Kathmandu, Oct 6 (IANS): With the Indian soft loan, Nepal has constructed a 220 KV Double Circuit Koshi Corridor power transmission in eastern Nepal and handed over to Nepal Electricity Authority, a semi-autonomous body to oversee the power generation and distribution in Nepal. With the construction of the new strategic transmission line, Nepal can evacuate power up to 2000 mw, said officials, which will also ease power evacuation and distribution in eastern Nepal.
The strategic power corridor was built with the soft loan of India's Exim Bank.
The 106-km Koshi Corridor transmission line, costing a total of NRs 10.40 billion (USD 86.8 million) is being built under government of India's Line of Credit of USD 550 million, extended by the EXIM Bank of India, Indian Embassy in Kathmandu said in a statement on Wednesday.
The package 1 of this project, worth NRs 4.5 billion (USD 37.3 million), was executed by India's Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd (KPTL) and handed over to Nepal Electricity Authority after successful completion and charging of the line.
Once the remaining two packages are completed, the project will ensure smooth power evacuation from the generation projects coming up in the Arun and Tamor river basins, with power output totaling about 2000 MW.
Considered as one of the longest transmission lines in Nepal, Koshi corridor will help connect various big and small hydropower in Nepal in the national grid. Around 28 various macro and micro hydropower stations are in different stages and once the construction is completed, this dedicated line helps to evacuate the power and its distribution.
Bishowjeet Garg of EXIM Bank of India handed over the key of the transmission line to the senior officials of Nepal's Ministry of Energy and Managing Director of Nepal Electricity Authority, Kulman Ghising.
"With the completion of this dedicated transmission line, we have created a backbone for power evacuation in eastern Nepal," said Ghising and added, "once we complete construction of the more hydropower stations, we will be able to evacuate more reliable power from this new transmission line."
A ceremony was held in eastern Nepal of Dhankuta district on Wednesday. In the occasion, Deputy Chief of Mission in Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, Namgya Khampa underscored India's commitment to strengthen bilateral cooperation in power sector in all its dimensions, including development of power projects in Nepal, support for construction of transmission lines (both within Nepal and cross-border) and trade of electricity with India. She also congratulated KPTL for the quality and timely completion of the work and thanked the government of Nepal, Nepal Electricity Authority and the local administration and representatives for their support in its completion. In addition to the Koshi Corridor, India is supporting the construction of two other domestic power transmission lines in Nepal: the Modi-Lekhnath line and the Solu Corridor line, both 132 kV. In addition, it continues to support construction of several cross-border transmission links between India and Nepal, between national as well as state grids. This is a key element of India's emphasis on enhancing cross-border economic connectivity as part of our larger "Neighbourhood First" policy.