Employees Provident Fund To Construct Betan Karnali Hydropower Project

September 22, 2020 | Investopaper

The Employees’ Provident Fund, under its leadership, is constructing Betan Karnali Hydropower Project on the Karnali River flowing through Surkhet and Achham. Nepal Electricity Authority, Vidhyut Utpadan Company Limited and the public will also invest in the project.

There are 900 MW Upper Karnali Project on the upper bank of Betan Karnali Project and 10,800 MW Karnali Chisapani Multipurpose Project on the lower bank. The road has already reached the proposed powerhouse of the project and about 20 kilometers of road has to be constructed to reach the dam area and other structures of the project.

Although the company has been given permission to study the 688 MW project, it is seen that it would be most suitable to build a 440 MW project in terms of profit and cost. The project is being constructed at a full capacity of 6-6 hours in the morning and evening by storing 36 million cubic meters of water during the day and night to reduce the demand for electricity by constructing a 140 meter high dam. 536 cubic meters of water will be diverted from the dam and about two kilometers long horizontal tunnel will be conveyed to Surge Shaft. From there, it is planned to generate 431 MW of electricity by dropping about 100 meters of water from an iron pipe. Similarly, about 8.7 MW of electricity will be generated from the water of the project dam which has to be released continuously for the environment throughout the year.

The electricity generated from this project will be connected to the national grid by reaching Baghmara substation at a distance of about 5 km. The project will generate 2.3 billion units of electricity annually. The construction of the project is estimated to take about six years and the estimated cost is about Rs 94 billion. As this project is under study, its structure, cost and construction period may also change. The financial management of the project has already been done, according to which the banks have agreed to invest Rs 49 billion in loans.

About Betan Karnali Sanchaya Karta Hydropower Company Limited

Betan Karnali Sanchaya Karta Hydropower Company Limited (BKSHCL) was established on 7th May, 2017 (2074-01-24 B.S) as a public limited company under the Company Act, 2063 of Nepal as an initiative of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) . The major shareholders of the company are the contributors of EPF (40% shareholding). Other shareholders include EPF (15%), Nepal Electricity Authority (10%) and Vidhyut Utpadan Company Limited (10%). The authorized and paid-up capital of the company are: Twenty Billion and Ten Billion Nepali Rupees respectively.

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