| rajendra |
Posted
on 01-Dec-00 07:31 PM
From The Rising Nepal
HM opens Khimti hydel project
Kathmandu, Nov. 27 (RSS): His Majesty King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev inaugurated the 60 Megawatt-Khimti-I Hydroelectricity Project by unveiling a copper plaque amidst vedic rituals at Kirne of Dolkha district today.
Her Majesty Queen Aishwarya Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah was present on the occasion.
After the inauguration, Their Majesties the King and Queen inspected with keen interest the project control room and the underground power house.
At the inaugural function, Their Majesties were offered an idol of Jaldevi and the national dress of Norway by general manager of Himal Power Limited (HPL) Dr Harald O. Skar.
Upon arrival at the project site, Their Majesties the King and Queen were greeted by Deputy Prime Minister Ramchandra Poudel, Minister of State for Water Resources Ram Bahadur Gurung, HPL chairman Sverre Nygaard, the CDOs and DDC chairmen of Dolkha and Ramechhap districts.
At the inaugural function, Deputy Prime Minister Poudel said the present government has given emphasis to development process based on hydropower with a view to attaining economic growth and alleviating poverty by harnessing the country’s abundant water resources.
Thanks to the post-democracy government policy of encouraging the Nepalese as well as foreign private sectors to invest in Nepal’s water resources sector, various hydropower projects like the Khimti-I have come into being, he said, adding the government is considering a new hydroelectricity policy to attract more foreign investment in this sector.
Stating that less expensive, reliable and good electricity service is the need of the day, Deputy Prime Minister Poudel urged investors to implement power projects in such a manner that the Nepalese economy can sustain them.
Since very little has been achieved in the power sector despite tremendous potentials a majority of the population is still deprived of electricity, he said, stressing the need to give priority to the local people’s need in the districts where power projects have been implemented.
Norwegian Deputy Minister for International Development Sigrun Modegal said that the Khimti-I, the first and biggest power project implemented jointly by the public and private sectors of Nepal and Norway, has further strengthened the ties of friendship between Nepal and Norway.
The project will significantly contribute to Nepal’s economic development, he observed.
HPL chairman Sverre Nygaard said thanks to Nepal’s liberal water resources policy that this project has come into being.
He also indicated the Norwegian private sector’s willingness to make similar investment in Nepal’s hydropower sector in the days to come.
Dolkha DDC chairman Lal Kumar K.C. said the project has opened up new vistas of development in the district. He, however, complained that the people of the district have not received electricity services from the project.
The U.S. $ 140 million-power plant is owned and operated by HPL Dtatkraft (73 per cent), Butwal Power Company (15 per cent), Alstom Power and Ge Energy (6 per cent each) as shareholders.
Under the license of the project, 50 per cent of the ownership of the power plant will be transferred free of charge to His Majesty’s Government after 20 years and the remaining 50 per cent of the ownership will be transferred when the license expires after 50 years.
Khimti-I, which is a run-of-the-river type project located 170km east of Kathmandu, was linked to the national grid in March and by July 11, it began commercial operation. Annual generation is estimated to be 350 GWH.
The project’s underground power house contains five pelton turbines. The project utilizes a gross head of 684 meter in the Khimti River. Total length of the waterways including headrace and tailrace tunnel is 10 km.
The first agreement signed in 2050 B.S., under which Nepal Electricity Authority had agreed to buy all the electricity generated from the project, was revised in 2052 B.S.
As agreed upon the electricity generated from the project will be purchased on take up pay basis.
HPL has set up a management team for running a rural electrification and development programme of 3000 houses and upgrading a 500 kilowatt-mini hydro-plant. The project will gradually be handed over to the local community.
Likewise, with the financial assistance from the Norwegian Government Aid Agency (NORAD), schools and a small hospital have been constructed in the area in connection with the power plant.
|
