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The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation has started coordinating to remove obstacles affecting the construction of transmission lines currently under construction across the country.

Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha has taken the initiative to remove hurdles to ensure timely completion of transmission line projects, which are considered the backbone of the national power system.

The ministry on Thursday invited the project chiefs of 12 transmission line projects under construction for a briefing.

The project chiefs reported that they were facing obstacles in cutting trees from the Department of Forests and had not been given sufficient time by the Department of Roads to relocate poles and towers.

“Information was sought from the chiefs of 12 transmission line projects about the current status of the projects and the immediate measures needed to put the transmission lines in order,” said Amshu Kiran Shahi, a member of the Board of Director of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA).

According to him, the project chiefs informed the meeting about problems caused by the Department of Forests and the Department of Roads and said that construction work had gained momentum after the ministry coordinated with other ministries to resolve the issues.

According to Navraj Ojha, Deputy Managing Director of the NEA, the briefing indicated that construction of all 12 projects would be completed within this year. According to him, project chiefs of the Tumlingtar-Sitalpati 220 kV, Dhalkebar-Bangaunga 132 kV, Kohalpur-Surkhet-Dailekh 132 kV, Nepalgunj-Nanpara 132 kV, Lalbandi-Salimpur 132 kV, Inaruwa-Biratnagar 132 kV, Hetauda-Dhalkebar 400 kV and Kaligandaki-Ridi 132 kV transmission line projects presented their progress reports at the meeting.

For the Inaruwa-Biratnagar transmission line, coordination has been made to pay the subcontractor directly and complete the work within three months after the main contractor failed to carry out the work even after the contract was extended.

The meeting was informed that the forest-related problem affecting the Hetauda-Dhalkebar 400 kV transmission line had been resolved and that the project would be completed by November this year.

“The transmission lines are expected to be connected to the main grid within a minimum of six months and a maximum of one year. This will help resolve the problem of frequent tripping and power outages in those areas,” said Anil Kumar Adhikari, chief adviser to the energy minister.

In the meeting, Minister Shrestha assured the project chiefs that problems falling under the jurisdiction of different ministries would be resolved immediately through inter-ministerial coordination.

Stating that transmission lines are the backbone of the power system, he directed the project chiefs to complete the projects on time.

He also asked them to immediately inform the ministry if they faced any problems during construction, assuring them that the ministry was ready to resolve such issues.