July 19: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' inaugurated a field office for the Budhigandaki Hydropower Project in Gorkha on Wednesday.

The Budhigandaki Hydropower Project is considered a 'national pride project’.

During the inauguration, the Prime Minister unveiled a copper plaque to mark the formal opening of the office.

Prior to this, he had conducted an aerial inspection of the areas in Gorkha and Dhading districts that might be vulnerable to inundation due to the project construction.

Prime Minister Dahal was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation Shakti Bahadur Basnet, former Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, federal parliamentarians from Dhading and Gorkha, chiefs and chief ministers of Gandaki and Bagmati provinces, the government chief secretary, the energy secretary, and the managing director of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA).

The government has already established the Budhigandaki Hydroelectricity Company with an authorized capital of Rs 60 billion to undertake the 1200-MW Project, which is considered a project of national pride.

Furthermore, the government has already disbursed compensation amounting to Rs 34.3 billion for land acquisition related to the Project, and the distribution process is nearing completion.

The project is expected to affect around 50,000 people in Dhading and Gorkha districts.

The detailed project report for the Budhigandaki Project was prepared by France-based Tractebel Engineering in 2014, proposing a dam with a height of 263 meters.

The government intends to develop the Project using internal resources. The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) holds the majority share in the Project, according to Company Chief Jagat Shrestha.