SOLUKHUMBU: Dudhkoshi Hydropower Nepal has received a license to develop the hydel project Dudhkoshi-2 of 70-megawatt capacity.

Company’s Public Relations Officer Janakraj Khanal said that the license was received on Monday for power development in Dudhkoshi river at Thulung Dudhkoshi Rural Municipality in Solukhumbu district.

Khanal said that a dam for this reservoir-based project would be constructed at Barkhughat in the rural municipality while the powerhouse would be developed at Khanyokharka by constructing a three kilometers tunnel.

The capacity of the project was reduced to 230 megawatts from 70 megawatts of the past and the total estimated cost now is Rs 14 billion.

According to Khanal, power purchase agreement with the government is in the process of the project which is being developed in Indian investment.

For this, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has forwarded the documents to Electricity Regulatory Commission, he said.

It is said that the power development of the project will begin within three months.

Similarly, the environmental impact assessment report of the project is now sent to the Ministry of Water Resources and Energy for approval.

Khanal added that the construction works would be initiated immediately after the approval was received from the Ministry of Forest and Environment once it was approved by the Energy Ministry.

Upon completion of these processes, a survey of the road to the project site, land acquisition and other key priorities would be initiated.