Kathmandu: Construction has begun on the 65 MW Myagdikhola Hydropower Project at Bagar in Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality-4. Promoted by Hydro Village Pvt. Ltd., the project said it is moving ahead simultaneously with the construction of access roads, powerhouse, tunnels, and transmission lines.
According to project chief Uttam Paudel, an approximately 10-kilometer access road from Bagar to the dam site at Dobhan has been prepared through diversion works. In addition, construction has started on a 1,130-meter tailrace tunnel to manage water discharged from the powerhouse. Civil contractor Bhugol Infrastructure is preparing to begin dam, tunnel, and powerhouse works.
The dam, to be built at the confluence of the Myagdi and Kunabang streams, will collect water into a desander measuring 75 meters long and 11.9 meters high. Water will then pass through a 710-meter pipeline, followed by a 3,600-meter tunnel, and again through a 750-meter pipeline before being dropped from a height of 607 meters into the underground powerhouse for electricity generation.
The run-of-river project will also include a 209-meter vertical tunnel, a 230-meter pressure tunnel, a 587-meter incline tunnel, and installation of a 757-meter penstock pipe. The powerhouse will house three turbine units.
The project is expected to generate 117.82 GWh of electricity during the dry season and 264.45 GWh during the monsoon season. The generated electricity will be connected to the national grid through a 132 kV double-circuit transmission line via the Dadakhet Substation, located 16.5 kilometers from Bagar.
Estimated to cost around Rs 13 billion, the project aims to begin power generation by mid-April 2028. The civil contractor has already been mobilized since mid-December 2026, while the selection process for electromechanical and hydromechanical contractors is underway.
For the safe storage of explosives, preparations are being made to establish a Nepal Army camp in the Bhaisikharka area within the next few days. Project management said excavation of the main tunnel will be accelerated after that.
Urjasanchar