Construction Begins on 65 MW Myagdi Khola Hydroelectric Project
April 27, Myagdi – Construction work has commenced on the 65-megawatt capacity Myagdi Khola Hydroelectric Project located in Bagar, ward 4 of Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality, Myagdi. Hydro Village Pvt Ltd, the project promoter, is simultaneously advancing the construction of access roads, the powerhouse, tunnels, and transmission lines. A road has been constructed from Bagar village to the dam construction site at Dobhan via a diversion, and an office has been established in Bagar.
Project Chief Uttam Paudel stated that construction has begun on a 1,130-meter-long tailrace tunnel to retain water discharged from the powerhouse. “Until road construction on the cliff section between Bagar and Tatopani is completed, we have created nearly 10 kilometers of access by building diversions along the Myagdi riverbank to the dam construction site at Dobhan,” he explained. “The excavation of the tailrace tunnel is underway. Civil contractor Bhugol Infrastructure is preparing for powerhouse, dam, and main tunnel excavation.”
A sand settling pond called the ‘descender’ will store water from the dam, which will be built at the confluence of Myagdi and Kunabang streams. The dam will be 75 meters long and 11.9 meters high. From there, water will be transported through a 710-meter pipeline and then a 3,600-meter tunnel to the powerhouse.
Water will subsequently be conveyed via a 750-meter pipeline into an underground powerhouse situated 607 meters inside a mountain to generate electricity, Paudel added. This run-of-river-type project’s underground powerhouse incorporates various structures, including a 209-meter vertical tunnel, a 230-meter pressure tunnel, a 587-meter inclined tunnel, and a 757-meter penstock pipe. The powerhouse will house three turbine units. The project plans to generate 117.82 MW during the dry season and 264.45 MW during the rainy season.
Construction of a 640-meter-long external tunnel through the mountain between Bagar and Tatopani is ongoing, inside which the underground powerhouse is being built. From the Dandakhet substation, located 16.5 kilometers from Bagar, a 132 kV capacity double and multi-circuit transmission line is being constructed to supply electricity to the central grid, according to project public relations officer Budhiraj Adhikari.
The total project cost is estimated at NPR 1.3 billion, calculated at NPR 20 crore per megawatt. The project aims to begin power generation by the end of the Nepali fiscal year 2084 (mid-April 2028). Civil contractors have been active since last December, while the selection process for electromechanical and hydromechanical contractors is underway, project manager Pramesh Thapa reported. Preparations are also in progress to establish a Nepal Army camp in the Bhaisikharka area within a few days. Once the camp is established to ensure the security of explosive materials, excavation of the main tunnel will commence.