The government has decided to move ahead with the mega Karnali Chisapani Hydroelectric Project.
The cabinet meeting held on Thursday decided to study Karnali Chisapani with a capacity of more than 10,000 megawatts.
Minister for Communications Information Technology, Minister Rekha Sharma, said that the cabinet meeting today decided to proceed with the Karnali Chisapani project through the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA).
Sharma said that the construction process will start as soon as the study is completed. Despite discussions of building "Karnali Chisapani" project in Nepal, it has not been stalled for decades. Even 57 years after the first study of the project, no detailed study has been done.
Japanese company Nippon Koei Co Ltd (NK) had made a feasibility study of Karnali Chisapani in 1966. In 1968, the Snowy Mountain Hydroelectric Authority (SMHA) of Australia further evaluated the finding of the Nippon Koei and recommended enhancing the installed capacity of Karnali Chisapani to 3,600 MW.
The study proposed the development of a 1,800 MW run-of-the-river project through the construction of a tall dam at the Chisapani Gorge.
The most recent feasibility assessment for the project was initiated in 1986 and finalized in 1989. A consortium known as Himalayan Power Consultants (HPC), composed of hydropower companies from USA and Canada, carried out this study, determining the project’s capacity to be 10,800 MW.
Based on the 1989 study, it was estimated that 60,000 people would be displaced during the construction of the project and that it will cost around 5 billion.
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has been saying that he will make the dream of Karnali Chisapani project a reality.
"10,800 MW is almost like a miracle," said Prime Minister Dahal at a public function a month ago, "If we can proceed with such a big project, it will have a qualitative impact on the future of the Nepali people and the nation."
He says that the development of Nepal's economy is possible only through big projects like Karnali Chisapani.
Nepal Electricity Authority said that Nepal cannot invest in Karnali Chisapani multipurpose project alone. Officials of the Authority have said that based on previous studies, Chisapani can be developed as a regional project.
The Nepal Electricity Authority has said that projects can be developed at the regional level that will benefit Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and other countries.
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