KATHMANDU: The government has award the contract for the construction of the Lower Arun Hydropower Project to SJVN Limited, India.
The 46th meeting of the Investment Board Nepal (IBN) held on Friday decided to award the contract to the Indian company under the build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) model as a public-private-partnership.
The meeting chaired by Prime Minister KP Oli selected SJVN Limited, India based on an assessment of the listed companies through an international bidding process.
The 679-megawatt Lower Arun Hydropower Project will be situated in Sankhuwasabha and Bhojpur districts of Province 1. The dam site of the project will be located at about 34 km upstream whereas the powerhouse site is 7 km upstream from Tumlingtar Airport.
Previously, a Chinese state-owned company, Power China, had expressed interest to construct the hydropower project. The Chinese company had even signed a memorandum of understanding with IBN to develop the project. However, it retracted from the project construction expressing its dissatisfaction that the government showcased the project at the Investment Summit held in March 2019.