Betan Karnali, who applied for a license to the Department of Electricity Development on Falgun 20, 2078, received the license only on Ashar 15, 2082.
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The 439 MW Betan Karnali Hydropower Project, which is being constructed under the leadership of the Employees Provident Fund, is set to move forward after receiving the generation license and investment approval.
The Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for the 439 MW Betan Karnali Semi-Reservoir Project has reached the final stage, according to the Betan Karnali Storage Hydropower Company.
‘We have received the production license, the PPA has reached the final stage. According to information received from the Nepal Electricity Authority, we are preparing to go to the board meeting of the authority,’ said the company’s managing director Krishna Prasad Acharya, ‘We will do the financial management work after the PPA.’
Saying that there will be no financial management until the PPA is in place, Acharya said that discussions are underway with banks and financial institutions for investment. Betan Karnali had applied to the Department of Electricity Development for the license on Falgun 20, 2078. However, Betan Karnali received the license only on Asad 15, 2082.
The then Director General of the department, Navinraj Singh, had said that the license process was delayed because the project did not submit the documents. The department has stated that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report was approved on 17th Poush 2080 and the documents related to Betan's net worth were also submitted to the department only in 2081 Shrawan.
The production license was delayed after Indian company Grandhi Mallikarjun Rao (GMR) objected to the Betan Karnali dam. A dispute arose between the two projects after GMR filed an application with the Ministry of Forest and Environment, stating that the tailrace, which releases water from the Upper Karnali back into the Karnali River after production, would be submerged by the Betan Karnali reservoir.
GMR had filed an application with the Ministry of Forest and Environment on 5th Mangsir 2080, stating that the highest water level (Full Supply Level-FSL) of the Betan reservoir and the end point of the tailrace of the Upper Karnali would clash with each other. GMR had written to the ministry saying that this would affect other technical aspects including power generation in Upper Karnali.
A 140-meter-high dam has been proposed for the Betan Karnali project in Achham and Surkhet. After the dam is constructed, a reservoir with a capacity to store 161.69 million cubic meters of water will be constructed in the upper area. When this reservoir is fully filled, the FSL will be 473.30 meters above sea level.
According to the Betan Karnali Hydropower Company, the project has been designed to maximize the use of resources based on the water level released from the Upper Karnali tailrace. Betan Karnali claimed that the Upper Karnali tailrace would not be submerged since the lower point of the Upper Karnali tailrace was designed to be 473.30 meters above sea level. However, Upper Karnali had written to the government body claiming that its tailrace would be submerged due to the Betan Karnali reservoir.
Acharya said that the issue was resolved in coordination with the Investment Board. ‘Our stance was that the Betan Karnali dam would not inundate the upper Karnali tailrace,’ he said, ‘The issue was resolved in coordination with the Investment Board. After that, we got the permission letter.’
The Investment Board meeting held last November has approved an investment of Rs 93.40 billion. 7 lakh in the 439 MW Betan Karnali semi-reservoir hydropower project. According to the Detailed Project Report (DPR), the total cost of the project is Rs 74.15 billion (excluding interest during the construction period).
It is estimated that the interest during the construction period will cost Rs 88.19 billion. The company has stated that the process of managing the loan of about Rs 57.32 billion required for the project has been taken forward by maintaining a debt-equity ratio of 65/35.
A 95-kilometer access road will have to be constructed from Guttu in Choukune Rural Municipality to the dam site of the project (Khargadhi). "We have already opened the access road track, and a survey team is at the project site to prepare a cost estimate for its upgrade," Acharya said. "The team will study the construction of a concrete bridge along with the upgrade of the access road."
He said that the aim is to call for tenders in the coming fiscal year after the survey team submits its report. He said that the aim is to manage the finances within the current fiscal year as soon as the PPA is signed. It is estimated that a total of 2,302.56 gigawatt-hours of energy will be generated from the project. The company has stated that the project will be constructed with peaking for 4 to 6 hours daily.
