Construction of the 30 MW Nyadi Hydropower Project on Nyadi River at Bahundanda of Lamjung has begun. Zhejiang Hydropower Construction and Installation Co, the Chinese company which was awarded the construction contract on January, began the construction amid a formal programme at the project site on Thursday. The Chinese contractor will be responsible for the civil, hydro-mechanical and electro- mechanical work of the project.

Nyadi Hydropower Limited, which is a joint venture between Butwal Power Company (BPC) and Lamjung Electricity Development Company (LEDCO), is developing the project. The project is being built at an estimated cost of Rs 6 billion, according to the developer and is expected to go online by April 2020.

BPC will have 97.22 percent stake in the joint venture whereas LEDCO will have 2.78 percent stake. Mrigendra Bahadur Shrestha, the director of the project said the project will be built with 75 percent debt financing from the banks. 

The consortium led by Everest Bank and co-led by Nabil Bank and Global IME Bank will be financing the project. Himalayan Bank, Sunrise Bank and Hydroelectricity Investment and Development Company are also part of the consortium. 

After a year and half, the project developer will float 25 percent shares of the project to the public.

“Locals of Bahundanda and Bhulbhule affected by the project will get 15 percent shares whereas the company will allocate the remaining 10 percent to the general public,” Shrestha. “We will also invest around Rs 40 million in the project affected area as part of corporate social responsibility.”   

While developing this run-of-the-river type project, water will be diverted from the Nyadi River through a 4 km long tunnel and 800 meters long penstock pipe to the power house with two turbines of 15MW each. An estimated 172 million units of electricity generated from the project annually will be sold to Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), according to the power purchase agreement signed between project developer and state owned power utility.  

The developer will build a 6km- long transmission line to evacuate the power to NEA’s 132 kV hub at Khudi. As of now, the project developer has spent Rs 370 million and has completed the construction of the access road spanning 11 km and a belly bridge. They have also purchased private land required to build the project.