June 4: The construction work of the 25 MW Seti River Hydropower Project has reached its final stage. The project is being built in Sardikhola of Machhapuchchhe Rural Municipality-2.    

The construction of the hydropower project that started from August-September 2020 has seen 90 percent of the work completed so far.

Executive Chair of Vision Lumbini Energy Company Limited, Jagat Bahadur Pokharel, said that all the works related to the construction of civil, hydro-mechanical, electro-mechanical structures and transmission line of the project have reached the final stage.    

The project on the Seti river will be completed by coming December, Pokharel told RSS adding that the construction work was delayed by one year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"The project will be completed within the next five months and electricity will be produced," RSS quoted Pokharel as saying.    

A total of Rs 5 billion has been invested in the Seti River Hydropower Project. Different banks and financial institutions have invested Rs 3.5 billion.    

The electricity produced by the Seti project will be connected to the substation of Nepal Electricity Authority in Lahachowk located at a distance of four kilometers.

The budget unveiled by the government on May 29 has set a target of producing an additional 900 MW of electricity in the next fiscal year. The installed capacity of electricity at present is 2700 MW which is expected to reach 3600 MW by the end of next fiscal year.

Out of the total installed capacity of electricity produced by the Nepal Electricity Authority, the private sector power producers and the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre, 2,492.95 MW is connected to the national grid, while the remaining 84.53 MW is designated for off-grid supply.