80% work of Rahughat Hydel Project completes

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Sept. 21:  About 80 per cent work of the under-construction 40 MW Rahughat Hydropower Project being built in Raghuganga Rural Municipality of Myagdi district has been completed.

The project is being constructed by Raghuganga Hydropower Ltd., a subsidiary of Nepal Electricity Authority, with the investment of the government of Nepal and NEA and concession loan received as line of credit of Export-Import (EXIM) Bank, India.

According to the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the construction work of the hydropower project is going on in full swing targeting to complete the remaining 20 per cent work of the project by mid-July 2025.

The concrete lining of the 6.2 km long tunnel of the project is going on in full swing, said the NEA. 

Due to weak geological conditions, the tunnel has to be completely lined with concrete. So far, one kilometre of the main tunnel has been lined with concrete. Around 130 metres of the 1,050 metres penstock pipe that will be laid to flow water from the main tunnel to the powerhouse has been installed.

After completing the construction of the main civil structures, the power plant, turbines, generators and other electromechanical devices are being installed. There will be two units of turbine with each generating 20 MW power.

The construction of the civil structure of the dam required to divert the river has been completed. 

About 30 per cent of the construction of the sand thickening pond (decenter) has been complete and the construction of the headworks, which was stopped due to rain, will start soon, according to the NEA. Managing Director of NEA and Chairman of Board of Directors of Raghuganga Hydropower Ltd. Kul Man Ghising recently monitored the construction site and discussed with the project management, consultants and construction professionals involved 

in the construction.

He said that the project, which is facing various problems, should be moved forward by making a unified schedule to complete the construction under any case within the July 2025.

“Despite the weak and complicated geographical location, the COVID-19 pandemic, devastating earthquake, the project has reached the stage of completion due to continuous efforts. The Indian authorities are constantly expressing interest in the completion of the project. We are ready to provide necessary support to complete the construction within the given timeframe,” said Ghising.

As the project could not excavate the river materials from the location mentioned in the approved Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) report, the project had to face the shortage of stone, sand and gravel. Ganesh KC, managing director of the Raghuganga Hydropower Ltd, said that the problem of river-borne construction materials had been temporarily resolved. 

KC said that if there were no major problems, the project would be completed by July, next year. The estimated cost of the project is Rs. 9.17 billion. 

The project has received a concessional loan of USD 67 million from Exim Bank of India. The remaining amount has been invested by the government and NEA. Initially, the capacity of the project was 32 MW. The contract was terminated due to poor performance of the contractors for the construction of the project. After that, a new contract was signed by increasing the capacity of the project to 40 MW.

The civil structures and hydro-mechanical works of the project is being done by Jaiprakash Associate (JP) under Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) model, electromechanical works by Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. and construction supervision by WAPCOS Limited, India.

Around 247.9 million units of electricity will be produced annually from the project.