KATHMANDU: Nepal’s private sector has completed the country’s first high-capacity 220 kV transmission line, marking a significant milestone in the development of the national power transmission network.
The 28-kilometre Markichowk–Bharatpur section of the 220 kV Marsyangdi Corridor Transmission Line, which had remained stalled for seven years, was handed over by the Nepal Electricity Authority to the private sector for construction.
The project was completed in around one and a half years through the joint initiative of seven private hydropower developers.
According to Uttam Blon Lama, senior vice-president of the Independent Power Producers’ Association, Nepal, the achievement has laid the foundation for greater private-sector participation in the construction and operation of transmission infrastructure in the future.
He said inadequate transmission infrastructure has long prevented generated electricity from being fully utilized and argued that the private sector can serve as an effective partner in addressing the problem.
The Nepal Electricity Authority said final preparations are underway to connect the transmission line to the national grid.
Once testing is successfully completed and the line enters regular operation, electricity generated by private hydropower projects along the Marsyangdi, Dordi, and Trishuli river systems will be transmitted more efficiently through the national transmission network.
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