KATHMANDU, Nepal–The government of Nepal is all set to generate hydro power energy from Bagmati River. The decision is in line with the government’s plan to make the Himalayan nation free from power outage within three years.
The project site will be located in mountainous Makwanpur district, some 100 km south of the Capital Kathmandu.
As per the plan floated by the Energy Ministry, all of its available resources would be utilized to make best use of the energy generation.
In spite of rainy season, Nepal is spinning under an eight hours of daily load shedding.
A private power developer, Mandu Hydropower Company has already obtained the license from the Department of Electricity Development (DoED) for the project.
Multiple sources at the Ministry told that the company had already submitted environmental impact assessment report which hinted that it is viable to generate energy from Bagmati, which is considered as a holy river by the Hindus, with a number of Hindus temple located in the bank.
The generation license was issued for producing 20 MW energy within three years at a cost of around $42.3 million. The company will start construction within this year after doing its financial closure.
With the slogan “Brighter Nepal, Prosperous Nepal” in the Fiscal Year 2014/15 budget, the government of Nepal has given special priority to the power generation.
$131 million for the development of power plants and $135.5 million for the construction of transmission lines have been allocated.