Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has said that the government has placed the development of the energy sector in high priority.

Inaugurating the ‘break through’ of the tunnel of Arun-3 Hydropower Project based at Amrang, Makalu rural municipality-5 in Sankhuwasabha today, he stated that the government which is moving ahead prioritizing graduating to a developed country status in 2026 and attaining the sustainable development goals by 2030 has accorded high priority to the infrastructure development.

“I have been directly and indirectly acquiring information about this Project. It is currently under construction stage after the signing of the power development agreement on November 25, 2014. I am pleased to know that it has made 74.09 percent progress towards production and 37.95 percent progress towards the transmission line,” he said.

Prime Minister Dahal expressed the confidence that on completion this project will make a significant contribution in the power trade sector of Nepal.

“I direct the sides concerned to complete the remaining works of the project in the stipulated time, extending the required cooperation and facilitation in acquiring the land necessary for it,” PM Dahal said.

Stating that the government has placed the development of energy sector in high priority in the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, he said the capacity of the national power system would be increased to 4500 megawatts, including the 900 megawatts electricity to be generated from this project.

“I make special request to the political parties, the civil society and the locals active at the local level for making the necessary facilitation for the timely completion of the project in view of the government bearing an economic loss of Rs 22.7 million per day if the commercial production is not started on the stipulated date or if power production is delayed for some reason,” he added.

Stating that he is aware of the demands of the locals affected by the project, the Prime Minister said the government is serious about addressing their concerns.

As he said, it would be better to seek a solution through cooperation and facilitation to any challenges in the development endeavors. It will be for the collective interest of all of us, he added.

On the occasion, Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, Shakti Bahadur Basnet, expressed his hope that the project will contribute significantly to the promotion of Nepal’s energy sector.

He also reminded of the government’s target of generating 28,500 megawatts of electricity in the next 12 years.

India’s ambassador to Nepal, Naveen Srivastava, said the project is important in the course of the implementation of the agreement of power trade of 10,000 mw between Nepal and India in the next 10 years.

Arun has high potential for power generation and such potentialities should be explored through a collaborative effort between the two countries, he asserted. As he said, the government of India is ready to cooperate with Nepal to explore the possibilities for launching other projects based in the Arun River.

Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam’s Chief Managing Director Sushil Kumar Sharma said Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has been facilitating the implementation of the project since the beginning.

So far the project reports 75 percent progress, he said, urging the Prime Minister to enable the atmosphere to complete it on time. He insisted on the upgrading of the Koshi Highway and the facilitation of the land acquisition procedures for the construction of a transmission mine.

He advised the government to form a high-level coordination committee and to seek solutions to the challenges regarding the project implementation in collaboration with the Investment Board of Nepal.

The project is expected to enter the production phase by March, 2025. The production of 900 MW of electricity will be supported by tour turbines of 225 MW each.

Its power house is based in Pukuwa of Chichila rural municipality-3 and the project will have an 11.8-kilometer tunnel.

Investment Board CEO Sushil Bhatta and the local people’s representatives were also present on the occasion. The project is being developed by India’s public company Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam and of the powers to be generated by it, Nepal will have access to 21.9 percent of the production (around 200 MW) free of cost, and the remaining will be exported to India. It will come to the ownership of Nepal after 25 years of the commencement of the power production.

It was jointly inaugurated by the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 11, 2018. Its PDA was observed on November 26, 2014.

Source : The Himalayan Times