September 13: The foundation stone of the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower project, which is expected to produce 104 megawatts of stable energy throughout the year, was laid on Tuesday. Shakti Bahadur Basnet, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, laid the foundation stone for the construction of the dam including the headworks with a total cost of USD 647.3 million at a ceremony held in Kathmandu.

The project developers said that the 216 megawatt plant under construction in Rasuwa will produce electricity at its full capacity during summer. For this project, nine international financial institutions have signed a consortium agreement to invest USD 450.32 million. The remaining amount has been raised through equity.

The project’s dam and other structures are currently under construction at Rasuwa's Amachhodingmo Rural Municipality-1, while the underground power house in being built at Uttargaya Rural Municipality-1.

The main construction of the project was started in December 2021. It is said that the construction of the entire structure, including the underground power house, main tunnel, dam, is being done at a rapid pace. The overall physical progress of the project has reached 22 percent. The promoter plans to start the construction of the dam after the rainy season ends.

About 1,000 workers are currently employed in the construction of the project. About half of them are natives of Rasuwa district. It is said that 700 to 1000 Nepali workers will get daily jobs during the project construction period of five years. Similarly, 70 to 80 people will get employment during the project operation period of 30 years.

The Korean company Doosan Enerbility is working on the engineering, procurement and construction model for the construction of the project.

KOIN, which is owned by the South Korean government, and the International Finance Corporation have share investments in the promoter company of the project – Nepal Water and Energy Development Company.

Financial management of the  project has been done in such a way that 70 percent of the cost of the project will be raised from debt and 30 percent from equity.

The project will generate 38.75 percent of the total annual energy in winter and 61.25 percent in the rainy season. The generated energy will be connected to the national transmission system at the Trishuli-3B substation being constructed by the Nepal Electricity Authority. The company has already signed the power purchase and sale agreement with the authority.

The project is considered vital from the electricity development perspective as it is close to the Kathmandu load center and 104 megawatts of electricity can be obtained even in winter when there is a high demand for electricity. According to the project officials, 104 megawatts of fixed energy will be obtained from this project throughout the year. The project is set to be completed by December 2026.