Foundation stone laid for towers of Karnali Corridor Transmission Line

Kathmandu, June 28: The construction of towers for the 400 kV Karnali Corridor Transmission Line has started from today. 

Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Shakti Bahadur Basnet laid a foundation stone for the tower at Sukkhad in Kailali district today. 

There will be altogether 256 towers throughout the transmission line with two towers as tall as 120 metres. The transmission line will stretch from Phukot to Dododhara via Betan. 

According to Netra Prasad Gyawali, CEO of the National Transmission Grid, some 3,000 megawatts of electricity generated from Phukot-Karnali, Betan-Karnali, Tila I and Tila II project will be connected to the national transmission grid.

The double circuit transmission line is owned by government and aims to meet country's demand for electricity and export surplus electricity. It is a national transformative project deemed as the 'Transmission Highway' for Karnali and Sudurpaschim Provinces. 

It is believed that this project would aid in development of a different kind of supplementary infrastructures thereby contributing to the overall development of electricity in the country.

The 125-km transmission line will begin from Regil village of Kalikot district in Karnali Province and stretches from Achham and Surkhet districts and will be connected to Dododhara sub-station in Kailali district. 

Thereafter, the line will be connected to Bareilly in India under the cross-country transmission line. 

Present in the foundation stone laying ceremony were Vice-Chairperson and members of Sudurpaschim Provincial Policy and Planning Commission, ministers, Joint-Secretaries and people's representatives of Kailali Province and Chief District Officer among others. 

Project Manager Biken Bajracharya said the contract agreement was signed with the Indian construction company, Kalpatru Project International Ltd., last year for the construction of the transmission line. 

According to him, the total estimated cost of the project is Rs 8 billion and the goal is to complete it within the next three years. (RSS)