KATHMANDU: The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the proposed 270-megawatt semi-reservoir-based Bheri–1 Hydropower Project has been made public. The report was released by the Ministry of Forests and Environment.
The project, to be developed by Gezhouba Group Power Investment Nepal Pvt. Ltd., will utilize the flow of the Bheri River through Nalagadh Municipality (wards 10, 11, 12, and 13) in Jajarkot district and Aathbiskot Municipality (wards 4, 5, and 6) in Rukum (West) to generate electricity before releasing the water back into the Bheri River. It is based on a peaking run-of-river model.
According to the EIA report, the project will require a total of 24.075 hectares of national forest — 20.523 hectares from Jajarkot and 3.552 hectares from Rukum (West). A total of 252 trees will need to be felled for the project, including 202 from Jajarkot and 50 from Rukum (West).
The report also notes that the project will directly impact 124 households.
The estimated cost of the hydropower project is approximately Rs 71.97 billion.
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