Banking News – Construction of the much-anticipated Rahughat Hydropower Project in Myagdi has been completed. The physical construction and equipment installation of the 40 MW capacity Rahughat Hydropower Project, promoted by Raghuganga Hydropower – a subsidiary of Nepal Electricity Authority under the ownership of the Government of Nepal – have been finalized.

Ganesh Kc, Managing Director of Raghuganga Hydropower, informed that the Rahughat Hydropower Project is now ready for power generation. “The testing of the dam, desander, tunnel, and switchyard has been successfully completed,” he said. “Testing of one unit with 20 MW capacity has also been completed. Testing of the other 20 MW unit has commenced from Sunday.”

Managing Director Kc informed that work is being carried out at a rapid pace with the goal of conducting testing for one to ten days, after which power generation will begin. Testing has been completed on the dam located at Raghuganga-4 Dagnam and Ward No. 5 Jhinko Phedi, along with the 6.27 km long main tunnel and two settling basins. Equipment installation at the powerhouse located in Tilkenechaur has been completed and testing has commenced.

The switchyard constructed within the powerhouse premises to connect the generated electricity to the central transmission line has been operational since June 8.

Indian civil contractor Jayprakash Associates (JP) had signed a contract worth Rs 6 arab on November 17, 2017, with a target to complete the project within 45 months. The deadline was extended three times – first in February 2022, second in February 2022, and third until November 2025. The project is now being completed within the fourth extension period. Project Manager of JP, Harish Agrawal, cited the COVID-19 pandemic, floods, landslides, and shortages of river-borne construction materials as reasons for the construction delays.

An electromechanical contract worth $1.02 million USD was signed with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) in November 2019. The Rahughat Hydropower Project has been developed under the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) model with a combined investment from the India Exim Bank’s $67 million USD concessional loan, Nepal Electricity Authority, and the Government of Nepal.

The contract with the previous contractor, IVRCL, was terminated in 2015 due to weak financial conditions, and construction was resumed through a new process. The contract with IVRCL had been signed in 2009. According to Subin Shrestha, President of the Myagdi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Rahughat, being the first and government-invested project in the district, was considered the “gateway” to hydropower development. “After Rahughat started, 10 projects that entered Myagdi have already been completed,” he said. “Although delayed, the news that the Rahughat Hydropower Project has been completed after two decades of waiting has excited us.”

The selected civil contractor, Jayprakash Associates (JP), began construction of the access road in July 2018 and started tunnel excavation in July 2019. The project signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) in March 2019 with a target to generate 240 million 593,034 units of electricity annually. The electricity generated from Rahughat will be connected to the central grid through the 220 KV (double circuit) Dana-Kushma transmission line under the Kaligandaki Corridor. Four towers and transmission lines have also been completed.