director of the authority, said that all parties should take responsibility to complete it on time.

Noting that the construction of structures such as power houses and transmission lines are in the final stage, but dam construction is challenging and sensitive, Ghising instructed the relevant parties to advance the work by keeping dam construction as a special priority. 

The overall progress of the project under construction is 63 percent by dividing the main structures into three packages. The overall construction is targeted to be completed by June 2083 (May 2026).

The main dam of 140 meters height will be constructed on the Seti River that flows through the border of Risching Rural Municipality-1 and Byas Municipality-5. Under package-1, grouting is being done in the lower level area of ​​the main dam. Crusher and moisture plant has been installed and kept ready.

The construction of the main dam is about to start soon . The construction progress of package-1 is about 36 percent. Package-1 is being constructed by Song Da Corporation, Vietnam-Kalika Construction Nepal JV.    Under package-2 of the

project, 1493 m from the source of the reservoir (intake) to the place where the penstock pipe is located. Concrete lining is being done by 'break through' (sprinkling) the long tunnel.  The water from the main tunnel is 213 m. Khasali electricity will be produced in the underground power plant through a long penstock pipe.

The penstock pipe connection for this is in final stage . Sino Hydro Corporation, China is doing the construction of package-2, including the project's tunnel, power house construction and supply, installation and operation of hydromechanics and electromechanical equipment.

The construction of the civil structure of the power plant is in the final stage. Construction of swissyard, installation of equipment in the power house and other works are being done . Tailrace construction has been completed. The overall physical progress of this package is about 62 percent . K.E.C. under

package-3 construction of 220 KV double circuit transmission line from Damauli to Bharatpur in Chitwan. International Limited, India is doing .  34.7 km. Out of the 94 towers on the transmission line, the foundations of 78 towers have been laid and 69 towers have been erected. The overall construction progress of this package is 74 percent. Tanahun rural electrification and distribution system strengthening project has been completed through the project management directorate of Nepal Authority to electrify Tanahun district under the social development program of

project.

Under this, two substations of 33/11 KV have been built and put into operation in Ghiring Rural Municipality-4 and Bandipur Rural Municipality-6 for local electricity supply. A 33 kV line has been constructed to supply electricity to the said substations. To make the power supply of Tanahun district sufficient, reliable and quality, distribution transformers of different capacities have been installed in different places and 11 KV lines have been constructed . Under the

community development program, 63 projects including education, health, drinking water, road, river embankment construction etc. have been completed in the affected areas. 10 projects are running . Various skill trainings are being conducted for the livelihood and income generation of project affected people.  

The total cost of the company's capital structure and financial management project (including transmission lines, rural electrification and interest during the construction period) is 505 million US dollars. 150 million, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) 184 million dollars, European Investment Bank 85 million dollars and the Government of Nepal/Nepal Electricity Authority 86 million dollars have been managed financially.