The Investment Board Nepal (IBN) and Power Construction Corporation of China (Power China) today inked an agreement to construct the 762-megawatt Tamor Storage Hydroelectricity Project.

Following the agreement, a joint-venture between Hydroelectricity Investment and Development Company Ltd (HIDCL) of Nepal and stateowned Power China Corporation will construct the project on government-to-government (G2G) basis.

As per the agreement, the Nepal-China joint-venture will immediately start to prepare the detailed feasibility study of the project and start construction of the reservoir hydropower project within the next two years.

During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s two-day state visit to Nepal on October 12-13, the Investment Board Nepal (IBN) and Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation (MoEWRI) had awarded the contract to HIDCL-Power China to build the project under public-private-partnership (PPP) model.

Earlier, HIDCL and Power China had jointly submitted a project development proposal at the IBN to build the Tamor hydropower project with a share structure of 46:54 per cent, with the Nepali firm investing 46 per cent and Power China investing 54 per cent of the project cost.

Similarly, in the Madi Multipurpose Hydropower Project, HIDCL will manage 26 per cent and Power China will manage 74 per cent of the total investment.

As per the agreement, the developer will plan, design, build, finance and operate the facilities during the concession period of 30 years. Similarly, the project developer will also be responsible for collecting revenue from the project during the concession period. After the concession period is over, the developer will have to hand over the project to the government.

Studies conducted earlier had estimated the construction cost of the Tamor project at $1.21 billion, including interest during construction, finance cost and the 75-kilometre-long 400 kVA double-circuit transmission line from the project site to Inaruwa in Sunsari district. The Tamor project will cover Panchthar, Taplejung, Terhathum and Sankhuwasabha districts.