Upper Arun Access Road Construction
Construction of the 21 km access road for the 1,063 MW Upper Arun Hydropower Project in Sankhuwasabha is gaining momentum, with heavy equipment now being airlifted to one of Nepal’s most remote project sites. According to New Business Age, the access road runs from Chongrang near Gola Bazaar in Bhotkhola-4 to the dam site at Chepuwa in Ward 2, opening the route for main construction works on the country’s largest planned hydropower development.
The road package is technically demanding. It includes about 2 km of tunnels and a 70 m steel arch bridge across the Arun River, structures that must carry heavy construction traffic through steep Himalayan terrain. Because the site has no road connection for heavy haulage, contractors have airlifted boomers, excavators, robotic shotcrete machines, and concrete pumps by helicopter, including the MI-17, in more than 300 trips. Explosives bunkers and staff housing are under construction, while excavation preparation is underway at Namase and Ruku.
The project had earlier lost about 18 months to forest land approvals and tree clearing permits, a familiar bottleneck for Himalayan infrastructure. With clearances now in hand, Nepal Electricity Authority managing director and Upper Arun Hydropower Limited chairman Kulman Ghising, along with NEA deputy managing director Fanendra Raj Joshi, recently visited the site to review progress. Their presence signals the priority NEA places on moving the project toward main construction.
Financing for the USD 1.75 billion project, roughly Rs 214 billion, is structured at 70 percent debt and 30 percent equity. The World Bank is leading a USD 2 billion co-financing effort with the Asian Development Bank and JICA, though the project will proceed with domestic financing if the World Bank withdraws. A HIDCL-led consortium of banks has signed an MOU for Rs 53 billion in debt, while equity is split 51 percent to UAHEL and 49 percent to public shares under the People’s Hydropower Program.
Land acquisition is nearly complete, with 232.14 hectares of private land acquired and 99 percent of compensation paid, and 22 households identified as displaced. Main construction is targeted to begin in early 2026 with completion by 2031. Once built, the project is expected to generate 4.53 billion units of electricity a year, running at full capacity for six hours daily in winter and delivering 30 percent of its output in the dry season. A 6 km 400 kV transmission line and the 40 MW Ikhuwa Khola project form part of the wider development.
Source: New Business Age
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