Urja Khabar
Kathmandu; Kushal Projects Nepal Pvt Ltd has bagged the contract to construct the 6 MW Chauri Khola Hydropower Project under Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) model. It is an established company in solar electricity production for a long.
Chairman of Kushal Projects Prashant Tated and the company’s Managing Director Sandeep Kumar Agrawal and Chairman of Chauri Khola Hydropower Pvt Ltd Ram Chandra Neupane, inked an agreement to the effect on Wednesday.
The hydropower project is estimated to cost Rs 1.14 billion. Of the total projected amount, 72 percent will be bank loans while the remaining 28 percent will be equity capital. Machhapuchchhre Bank will be leading the banks’ consortium to manage the financial requirement.
The generated electricity from the project will be connected to the proposed 33/11 kV substation to be located in Chauri Deurali-2 of Sindhupalchok district, which lies at a distance of about three kilometers from the power plant construction site in Tilku Adhikari Tole. A power purchase agreement (PPA) has been signed for the project that will be producing 35.5 million units of electricity annually at the rate of Rs 4.80 per unit during the rainy season (for 8 months) and Rs 8.40 per unit in winter (for 4 months).
Kushal Projects Chairman Tated said the design will be finalized within the next two months and the construction will start from next winter. According to him, they have set the goal to complete the entire construction work in 14 months and generate electricity. The promoter company informed that the access road to reach the project site and the residential units have been constructed so far.
Managing Director Agrawal said they have stepped up for the construction of hydropower projects targeting to contribute extensively to the development of green and renewable energy. "We have so far produced 24 megawatts of solar power and supplied it to the grid. Now, gradually we have started looking forward to developing green hydrogen and ammonia."
The company has built three solar power plants promoted by Api Power, a 6.8 MW project promoted by GI Solar, within the stipulated time and cost. Agarwal informed that currently, the Nepal Electricity Authority has not opened the PPA for solar power projects. “We have planned to take forward 40-50 MW solar projects as soon as the authority opens the PPA in the segment,” Agrawal said.
