Around 3,000 people in three wards of remote Bhume Rural Municipality in Rukum (East) now have access to electricity after a philanthropist from Hong Kong constructed a small hydropower project in the area.

Thanks to Michael Kadoorie, a billionaire philanthropist from Hong Kong, 590 households of wards 3, 4 and 6 of Bhume Rural Municipality are using the electricity generated by Lukumkhola Small Hydropower Project to power their homes.

The 135-killowatt power plant was completed with the cost of about Rs 103.2 million. The Kadoorie family had contributed Rs 97.5 million for its development through Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Association British Gurkhas Nepal. Local consumers

contributed Rs 3.5 million as well as donated their labour.

Kadoorie inaugurated the project on Thursday. He and his family members had reached the project site at Sisaghari by chartering four helicopters. Kamal Budha Magar, chairman of the construction committee, said that more than 3,000 local people of three wards of the rural municipality have directly benefited from the project.