650 MW Tamakoshi 3 hydropower plant in Nepal to be developed under PPP

Investment Board Nepal (IBN) has announced it is considering to develop a hydropower project under a PPP model with a mix of domestic and international investments.

Tamakoshi-3 project is a 650 MW hydropower plant with an annual generation of 2,340 GWh. It is located in Dolakha and Ramechhap districts.

The total investment of the project amounts to US$1 billion.

In January 2016, Statkraft notified IBN of its decision to discontinue the development of the project. The decision came as a result of a thorough assessment of all aspects of the project, including commercial, technical and regulatory factors. These factors included a lack of viable power offtake option, lower electricity price forecasts, insufficient transmission capacity for power evacuation and absence of necessary policies and regulatory framework for operationalizing power sales.

Statkraft entered an agreement with the Nepalese government in 2007 to build the plant, and completed feasibility studies, and environmental and social impact assessments.

Recently, we reported also that the Nepalese government had decided to award the contract to construct the Budhi Gandaki Hydroelectric Project to China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC). The country’s cabinet approved the Energy Ministry’s proposal in principle to allow CGGC build the 1,200 MW project under the engineering, procurement, construction and finance (EPCF) model, through which the company itself generates te required fund for the project.