111 MW Rasuwagadhi to be connected to national grid by October

Kathmndu: Rasuwagadhi Hydropower Project, which is being built in Rasuwa has achieved 97 percent completion of its construction work.

According to the project, the infrastructure of the 111 MW power plant has reached its final stage of the construction. The project is located at the border of Ward No-1 and Ward No-2 of Gosaikunda Rural Municipality.

The company said it has expedited the remaining works. It has set the goal to complete all the project work and start power generation by October.

Earlier, it was expected that the project would be completed and production would start by July. But the production schedule was affected as the connection work of turbine shaft and generator shaft under electro-mechanics was delayed.

According to the company, the turbine shaft and generator shaft were taken to India for testing and arrived at the site on May 9, 2023 after testing, which affected the connection schedule.

Currently, the project is in the process of rapidly linking hydro and electro-mechanical equipment, spearheaded by Indian company Voith Hydro, the recipient of the electro-mechanical contract. While the electro-mechanical work faced interruptions during the Covid-19 pandemic, it's now advancing satisfactorily.

Similarly, the installation of hydro-mechanical equipment is also underway. The civil and hydro mechanical work is being done by China International Water and Electric Corporation, China.

Various factors have contributed to shifts in the production timeline, including the destructive earthquake of 2072 BS, blockades, floods in the project area during monsoon season, ongoing landslides affecting access roads, and the global Covid-19 pandemic.

The company has revised its schedule, aiming to start production within the next two months. According to the company, the estimated cost to complete the construction within this period is Rs 17.56 billion excluding interest.

The installation work of a transmission line for the project has been contracted to MS Royal Construction Company. Earlier, the former contractor, Mudbhary & Joshi Pvt Ltd, took multiple extensions showing various reasons, due to which the authority terminated the contract.