– Ramesh Lamsal
The government which is dedicated to meeting its target of economic prosperity is to go ahead with the big hydropower projects and irrigation projects simultaneously.
Accordingly, preparations are being made to construct big projects targeting majorly Kavrepalanchowk, Ramechhap and Sindhuli districts.
The Cabinet meeting on January 20 decided to enlist the Sunkoshi-Marin River Diversion Project as the project of national pride, ensuring its sources as well.
The government aims to guarantee the 15,000 Megawatts power production in the next 10 years so as to boost the national economy internally and externally. So it concentrates its focus on projects of multipurpose nature in a bid to realise the vision for economic prosperity.
Recently, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Barshaman Pun made a field inspection to the storage-based Sunkoshi-2 and Sunkoshi-3 based on the border of Ramechhap and Kavre districts. The minister has planned to take the projects into an implementation phase soon.
As the minister said, the government shifts its focus on big projects as it plans to give a rise to power generation so as to meet the domestic need and to import the surplus production for the industrialization and commercialization in the country.
Besides, the government envisages a plan for operating a cruise service from the Upper Tamakoshi. The government indentifies the Sunkoshi-2 and Sunkoshi-3 as the projects of multidimensional benefits and importance capable of serving the nation’s interest and improving the people (local)’s living standard as well.
According to the Ministry of Energy, works are underway to complete the feasibility study of the Sunkoshi-3 project within mid-December 2020. The feasibility study of Sunkoshi-2 is also ongoing. It is stated that this project is going to be comparatively costly as it affects the populated areas causing much damage.
Chyakhutar of Phikal rural municipality on the border between Sindhuli and Ramechhap districts would be affected the most from the Sunkoshi-2 project while Lubhughat area where the dam of the Sunkoshi-3 project is being constructed would be affected the most by the Sunkoshi-3 project.
Bangladesh has also shown interest in investing in Sunkoshi-3 project. It is said Bangladesh has been interested in investing in this project as the approach road to the project site has already been constructed and it is also closer from Kathmandu, the capital.
President of Bangladesh and the Bangladeshi State Minister for Energy, during their visit last year to Nepal, too had expressed willingness on behalf their country to invest in lucrative project. Bangladesh government had also expressed this willingness during Energy Minister Pun’s visit to Bangladesh as well.
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) had identified and carried out the initial study of the Sunkoshi-3 project in 1985. The JICA study had indicated to the possibility of generating 536 Megawatts power by constructing a 140 metres tall dam on the Sunkoshi river near Parsel at the then Madankudari Village Development Committee under the Sunkoshi-3 project.
However, a latest study done by the Department of Electricity Development shows that 640 Megawatts power can be generated from this project.
Chinese Consulting Company—JV of Sanghai Investigation, Design and Research Institute (CIDRI) and Nepal’s Environment and Resource Management Consultant have been carrying out study since May 2017.
Director General at the Department of the Electricity Development, Nabinraj Singh, said that study of the project would be completed within December and ways would be paved out for the construction. As per the details of the study carried out so far, it has been seen the project construction cost would cheaper while constructing it at Lubhughat, the dam site and more power could be generated.
Singh said that 2.4 billion unit electricity would be produced annually from the project. The Environmental Impact Assessment of the project has also been carried out. The dam of the project would be constructed at Lubhughat of Timal rural municipality of Kavre and border of Sonapati rural municipality of Ramechhap district. According to the project, 136-meter tall and 650-meter long dam would be constructed and around 30 kilometer reservoir would also be constructed.
Similarly, the powerhouse of the project would be constructed at Titretar of Timal-9 of Kavre and some 1,000 population would be completely displaced from the project. A total of 4,200 hectare of land should be encroached for the project.
Likewise, capacity of Sunkoshi-2 would be 950 megawatt. The project would affect Khurkot of Sindhuli and Manthali of Ramechhap and the dam site would be at Pudule, the border of Sindhuli and Ramechhap. The reservoir of the project would be 53 kilometers.
Work on the multipurpose Sunkoshi-Marin diversion project has started, and required budget has been managed.
The project taken as a symbol of unity connecting hill, mountain and the Tarai aims to irrigate 122,000 hectares of lands of State 2. The project will also produce 42.5 megawatts electricity, according to a technical study. A global bidding could be announced within some months for the project if ensuring resources takes place, said the project.
Resources worth Rs 2 billion have been allocated for the project in the budget of the current fiscal year, 2076/77. The ministry had asked the Ministry of Finance to ensure resources worth Rs 46.7 for the project.