KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 10
The Kaligandaki Corridor 220 kV double circuit transmission line project has been successfully completed after a six-year effort.
This project was initiated to facilitate the supply of power from hydropower projects in the Kaligandaki and its tributaries to the national grid system.
Spanning 140 kilometres, the double circuit transmission line stretches from Annapurna Rural Municipality-3 Dana Substation in Myagdi, passing through Parbat, Baglung, Syangja, Palpa, Rupandehi, and ultimately connecting to the New Butwal Substation in Sunwal Municipality-13 Bhumhi, Nawalparasi (Bardaghat Susta Paschim).
With this achievement, the infrastructure is now prepared to transmit electricity up to approximately 1,200 megawatts. The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) divided the project into two sections. The first section, a 39.6-km line from Annapurna Rural Municipality-3 Dana to Kushma Municipality-2 Khurkot in Myagdi, is already operational.
Two substations, a 220-132 kV Substation in Khurkot and a 220-132-33 kV substation in Dana, have been constructed, each equipped with 100-100 MVA capacity power transformers.
The second section, an 88-km transmission line from Kushma to Sunwal Municipality-13 Bhumhi (New Butwal Substation) in Nawalparasi, has recently been completed, charged, and put into operation.
This section involved the construction of 236 towers, including towers for a 220 kV four-circuit (multi-circuit) line from Sunwal Municipality-13 Badera to New Butwal Substation, where a 220 kV substation has been established.
Kulman Ghising, the managing director of the authority, said that after the Kaligandaki Corridor transmission line is operational, the reliability of the integrated power system will increase and the voltage of Nawalparasi, Rupandehi and other areas will improve.
"Due to the lack of capacity of the transmission line, more electricity could not be transmitted from the Kushma Substation to Modi, so the 40-megawatt Mistri Khola Hydroelectric Project in Myagdi had not been able to receive the full amount of electricity," said Ghising. "The problem of electricity transmission in that area has now been solved."
The construction of Kaligandaki Corridor transmission line faced challenges including delays in acquiring permission for felling trees, local opposition, and disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, residents in Falewas Municipality-6, Parbat, impeded construction due to concerns about potential damage to schools and stadiums in Devisthan. However, these issues were eventually resolved through the efforts of the NEA and the project's management.
The ambitious project involved a contract with an Indian multinational conglomerate company Larsen & Toubro Ltd, commonly known as L&T, in December 2017 and received funding from the Nepal government, the NEA, and concessional loans from the Power System Expansion Project under the South Asia Sub-Regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) of the Asian Development Bank, with an estimated project cost of around Rs 11 billion.
A version of this article appears in the print on October 11, 2023, of The Himalayan Times
