KATHMANDU, MARCH 09
The physical progress of the 900 MW Arun-3 hydropower project has reached 69.2 per cent. Similarly, the construction of a 253-km-long transmission line from the site to Sitamadi of India is also set to be completed within this year, according to the Investment Board Nepal (IBN).
On Wednesday, a team including the British Minister of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Anne-Marie Trevelyan visited the construction site in Sankhuwasabha district. During her visit to the site of powerhouse and transformer bay of the project, Trevelyan expressed her happiness toward the commitment shown by Nepal in making unprecedented achievements in the field of clean and renewable energy production.
Stating that Nepal has a comparative and competitive advantage in hydropower generation, she shared that the regional trade of clean and renewable energy can play a vital role for Nepal in reducing carbon emissions. SJVN Arun-3 Power Development Company Pvt Ltd, established under the ownership of SJVN, an Indian company, is responsible for the construction of the 900 MW project. So far, the construction has seen 69.2 per cent progress. The company is also constructing a 253-km-long transmission line of 400 kV capacity from the powerhouse to Sitamadi in India, which is stipulated to be complete within 2023.
During the visit, Sushil Bhatta, chief executive officer of IBN, mentioned that the Arun-3 hydropower project is an important milestone in the development of energy sector in Nepal, and added that the board had even facilitated all the necessary steps to continue the project's construction even during the difficult times of COVID-19 pandemic.
Similarly, Madhu Prasad Bhetuwal, joint secretary at the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, stated that the large hydropower projects under construction and in the study phase in Nepal will play an important role in meeting the electricity demand in the region and pointed out the need to speed up the construction of international transmission lines among South Asian countries to make the regional electricity trade meaningful.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 10, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
