State-owned hydro power giant NHPC on Thursday inked an initial pact with Nepalese utility Vidhyut Utpadan Company for developing a 480 MW Phukot Karnali hydroelectric project.
"On June 1, 2023, a memorandum of understanding has been exchanged between NHPC Ltd. and Vidhyut Utpadan Company Ltd., Nepal, in august presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Nepal Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda' at Hyderabad House, New Delhi, for development of Phukot Karnali Hydro Electric Project (480MW) in Nepal," a company statement said.
The Nepal Prime Minister is on a four-day visit to India, which began on Wednesday.
The MoU was exchanged by RK Vishnoi, chairman and managing director, NHPC, and VUCL Managing Director Surya Prasad Rijal.
The signing of this MoU is a landmark step towards India-Nepal Joint Vision on Power Sector Cooperation.
The project will use the flow from the Karnali River for power generation and the generated power will be fed into the integrated power system of Nepal. The installed capacity of the project shall be 480 MW with an average annual generation of about 2,448 GWh.
The key features of the project are a 109-metre-high RCC dam and an underground powerhouse, where the 6 turbines of 79 MW each will be housed. Additionally, to utilise minimum environmental release one surface power house of 6 MW capacity, i.e. two machines of 3 MW each, is also planned.
This project is conceived as a peaking run-of-river type scheme.
NHPC, a Schedule ‘A' Enterprise of the government with ‘Miniratna' status, is ranked as a premier organisation in India for the development of hydropower, and Vidhyut Utpadan Company, Nepal, is responsible to develop, build, own and operate large-scale hydropower projects in a public-private partnership model in Nepal.
In a BSE filing, the company stated that upon attaining the age of superannuation Yamuna Kumar Chaubey ceased to be director in the company with effect from the evening of May 31, 2023.
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