The Arun-3 hydropower project will be completed one and a half years ahead of schedule

Kathmandu. 

The Arun-3 hydropower project under construction in Sankhuwasabha district of Province No. 1 is scheduled to be completed a year and a half ahead of schedule. A high-level team including the Investment Board visited the project on Wednesday and said that the project would be completed a year and a half ahead of schedule. On the occasion, the project said that the work of the project is progressing rapidly and about 40 percent of the work has been completed.

The Satlaj Hydropower Corporation, a state-owned company of India, has undertaken the construction of the 900-megawatt project in a public-private partnership (PP) model. The corporation has established Arun III Power Development Company and is constructing the project through that company.

On behalf of Nepal, the Investment Board had signed a Project Development Agreement (PDA) with Sutlej on 10 Mangsir 2071 for the development of the project. According to the PDA, Sutlej has agreed to build the project with its own investment and to provide 21.9 percent (197 MW) of the electricity generated from the project to Nepal free of cost and to take the rest to India.

The condition is that the project will provide 30 units of free electricity to the affected locals every month. As long as the project is operated by Sutlej, in 25 years, Nepal will receive a total of Rs 348 billion, including Rs 155 billion in electricity, Rs 107 billion in royalties and Rs 77 billion in income tax. An agreement has been reached to spend 13 percent of the royalty amount received by Nepal from the project on the development of the local affected areas.