Butwal-Lumbini transmission line nears completion

By Our Correspondent Bhairahawa, June 4: The construction of Butwal-Lumbini 132 kV transmission line project is nearing completion.

According to the project, the work of extending the 15.5-km-long overhead wire has been completed and the work of extending the two-km underground line from Yogikuti to Tinau has also reached the final stage.

Project Chief Hari Prasad Pandey said that recently the extending work for the underground line was completed and that now only the work of connecting the bare wire was left and the work would be completed in 10 days.

Along with the project, infrastructure for electricity trade between Nepal and India will also be prepared. After that, Nepal will sell electricity to India.

Under the project, a substation has been constructed at Mainhiya near Bhairahawa.

The 200-MW capacity line has been brought to the substation by connecting the national transmission line in Butwal to the grid.

Pandey said that the charging work will be completed as soon as the construction work of the project is completed and the project will be inaugurated within mid-July this year.

“If there is no problem in between, the project will be inaugurated in July. This is a historic achievement for power supply in the region,” he said.

The 132 kV transmission project with the contract agreement for the fiscal year 2016/17 had carried out three main works in a phased manner.

Accordingly, the project took three years to construct a building with compound wall in Mainhiya, Rupandehi.

Similarly, the construction work of the substation, which started in the fiscal year 2016/17, has now reached the final stage, said project chief Pandey.

“Now transformers of 33/11 and 132/33 KVA remain to be connected,” he said.

According to the project, about 60 MW of electricity has been supplied to the industries and general public of Bhairahawa region at present.

However, the demand for electricity from the industrial sector alone is 90 MW. The project is planned to supply 90 MW of electricity immediately after the completion of the project. If the demand increases later, 200 MW electricity can be provided from Mainhiya substation.

The work for expanding and upgrading the transmission lines at Gautam Buddha International Airport, Buddha’s birthplace Lumbini, Bhairahawa-Lumbini Industrial Corridor has started. Once the transmission line is built, there will be enough electricity in those areas.

Pandey said that the project was delayed for four years due to obstruction created by land owners and the remaining two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The government had set a target of completing the project in three years.  The cost of the project is Rs. 1.19 billion.

The Butwal-Lumbini 132 kV project has connected two transmission lines in Lumbini area and Amuwa each and two transmission lines of 33 kV for industrial feeders in Bhairahawa.

Similarly, two 11 kV transmission lines will be connected in Tilottama for urban areas and locals. Pandey said that a substation of 33/11 KVA will be constructed in Marchawar.

The “Mainhiya Sampattiya 132 kV Transmission Line Project” has also moved forward along with the Mainhiya substation.

The government of India has already set up a substation in Sampattiya of South India, 27 km from Mainhiya substation. After the connection of Mainhiya and Sampattiya substation power lines, the way will be paved between Nepal and India for import and export of 200 MW capacity electricity.