The tunnel of Arun-3 hydropower project with the capacity of 900 megawatts has achieved a breakthrough with the completion of its tunnel.
The breakthrough was celebrated amidst a ceremony graced by the presence of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' on Tuesday.
Addressing a program organized to celebrate the breakthrough of Arun 3 hydropower project, Prime Minister Prachanda said Nepal is forging ahead in a determined way so as to create history in the power trade sector.
He further said the Nepal government has introduced provisions in the budget for the fiscal year 2081/82 to attract private sector for the promotion of energy sector.
"Provisions have been made in the budget to attract the private sector to invest by making legal arrangements so that the private sector also participates in the construction and distribution of electricity transmission lines, construction of dams and power houses in hydropower projects with reservoirs," Prime Minister Prachanda said.
With addition of 900 megawatts of electricity, the national power grid will reach 4,500 megawatts and arrangements will be made to export electricity to Bangladesh from the coming fiscal year, said Prachanda.
SJVN Arun-3 Power Development Company of India is the developer of this hydropower project.
The total investment cost of this semi-reservoir-based hydropower project is Rs 144 billion. The project is expected to generate a total of 3,466 gigawatts (GW) of electricity annually.
When it comes into operation, Nepal will make an income of 348 billion rupees and get 21.9 percent of the electricity generated free of cost. The project will give shares worth Rs 1.6 billion to the project-hit locals.
Besides, as many as 3,000 people will directly elected from this hydro project.
Once the power is generated, the electricity will be delivered to Muzaffarpur of India through a 217-km long 400kV transmission line.
The Project Development Agreement (PDA) stipulates that after 25 years of operation, the ownership and control of the project will be handed over to the Nepal government.
(Photos: Pradeep Raj Onta)
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