In Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality-4 of Myagdi, construction of the access road for the 14-megawatt Mudikhola Hydropower Project has begun.

At the confluence of Myagdi and Gurja Khola, Yam Bahadur Gharti, the ward chairperson of Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality-4, inaugurated the construction of the access road. The promoting company, Everest Energy and Infrastructure, has stated that an eight-kilometer access road will be constructed from the confluence to the dam construction site located at Arche’s Fedi.

Ram KC, the contact person of the promoting company, stated that once the access road from the powerhouse to the dam site is completed, the construction of the dam, tunnel, and powerhouse will begin through a civil contractor.

‘Along with the construction of the access road, work on financial management and the selection of civil and electromechanical contractors has also been progressing simultaneously,’ he said. ‘Preparations are also underway to start building the necessary infrastructure at the project site for storing explosives required for tunnel construction and for establishing a post of the Nepal Army for security.

The project will have a four-kilometer tunnel, with the dam located at Arche’s Fedi and the powerhouse at the confluence of Gurja and Myagdi rivers. The project, which has already signed a power purchase agreement, has obtained a generation license from the Department of Electricity Development. The head of the dam and powerhouse is 337 meters. KC stated that the estimated cost of the project is NPR 16 crore per megawatt.

The electricity generated from this run-of-the-river project will be connected to the national grid through the 132 kVA substation constructed by the Nepal Electricity Authority in Dandakhet. An eight-kilometer-long transmission line will be built from the confluence to Dandakhet in collaboration with other ongoing projects on the Myagdi and its tributary rivers.

Besides Mudikhola, rivers flowing through the geography of Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality-4 host other ongoing hydropower projects, including the 53.5-megawatt Upper Myagdi-1 and the 46.25-megawatt Upper Myagdi Hydropower Project. Ward Chairperson Gharti stated that the 65-megawatt Myagdi Khola Hydropower Project is preparing to construct an access road connecting the dam from Jeltung to the confluence.

Biznessnews