The Bharbung Tatu Khela Hydropower Project is to be constructed in the Charkatangsong Rural Municipality in the northern region.
What you should know
A 328-megawatt semi-reservoir hydroelectric project is to be constructed in the Himalayan district of Dolpa.
The Bharbung Tatu Khela Hydropower Project is to be constructed in the Charkatangsong Rural Municipality in the northern part of the district. The Department of Electricity Development has taken forward the process of necessary studies and environmental impact assessment approval for the construction of the project.
Deputy Director General of the department Gokarna Raj Pantha said that the feasibility study and environmental impact assessment for the construction of the project have been completed and are still in the approval stage. Pantha informed that both reports of the semi-reservoir-based project have been submitted to the Ministry of Forest and Environment for approval with the recommendation of the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation.
According to him, the study for the construction of the project took four to five years with the investment of the Government of Nepal. The study was conducted jointly by the German fishing company and the Nepalese Hydro Company.
After the approval of the Ministry of Forests, the Nepal government will either invest or take support from the private sector like other hydropower projects in Nepal, Deputy Director General Pantha informed.
The project will utilize the water of Bharbung and Tatu Khela and will also construct physical infrastructure in Charkatangsong and Kaike rural municipalities. According to the department, 325 megawatts of electricity will be generated from Bharbung River.
Along with this, 1.12 cusecs of water from Tatu Khola will be used through a river flow-based system to generate an additional 3.10 megawatts of hydropower. Three wards of two municipalities will be affected during the construction of the project.
Areas 4 and 5 of Chharka Tangsong Rural Municipality and Kaike Rural Municipality-1 will be affected, while a 169-meter-high dam, a 766-meter-long diversion tunnel, an intake and a 16-kilometer-long headrace tunnel will be constructed in Chharka Tangsong Rural Municipality-4, the department has stated.
It is said that underground power plants and water drainage canals will be constructed in Chharka Tangsong Rural Municipality-4 and Kaike Rural Municipality-1 of the same rural municipality, and some areas of Chharka Tangsong Rural Municipality-5 will be submerged by the project's reservoir.
The total cost of the project is estimated at 4.39 billion 30 million rupees. Earlier, the 106-megawatt Jagadulla Hydropower is under construction in Dolpa itself. The project is being built in Jagadulla Rural Municipality and Mudkechula Rural Municipality of Dolpa.
