Kathmandu. A contract has been signed for the construction of Jagdulla Hydropower Project.

A bilateral agreement has been signed between the project’s promoter company and the contractors.

Sanjay Sapkota, CHIEF Executive Officer of Jagdulla Hydropower Company Limited, said that the way for the construction of the 106 MW project has been cleared immediately after the agreement was signed with the contractors. He informed that an agreement has been signed between Jagdulla Hydropower and JCE÷ANK JV regarding the construction.

The promoter company and JCE÷ANK JV have signed a construction agreement worth Rs 12.18 billion. The promoter company had published the tender notice for the construction of civil and hydromechanical structures on June 1, 2018. According to the notice, seven different companies had registered the initial proposal, but no company could be selected. In the second notice, two companies were eligible. Of these, JCERANK JV, which offered the lowest bid, is eligible.

Financial arrangements for the construction of the project were made in May 2081. Nabil Bank had signed an agreement for co-financing of the project. According to the agreement, Nabil Bank is going to invest Rs 4.4 0 billion. Hydroelectricity Investment and Development Company Limited (HIDCL), Employees Provident Fund, Laxmi Sunrise and Everest Bank will invest in the project. HIDCL and Employees Provident Fund will invest Rs 4 billion each in the project. Similarly, Laxmi Sunrise Bank and Everest Bank will invest Rs 2 billion and Rs 1.5 billion respectively.

The project is estimated to cost Rs 23 billion. Chief Executive Officer Sapkota informed that Rs 16 billion has been raised from loan and Rs 7 billion from self-capital. Karnali state government has also invested in the project which aims to generate electricity within five years of the commencement of construction. The company is also constructing 120 MW Jagdulla ‘A’ hydropower project.

Jagdulla, which is mostly owned by the Government of Nepal, has been established with the theme ‘Nepal’s water is people’s investment’. The project site is 238 kilometers away from Nepalgunj. The dam site of the project is located at Hurikot of Jagdulla rural municipality. A 23-meter high and 38-meter-long barrage has been proposed. The catchment area of the project is 633.83 square kilometers.

The power house of the project has been designed to be underground at Il-4 of Mudkechula rural municipality. Its length will be 77.80 meters, width 14 meters and thickness 33.45 meters. There will be three vertical axis pelton turbines of 35.5 MW capacity.

After generating electricity, the water will be sent back to the Jagdulla River through a 330-meter-long, five-meter-wide and five-meter-high tailrace. The electricity generated has been designed to be connected to the proposed Bafikot substation through a 132 kV transmission line. The company will survey, build, produce, operate and manage the project. The authorized capital of the company is Rs 8 billion and the company’s immediate issued capital is Rs 7.10 billion.

The founding shareholders of the company are 26 per cent of the power generation company, 10 per cent of hydroelectricity investment and development company, 9 per cent of Nepal Electricity Authority, 5 per cent of Karnali state government, 1 per cent of local level Jagdulla and Mudkechula rural municipalities.

Jagdulla is going to enter the construction phase as no major project has entered the construction phase in Karnali State so far. The project had received a survey paper for power generation on July 1, 2018. The survey license of the electricity transmission line was obtained on December 15, 2018. An agreement was signed on May 27, 2018 regarding the purchase and sale of electricity generated from the project.

The project generates 623.32 gigawatts per hour of energy. NeA Engineering Company, a subsidiary of NEA, has carried out the entire study and design work of the project. That is why the project is being constructed with domestic technology and investment.