By Santosh Raut
Solukhumbu, Mar 7 : The Upper Junbesi Mini Hydropower, which remained stalled for five years, will be finally constructed. The project was finalised after an agreement was reached between the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre and Solududhkunda Municipality.

Mayor Namgel Jangbu Sherpa on behalf of Solududhkunda Municipality and Executive Director Madhusudan Adhikari on behalf of the Centre for Alternative Energy Promotion Centre signed an agreement to complete the remaining 250 kW hydropower project through Beni Power Consumers Committee with the funds received from Bill Gates Foundation and earlier Beni VDC. The construction work had been started in 2015.

The Alternative Energy Promotion Centre will do all the remaining work after the municipality takes ownership of the project at Rs. 55.55 million. The agreement states that the construction of the canal has been completed but the damaged roads need to be rebuilt.

Similarly, construction work on the desilting basin and spillway has been completed. The local government has collected data for the remaining work. So far, the work of the powerhouse and machine foundation has been completed while some work on the powerhouse is left.

Mayor Sherpa said that the municipality has reached an agreement to move ahead with the construction work of the abandoned hydropower plant.

The municipality is also working by giving priority to rural electrification.

Locals said there was hope that construction of the abandoned hydropower plant would be completed now though the consumer committee could not complete the work on time as per earlier estimates.