KATHMANDU, Dec 5: Middle Modi Hydropower Project (MMHP) has started its test production from Monday.
The hydropower project started construction of related infrastructure in December of 2014/15. A total cost of Rs 4 billion has been incurred for the project construction.
According to the project, the Nepal Electricity Authority has been supervising the test transmission of electricity produced by the project, while the authority has started work to connect electricity generated by the project to the national grid.
The MMHP had targeted to complete its construction within three years from commencement. However, the project sustained impacts of earthquake, Indian blockade and COVID-19, while its construction was delayed by additional five years for completion, according to the Project Chief Pratap Kharel.
The project owned by Chaudhary Group was earlier estimated to cost Rs 2.50 billion. “Due to the delay, the cost increased by around 60 percent,” said Kharel. Industrialist Binod Chaudhary had laid down the foundation stone of the project on November 23, 2014.
Middle Modi Hydroelectric Project (18 MW) Middle Modi Hydroelectric Project (MMHP) is located about 40 km north-west of Pokhara in Kaski and Parbat Districts, Gandaki Province. The project lies in the Modi Rural Municipality-2 of Parbat District and Rural Municipality-3 of Kaski District. The headworks is located at Birethanti village. At present there is about 1.5km long earthen road access to the headworks area from Nayapul bazaar which is the nearest point with all year road access along the Pokhara – Baglung highway. The powerhouse lies opposite to the Pokhara – Baglung highway at the right bank of the Modi with waterway alignment located at the right bank of Modi Khola.
This project is a simple Run-of-River scheme that utilizes the flow in Modi Khola. Modi Khola is one of the major tributaries of the Kaligandaki River of the Gandaki basin. The proposed project has installed capacity of 18 MW, design discharge of 25m3/sec and net head of 70m. The diversion weir across the Modi Khola diverts the water into the side intake. A gravel trap of length 15m settles gravels coming through the six orifices of the intake and settling basin with four parallel settling chambers of length 166m settles sediment particles larger than 0.2mm and passes water into the headrace tunnel. The headrace tunnel of length 2393m of finished diameter of 3.6~4.4m and steel penstock pipe of diameter 3.2m and length 147m feed water to the two units of Vertical Axis Francis Turbines installed in the semi-surface powerhouse to generate 18MW power. The water will then be discharged back into the Modi Khola through 77m long concrete tailrace box culvert. A semi-underground surge tank is provisioned at the end of the headrace tunnel.
