KATHMANDU: Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Shakti Bahadur Basnet laid the foundation stone of Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project (UT-1) to be built with foreign direct investment (FDI).
A ceremony was held on Tuesday for the development of the country's largest hydropower project with a capacity of 216 megawatts (MW) being developed for domestic consumption with FDI from a Korean company.
The dam and physical structures of the project are located at Haku village of Aamachhodingmo Rural Municipality-1 while the underground powerhouse lies in Uttargaya Rural Municipality in Rasuwa district.
During the groundbreaking ceremony, Minister Basnet said the government was creating investment-friendly environment to lure international and domestic investors and to achieve economic prosperity in the country through hydropower projects.
The main investor of the project is South-East Power of Korea.
President and Chief Executive Officer of South-East Power Hau Chun Kim said the project's development will be instrumental in achieving economic prosperity by exporting surplus power to the neighbouring countries and minimising the climate change impacts.
Development of the project started in 2020 and the overall physical progress of the project is 22% so far.
The dam construction of the project will be started after the monsoon is over.
The total cost of the project is estimated to be $647.3 million and nine international financial institutions have agreed to invest $453.2 million. The remaining amount will be managed through equity.
