Nalsing Gad Hydropower Development Committee and SMEC MWH Uday Consult have reached an agreement to prepare the project’s Detailed Project Report (DPR) at a cost of Rs940 million.

Identified as potentially one of the largest storage-type hydropower projects in the country some 27 years ago, Nalsing Gad has a capacity of generating 410MW electricity.

As per the agreement, the joint-venture company will prepare economic, technical and environmental report within the next 30 months, according to the committee’s Executive Director Moti Bahadur Kunwar. “The construction will begin immediately after the completion of the DPR and will complete after seven year,” he said. “We fought with water-mafias for nine months to initiate the DPR process.”

Earlier, the DPR process was halted after water-mafias filed complaints at various government agencies stating possible irregularities while selecting a consultant.

Nepal Electricity Authority completed the project’s feasibility study, which cost around Rs1 billion, four years ago. 

Nalsing Gad is more important than other such projects because of high water levels able to fulfil peak demand, low number of households to be displaced, stable river flow, less land acquisition and deforestation.

Tasks like construction of a weather station, Automatic Discharge Gaging, building and camp plan around the reservoir and embankment have already been concluded. 

Other works like land acquisition, compensation distribution, construction of access road and embankment, among others, are under way. 

The Rs100-billion project will displace 588 households and acquire 300 hectares of cultivable land and 300 hectares of forest area.