Flood damages hydropower projects including Mid-Kaligandaki

लगानी न्यूज

१७ आश्विन २०८३, शनिबार १८:५३October 3, 2026

Myagdi. Last week’s floods and landslides have caused major damage to the under-construction and ongoing hydropower projects in Annapurna Rural Municipality of Myagdi.

Three under-construction projects with a capacity of 26 TAG_OPEN_div_50 6 MW have been affected while eight projects with a capacity of 216 MW have been out of the national grid.

The 66.3 MW Middle Kaligandaki Hydropower Project, which is the promoter of Hydro TAG_OPEN_div_48 Support Pvt. Ltd., has been badly damaged by the floods. The dam, tunnel, housing, machinery and equipment, construction materials, diesel tanks and workshops of the under-construction project have been badly damaged. The flood of the Kaligandaki river has entered the dam under construction at Sukebagar on the border of Annapurna Rural Municipality-3 and 4. The flood has also entered the tunnel at the site.

Residential buildings at Annapurna-2, Nagdhunga and Ratopani have been demolished and their belongings have been washed away by the floods. The Kaligandaki flood has swept away the access road of the motorable bridge of the Beni-Jomsom-Korala road towards Pokhrebagar in front of the under-construction underground powerhouse at Naulibagar. The flood in Kaligandaki has also swept away the labor camp of the project.

Guru TAG_OPEN_div_44 Dhakal, managing director of the project, said that complete details of loss due to flooding in Kaligandaki River have been cut off from the project camp and construction site due to lack of road, electricity and communication facilities.

Similarly, the construction of the project has been halted due to floods and landslides, according to the civil contractor company, Rasuwa-Multi JV. The construction of the project, which started in 2081 BS, has been progressing without any hindrance till now. The construction of a 13-meter-high and 55-meter-long dam at Sukebagar will generate electricity by diverting the water from the 4,319-meter-long main tunnel to the underground powerhouse to be constructed at Naunibagar in Annapurna-2 from a height of 151 meters.TAG_OPEN_div_42

The powerhouse, switched, control room of this project, which is based on the flow of the river, are underground underground. The electricity of the Middle Kaligandaki project will be connected to the central system through a 220 KV substation located at Dana, seven kilometers upstream from Naunibagar.TAG_OPEN_div_40

} The construction period of the project, which was started with the goal of completing the project within three years, is expected to be extended due to floods and landslides. This is the first project to be constructed on the Kaligandaki River flowing through Myagdi district. The project is estimated to cost Rs 12.93 billion, which will be funded by six commercial banks led by Nabil Bank Limited, 75 percent through promoters and share investors.

The power purchase agreement with the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has increased the power purchase rate to Rs 8.40 in winter and Rs 4.80 crore in the rainy season. The project is projected to generate Rs 1.9 billion from 130 GW in winter and Rs 1.33 billion from 277 GW during the rainy season.

Annapurna Rural Municipality, which is the site of the construction of this power project, has been the most affected by the recent floods and landslides. Six people have lost their lives and the physical infrastructure has been badly damaged in this rural municipality. According to Bharat Kumar Pun, chairman of the transmission line, six hydropower projects with a capacity of 176 MW have been closed after the towers and wires of the transmission line were swept away by the floods.

Two towers of Annapurna-1 and one transmission line at Dhirchyang have been swept away. The 5 MW Ghalemdi Khola hydropower project, the 42 MW Mristrikhola hydropower project in Annapurna-4, the 38 MW Nilgiri-1, the 71 MW Nilgiri-2 and the 6 MW Relekhola hydropower project have been shut down. The electricity generated by the 14 MW Thapa Khola hydropower project at Tukuche of Mustang has not been connected to the central grid.

The power house of the 14 MW Gharkhola Hydropower Project located in Pokhrebagar of Annapurna Rural Municipality-4 has been closed since the last week of July after a landslide buried it. Project chief Philosopher Kafle said that the dam of the Relekhola Hydropower Project has been flooded from the upper region.

{{TAG_OPEN_div_28} Along with the transmission line, the flood has also made it difficult to travel on foot by eroding many places on the Beni-Jomsom road of the Kaligandaki corridor. The construction of 180 MW Kaligandaki Gorge and 9 MW Super Ghalemdikhola Hydropower Project in Annapurna Rural Municipality has also been affected due to floods and landslides.

The test generation of the 40-MW Rahughat Hydropower Project, constructed by Raghuganga Hydropower Project, a subsidiary of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), has halted due to floods in the power house premises of the Kaligandaki River.TAG_OPEN_div_26