Rasuwa, July 12: Thirty-five per cent of the construction work has been completed so far on the 20-megawatt Chilime Hydroelectricity Project in Rasuwa district. The project is being developed with domestic capital and foreign technical team.
Situated 29 kilometres to the north-west of the district headquarters, Dhunche, the project will use the water from the Chilime Khola stream to generate electricity. A dam has been constructed on the Chilime Khola for this purpose, and the water from the reservoir will be channeled through a 2,828 meters-long underground canal to the powerhouse located near the Bhotekoshi bridge at Syaphru.
The electricity generated from the underground powerhouse at Syaphrubesi will be then fed to the national grid at Mandredhunga from a 38-kilometre long 66-KV transmission line.
The project is expected to make an annual income of Rs 500 million from the supply of 137 million units of electricity, according to the project office.
Sixty per cent of the Rs 2.32 billion total project cost would be financed by various Nepalese financial institutions while 40 per cent of the total project cost would be met through investment of shares.
The construction works of the Chilime Hydroelectricity Project began with completion of the feasibility study and design of the underground powerhouse by Nepali technicians in 1996.
The project is expected to be completed in the stipulated time, according to project chief Lilanath Bhattarai.
The equipment for the power generation are being supplied from the Sultzer Company of Germany and since all infrastructure for installing the equipment were in place, the installation work will be undertaken very soon, said Dr Dambar Bahadur Nepali, the managing director of the project.
The construction of a dam on the Chilime River at Thambuchet and the power canal was 80 per cent complete. Similarly, the Balaju Yantrasala has completed the work of fitting a 58.335 metres long siphon pipe on the Bendrang Khola stream, it is learnt from project engineer Gopal Man Shrestha.
Similarly, construction of the 659 metres long tunnel for the project has also been completed, according to engineer Shrestha. The 333 metre section of the tunnel lies at Thambuchet and another 326 metres section in Syaphrubesi.
Since most of the structures of the hydroelectricity production centre are constructed underground, the power house is safe from flood and landslides. Similarly, there is minimal environmental impact from the project.
Almost all the project workers are Nepalese and they have been insured against accidents and other hazards. The construction workers are also provided various health care facilities.
The project has so far entailed Rs 770 million in terms of construction cost.