June 26, Kathmandu- The much-awaited Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project is expected to generate 152 MW of electricity by mid-July.

Necessary preparations have reached the final stage to generate electricity from two units of the project by mid-July. According to project spokesperson Dr Ganesh Neupane, testing of the first unit has been completed in the first phase.

The second unit is also being tested. The work of the unit is also being completed and electricity is being connected to the national system. The project with a total capacity of 456 MW is about to be completed almost 10 years after the start of construction. Fighting natural calamities and many other problems, the largest project of indigenous investment has reached the final stage.

Necessary preparations are being made from June 27 to July 3 to connect the electricity generated from the project to the national grid. Dr Neupane informed that the work of transmission line management has been taken forward.

A 220 KW transmission line from Upper Tamakoshi Power House is being connected to the substation at New Khimti. "Electricity from the transmission line from the Tamakoshi corridor will be connected to the New Khimti substation, which will be available to the power system from the same substation," said Dr Neupane. Earlier, preparations were made to connect electricity to Dhalkebar substation.

The Department of System Operations of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has informed that the Khimti Lamosanghu 132 KW transmission line will be shut down today as there is a program to connect Upper Tamakoshi to the national grid.

In that case, the power supply to the system from Dhalkebar to Koharpur will be short-lived due to the shortage of electricity in the system.

NEA will use the water of Kulekhani reservoir to reduce the time of power cut as much as possible and has also apologized for the problems and inconvenience caused to industrial customers.

Testing is underway by pouring water into the Upper Tamakoshi tunnel. There are a total of six units in the project. Many concerns were raised when it took a long time to complete the construction of a large project with indigenous investment. Although the government provided all kinds of means and resources, it was being pushed back due to natural calamities, corona and others.

The project has also created confidence that large projects can be built with indigenous investment after the project reaches its final stage. Although the initial cost was Rs. 35 billion, the cost has gone up to around Rs. 80 billion due to fluctuations in the US dollar and badges.

Last time, NEA Executive Director Hitendra Dev Shakya visited the project site and got information about the necessary instructions and preparations for power generation. Former Executive Director Kulman Ghising visited the project site every month to facilitate the solution of the problem.

The project has expressed happiness saying that the construction of Upper Tamakoshi has reached the final stage due to the cooperation of all. The foundation stone of the project was laid by the then Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal.