Kathmandu — Following the receipt of its production permit (generation license) and the approval of investment, the 439-megawatt Betan Karnali Hydropower Project, being developed under the leadership of the Employees Provident Fund, is set to move forward. Betan Karnali Sanchayakarta Hydropower Company has stated that the project’s Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) is now in its final stage.
“We have already obtained the production permit, and the PPA has reached its final stage. According to information from the Nepal Electricity Authority, it is being prepared for submission to the Authority’s board meeting,” said the company’s Managing Director, Krishna Prasad Acharya. “Once the PPA is in place, we will proceed with the financial arrangements.”
Acharya added that, since financial arrangements cannot be finalized until the PPA is signed, the company has been holding discussions with banks and financial institutions regarding investment. Betan Karnali had submitted an application for the license to the Department of Electricity Development on 22 February 2022, but the license was only granted on 29 June 2025.
The department’s then Director General, Nabin Raj Singh, noted that delays in the licensing process were partly due to the project’s failure to submit required documents on time. According to the department, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report was approved on 2 January 2024, and documents related to Betan Karnali’s net worth were submitted only in August/september 2024.
The issuance of the production permit was further delayed after the Indian company GMR raised objections regarding the Betan Karnali project’s dam. GMR expressed concerns that the Betan Karnali reservoir could submerge the tailrace through which water, after power generation at Upper Karnali, is discharged back into the Karnali River. After GMR submitted an application to the Ministry of Forests and Environment, a dispute arose between the two projects.
GMR claimed that the maximum water level of Betan Karnali’s reservoir (Full Supply Level—FSL) would interfere with the terminal point of Upper Karnali’s tailrace. Citing this concern, GMR submitted an application to the Ministry of Forests and Environment on 21 November 2023, with copies sent to the Investment Board, the Department of Electricity Development, and the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation. GMR argued that this issue could affect not only power generation at Upper Karnali but also other technical aspects.
The Betan Karnali project, located in Achham and Surkhet districts, proposes a 140-meter-high dam. Once constructed, it will create a reservoir with a storage capacity of 1.6169 billion cubic meters of water upstream. When full, the reservoir’s Full Supply Level (FSL) will be 473.30 meters above sea level.
Betan Karnali Hydropower stated that the project has been designed to optimize water utilization by referencing the water level at the discharge point of Upper Karnali’s tailrace. Since the design considers the lowest point of Upper Karnali’s tailrace at 473.30 meters above sea level, the company claims that the tailrace will not be submerged.
Upper Karnali, however, had initially claimed that its tailrace would be submerged by the Betan Karnali reservoir. Acharya said the issue was resolved through coordination by the Investment Board. “We maintained that Betan Karnali’s dam would not submerge Upper Karnali’s tailrace,” he said. “The issue was resolved with the Investment Board’s coordination, after which we received the license.”
The Investment Board meeting held last Mangsir approved an investment of NPR 93.407 billion for the 439-megawatt Betan Karnali semi-reservoir hydropower project. According to the Detailed Project Report (DPR), the project’s total cost is NPR 74.15 billion (excluding interest during construction), with interest during construction estimated at NPR 8.819 billion. Maintaining a debt-to-equity ratio of 65:35, arrangements are being made to secure approximately NPR 57.32 billion in loans for the project.
A 95-kilometer access road will be constructed from Guttu in Chaukune Rural Municipality to the dam site at Khargadhi. “The track for the access road has already been prepared. A survey team is at the project site to estimate costs for its upgrade and construction,” Acharya said. “The team will also study the construction of a permanent bridge along the access road.” He added that once the survey team submits its report, the project aims to go to tender in the upcoming fiscal year. Once the PPA is finalized, financial arrangements are expected to be completed within the current fiscal year.
The project is expected to generate a total of 2,302.56 gigawatt-hours of electricity, with peak generation planned for four to six hours per day.
Kantipur
