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Construction of the audit tunnel for the 180 MW Kaligandaki Gorge Hydropower Project has commenced, marking a major milestone in the development of one of the largest hydropower projects in Myagdi district.

The project, promoted by Kaligandaki Gorge Hydropower Pvt. Ltd., has begun excavation of the audit tunnel from the powerhouse site at Gharap in Annapurna Rural Municipality-4, Myagdi. The audit tunnel will provide access to the project’s main tunnel.

According to Krishna Das Shrestha, Senior Manager of the project’s Social Development, Administration and Public Relations Department, the main tunnel will eventually be excavated from four different points once the access tunnels are completed.

Of the first audit tunnel at Bhalebas, which has a total length of 485 meters, 130 meters have already been excavated within three months. The fourth and final audit tunnel at the powerhouse site will be 170 meters long.

The project includes the construction of a 5.6-kilometer main tunnel. Two additional audit tunnels are also planned from the dam site and the Gadpar area. Including all audit tunnels, the project will require the excavation of nearly seven kilometers of tunnels.

The dam is planned at Pahiro Thapla in Ghansa, Thasang Rural Municipality-4 of Mustang, while the powerhouse will be built at Gharap in Myagdi. Project Director Raman Singh said work is being carried out with the goal of completing the project within four years.

Construction of the dam, tunnel and powerhouse is expected to proceed simultaneously after the monsoon season. Angelique International and South Asian Infrastructure have already been mobilized for civil works, while additional manpower and equipment are being deployed for the next phase of construction.

The run-of-river project will feature a one-kilometer penstock pipeline and a gross head of 480 meters between the powerhouse and outlet. Infrastructure including offices, accommodation facilities and an explosives storage building for the developer, contractors and the Nepal Army has already been completed.

An eight-kilometer access road has been built to the project site, and preparations are underway to install a Bailey bridge at Gadpar. To evacuate the generated power, the project will construct an approximately one-kilometer-long 220 kV transmission line from Gharap to Dana, connecting the plant to the national grid.

The project is estimated to cost around NPR 40 billion. Financing will be led by Global IME Bank, with participation from Laxmi Sunrise Bank, Himalayan Bank and Prabhu Bank.

Representatives from the local government, community leaders, the developer, contractors and security agencies attended the ceremony marking the start of audit tunnel construction.

Ward Chair Lok Bahadur Phagami of Annapurna Rural Municipality-4 described Kaligandaki Gorge as the largest hydropower project ever undertaken in Myagdi district. He noted that five hydropower projects with a combined installed capacity of 162 MW have already been developed on rivers flowing through Narchyang.

These include the 5 MW Ghalemdikhola, 42 MW Mristikhola, 38 MW Nilgiri-1, 71 MW Nilgiri-2 and 6 MW Relekhola hydropower projects. In addition, the 66.3 MW Middle Kaligandaki Hydropower Project is currently under construction, while the 9.14 MW Super Ghalemdi Hydropower Project is in the development pipeline.

Jalasarokar