July 6: With the partial operation of the 456-MW Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project, there emerges public concern regarding what and how the much-awaited national pride project would impact the national economy.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Poudel reportedly said that the Upper Tamakoshi project would make one per cent contribution to the economic growth of the country.
A single unit of electricity would make impact worth around Rs 90-100, the state-owned national news agency (RSS) reported citing a knowledgeable person of the energy sector. Currently, one out of six units of Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project has come into operation.

Executive Director of Nepal Electricity Authority, Hitendra Dev Shakya, informed that the project is expected to produce 2,280 million units of electricity annually.

The project that was supposed to be completed some six years ago has been delayed due to several reasons.    
Policy-makers and investors however have shown their doubt whether or not the project would give anticipated returns owing to the elevated costs and protracted timing of the project, RSS further reported.    
Yet the project is taken to be a gamer changer project for its potential benefits to the national economy of Nepal. This is so far the biggest project constructed with domestic financing of Nepal.

It has to be noted that former Executive Director of Nepal Electricity Authority Kulman Ghising took the initiative to bring this project back on track from the verge of failure.

The success of this project has also boosted up the country’s confidence that hydropower projects of medium-scale capacity and investment can be undertqaken on our own financing, engineering and management, said NEA’s Executive Director Hitendra Dev Shakya.    
(With inputs from RSS)