KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 11

The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is set to construct a solar power project with an installed capacity of about six megawatts on the vacant land owned by the Gandak Hydropower Station at Pratappur Rural Municipality-7 Suryapura, Nawalparasi.

According to the NEA, of the total 8.5 hectares of land, a solar power project will be built on 2.4 hectares.

Along with Gandak, a solar power project of about nine megawatts will be constructed on the land owned by Middle Marsyangdi located in Lamjung and Jhupra Khola Small Hydropower Station located in Surkhet.

The estimated cost of the project is 1.5 million euros. The German government through the KFW Development Bank will provide 600,000 euros for the project, while the rest will be managed by the government of Nepal.

The electricity produced from the solar plants will be directly connected to the national grid, said NEA Managing Director Kulman Ghising.

'We have set a goal to complete the entire contract process and commence the construction of the project within a year,' Ghising added.

The project is targeted to be completed by December of 2024.

Meanwhile, NEA is also planning to rehabilitate and modernise the 15 MW Gandak hydroelectric power plant.

As the electromechanical equipment such as turbine, breaker, governor of the power plant have become old and dilapidated, the authority is going to rehabilitate and modernise the power plant by installing new equipment.

NEA Engineering Company Ltd has prepared a detailed design and cost estimate for the restoration and modernisation of Gandak hydroelectric power plant and submitted it to the authority. It is estimated that about Rs 420 million will be required for the rehabilitation and modernisation of the hydroelectric power plant.

A version of this article appears in the print on November 12, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.