Tamor-Mewa Hydroelectric Begins Construction After Three Decades of Waiting

KATHMANDU; The 128-megawatt capacity Tamor-Mewa Hydropower Project has formally begun construction of its power plant, with the project promoter Spark Hydroelectric Company Limited conducting tunnel blasting amid a program on Wednesday.

The construction work of the proposed hydropower structure on the Tamor River was inaugurated at a program organized in Phungling. The program was attended by the company's Chairman and Managing Director Sudip Kumar Chaudhary, office bearers of the Board of Directors and local people's representatives.

With the blasting of the tunnel, the construction work of the Tamor-Mewa Hydropower Project is expected to gain momentum after nearly three decades of administrative, legal and policy-based struggles. Bhanendra Kumar Limbu, the founding director of the company, said the Tamor-Mewa Hydropower Project has entered the construction phase with the tunnel blasting.

Limbu said that about 30 percent of the work, including the construction of the camp required for the project, the land acquisition process and the construction of the road network, has been completed so far.

According to the company, Siddhartha Bank Limited is playing the role of the lead bank in the financial management of the project, while Machhapuchhre Bank Limited is participating as the co-lead bank. It is said that more than Rs 23.4 billion will be spent for the construction of the project. Out of this, a total of Rs 17.28 billion will be invested in debt and the remaining Rs 5.76 billion will be managed through share capital.

The company stated that the construction of the project's access road, dam area, tunnel entry area and road infrastructure up to the power house has been completed. Similarly, the construction of the Nepali Army's housing and storage bunker to manage the explosives required for the tunnel construction has also reached the final stage.

The electricity generated from the project will be connected to the national transmission system through the Maiwakhola-Dhungesanghu substation. The company has stated that the preliminary environmental examination (IEE) process for the necessary transmission line has been initiated, and a technical study is also underway on the option of supplying electricity through underground cables from the production site to the transmission line.

The project, which is being constructed in Taplejung's Phungling Municipality, Mikwakhola, Meringden and Aathrai Triveni Rural Municipality, aims to generate about 711 gigawatt hours of electricity annually. As the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) was signed with the Nepal Electricity Authority on October 11, 2023, it has projected to start commercial production from October 10, 2028.

The then Ministry of Water Resources had called for international bidding for the project in 1999. In April 2005, Spark Hydroelectric Company received a survey permit for 18 months. In 2007, the ministry decided to revoke the project's permit, citing the failure to complete the study on time in the then conflict-ridden situation. The company had filed a complaint against it with the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority. After a long struggle, the company finally received the production permit.

Spark Hydroelectric received the production license from the Department of Electricity Development on October 11, 2020. The project laid its foundation stone on May 23, 2024, aiming to start construction soon.