Eighteen firms, most of them joint ventures between Nepali and foreign contractors, are competing to build the 400kV Dhalkebar–Hetauda transmission corridor under a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) model. The Nepal Electricity Authority opened financial bids this week after completing technical evaluations last month.
The corridor is expected to become the backbone for evacuating up to 3,000MW of hydropower from planned projects in the eastern river basins. Under the BOOT arrangement, the winning bidder will finance, construct and operate the line before handing it over at the end of the concession period.
Industry observers say the strong turnout reflects growing private appetite for transmission assets, a segment long dominated by public utilities. The authority is expected to announce the preferred bidder in the coming weeks, with construction slated to begin next fiscal year.