The construction of a power substation at Dhalkebar in Dhanusha will be completed by coming January, according to Nepal-India Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (NIETTP). 

The completion of the Dhalkebar substation will allow Nepal to significantly increase its energy import from India, said Radhe Sharan Mahato, divisional engineer of the project.  

Nepal is currently importing 80MW of power from India through the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur transmission line. Upon completion, the 320MVA capacity substation will be ugraded to 220KVA, allowing Nepal to import another 200MW of electricity from the southern neighbour. The Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur power line was completed in February, and it is currently being operated at 132KVA. 

Immediately after assuming office, Energy Minister Janardan Sharma had visited the construction site at Dhalkebar and told the Chinese contractor to complete the job by December-end.  

As the contractor is likely to miss the December deadline, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Managing Director Kulman Ghising has, however, extended it until January 2017 during an inspection visit to Dhalkebar in first week of November. The Central China Power Grid International Economic and Trade Co, the contractor of the project, is working on a war footing to complete the project by January. 

The contractor has been carrying out works round the clock since, deploying workers on double shifts, according to NEA officials. “If the contractor maintains this pace, it will be able to meet the new deadline,” said an NEA official.