A process for the study of the Karnali Chisapani Hydropower Project, the largest hydropower project in South Asia, has been forwarded. As per the current price, the estimated cost of the project is Rs 1.147 trillion.

The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) forwarded the study process for the 10,800-MW project with its own resources. A high-level team comprising Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation Shakti Bahadur Basnet, Energy Secretary Sushil Chandra Tiwari, Director General of the Department of Irrigation Churna Bahadur Oli, and NEA Executive Director Kulman Ghising carried out an onsite visit of the project site as well as the project-affected site on December 25 and 26.

The NEA has forwarded the study process of the Karnali Chisapani Project in order to complete it within the next three years. Locals are very excited after the government forwarded the study process, giving the project special importance. The talk of construction for this project has enthused the locals in the hope that it will continue the development that the construction of the Karnali Chisapani Bridge brought to west Nepal.

Khadga BK, Chairperson of Panchapuri Rural Municipality, Surkhet, said they would provide meaningful cooperation to make the project successful. “We are excited to know about the news that such a mega project is being constructed in our area. We are exhilarated. We urge the federal government to move ahead with the process by addressing the justified demands of the locals,” he added.

The reservoir of the proposed project would be constructed nearly two kilometers above the Karnali Chisapani bridge that connects Bardiya and Kailali districts. The Karnali River would be dammed by constructing a 270-meter-tall dam. The Nepal Electricity Authority’s (NEA) current study stated that it would be a ‘rock fill dam’. The reservoir would be 167 kilometers long—100 kilometers on the Karnali river, 45 kilometers on the Bheri river, 16 kilometers on the Seti river, and six kilometers on the Thuligad river, according to NEA senior engineer Nasib Man Pradhan, who was involved in the study.

The project will affect the settlements and structures located near the river in Bardiya, Kailali, Surkhet, Achham, and Doti districts. As per a study conducted in 1989, the project will affect a total area of 11,570 hectares and 54,600 locals. The NEA said the affected area would be clearly identified by studying the latest situation.