Tunnel of Tanahun Hydropower project

Kathmandu, January 20. The concrete construction work of the 'tail race' tunnel to release water from the power plant in the second package of the 140 MW Tanahun hydropower project under construction in Tanahun has been completed. The  construction of 'tail race' of second package was completed on January 18 by the Chinese company Sino Hydro Corporation Limited. The project had an agreement with the company for 11 crore 41 lakhs 89 thousand US dollars and 3 arab 83 crore 14 lakhs rupees (excluding value added tax).

According to the project, under the second package, the company has completed the construction of the power house, the tunnel, the supply, installation and operation of hydromechanical along with electromechanical equipment.

Currently, 50 percent of the civil works have been completed and about 15 percent of the electromechanical work has been completed, said  Suresh Chitrakar, Nepali Manager of Sino Hydro Contract.  He further added that 35 percent of the overall physical progress of the second package has been completed. Although it should be completed in December 2026, if the work is done at this pace, this project will be completed by 2025, but didn’t gurantee about package 1 and 3.

Under the third package of the project, a 220 KV double circuit transmission line is being constructed from Damauli to Bharatpur in Chitwan. As a result of the project, land in Tanahun's Bhimad, Majhkot, Rishing Ranipokhari, Savung Bhagwatipur, Kotdarbar, Jamune and Chang areas will be drowned. It is estimated that the compensation will be around 600 million rupees, according to the project. The 140 meter high dam will fall under the Byas Municipality. There will be an underground power house in Kunoute of Shivpur. Electricity will be generated by supplying water to the underground power house located on the lower coast of about 5 kilometers through a 1203 meter tunnel with a diameter of 7.4 meters through the right bank of the Seti River.

Reservoir of THP

The power house will have two 70-70 MW Francis turbines. After the power generation, the water will be discharged back into the Seti River through a 190-meter long drainage tunnel. The electricity generated from the project will be connected to Nepal's national transmission system through a 220 kilovolt (KV) double circuit transmission line. For this, a 37 km transmission line will be constructed from the power house to the sub station at Bharatpur in Chitwan.

For the first 10 years after the start of power generation from the project, the annual average power generation will be 58.77 billion units and after that 48.99 billion units will be produced. The project will operate at full capacity i.e. 140 megawatts for 6 hours in winter when there is a high demand for electricity. The total cost of the project is 505 million US dollars (including transmission line, rural electrification and interest during the construction period).Out of this, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) provided US$150 million, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) provided 184 million US$, the European Investment Bank (EIB) provided 85 million US$, and the Government of Nepal and the Nepal Electricity Authority provided 80 million US$. Financial management has been done to spend 70 million US dollars.

THP under construction

According to the project, after the completion of the construction of Tanahun hydroelectric power station, the lack of power supply in Pokhara, a well-known tourist city in the western hills of Nepal, will be greatly reduced. The project has given jobs to more than 1,500 local residents.

The Chinese company Sino Hydro Corporation Limited is doing the work. Under the second package, the company is working on construction of tunnels, power houses and supply, installation and operation of hydromechanical and electromechanical equipment.