Kathmandu, January 2

The financial closure of the 42.9-megawatt Aankhu Khola Hydropower Project (AKHP) concluded today, paving the way for developer to go ahead with project construction.

A consortium of eight financial institutions, under the leadership of Sunrise Bank, has committed Rs 4.7 billion for the project, which has total financing requirement of Rs 6.3 billion.

Along with Sunrise Bank, Hydropower Investment and Development Company, Bank of Kathmandu, Century Commercial Bank, Jyoti Bikas Bank, Laxmi Bank, NCC Bank and Prabhu Bank have joined hands in consortium financing.

In this regard, an agreement was signed between Gyanendra Lal Pradhan, chairman of Hydrosolutions Pvt Ltd — developer of the project — and Ratna Raj Bajracharya, CEO of Sunrise Bank, here today.

Located in Dhading district, AKHP is a run-of-the-river project with rated capacity of 42.9 megawatts. The project is expected to be completed within four years after construction begins. The project will have five km headrace tunnel. The electricity generated from the project will be connected to Nepal Electricity Authority substation of Trishuli 3B project.

The developer has so far developed the 20-megawatt Modi hydropower as well as small hydropower projects like Charnawati and Khudi.