Rolwaling Khola Hydropower Resumes Construction After 15-Month Halt

Kathmandu: The 22-megawatt Rolwaling Khola Hydropower Project (RKHP), which has witnessed its construction stalled for the past 15 months, has resumed its work soon after it received clearance from Gaurishankar Conservation Area.

According to the RKHP, the construction work is restarted as the project settled the charge levied on the use of land that falls under the periphery of the conservation area.  

The construction of the project had been halted since July 4, 2025 after the conservation area directed the RKHP to stop the work, raising the issue of land use permits to carry out construction inside in the protected area.

Purnagopal Ranjit, acting chief executive officer of the project, who is also a promoter of the Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Limited, informed that they are resuming the project following a long effort they put for releasing the obstacles.

According to the Ranjit, the project collected Rs 220 million to the authority on Monday for the land tenure rights as per the agreement with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation. As per the agreement, the RKHP has been permitted to use 38 hectares of land for the hydropower project.  

After the Council of Ministers approved the permission for the land tenure rights, the project management side had already deployed construction entrepreneurs for preliminary preparation work. The project, which was granted a production license by the Department of Electricity Development on April 3, 2023 had proposed to start generating electricity from mid-November 2027. However, the power purchase agreement (PPA) for the project has not been signed yet.

A construction agreement was signed with the Chinese SSCE and Nepali High Himalayan Joint Venture (JV) Company on December 17, 2023 to carry out the construction work of the project in the EPC format. The joint venture company has taken the responsibility to construct the main tunnel with length of 6.2-kilometer.

Although the project was supposed to be completed within the next one year as per the agreement, that possibility has almost faded based on the construction progress as of now. The promoter company has also deferred the electricity generation date to the fiscal year 2028/29.

Taranath Sapkota, managing director of the contractor company High Himalayan Hydro Construction, informed that the first blast was carried out on Monday, marking the resumption of the work. According to him, the construction work will be accelerated after the festivals.

According to Project Chief Shivaram KC, a Cabinet meeting held on August 11, 2026 had cleared the issue related to land tenure rights for the RKHP. ‘Following the Cabinet decision, an agreement was reached with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation and the process moved forward,’ he said

Despite the construction work was put on hold for 15 months, the construction contractor has been bearing the expenses of equipment, manpower, camp management and other expenses. According to the project, the contractor has been claiming compensation of about Rs 100 million per month. On this basis, it is likely that the claim amount could have reached Rs 1.5 billion in a 15-month disruption. However, this amount will be determined only on the basis of the actual compensation agreement and evidence.

Although construction of the RKHP was initially targeted to complete within four years, physical progress has reached only around 20 percent so far. As of now, 1,600 meters of access road, 414 meters of audit tunnel and 245 meters of the main tunnel have been completed.

The project has already approved a supplementary environmental management plan to address the suspension of construction related to forest clearance.

Meanwhile, the electricity generation from the Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project is expected to increase after the RKHP will start its production. As the RKHP is directly linked to the Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project, diverting water from the Rolwaling River into the 456 MW Upper Tamakoshi reservoir is expected to help the plant operate at full capacity for a longer period even during the dry season.

The RKHP is estimated to generate around 105 GWh annually, while the additional water could enable Upper Tamakoshi to generate another 213 GWh. Estimated at Rs 7.92 billion, the project is likely to face increased costs and delays due to the prolonged construction stoppage.

Earlier, the work of the 99.8 MW Tamakoshi V was also stopped on the similar issue. The work of the hydropower project was resumed after being stopped for 8 months after receiving permission for land tenure.