The Nepal Weekly 
March 11, 2025
A consortium of commercial banks led by Laxmi Sunrise Bank Ltd. has inked a facilities agreement with Kaligandaki Gorge Hydropower Pvt. Ltd. to finance 180 Megawatts peaking run-of-the-River Kaligandaki Gorge Hydropower Project. The project is being constructed at Kaligandaki River of Mustang and Myagdi districts with an estimated project cost of Rs 39.51 billion. Once this hydroelectricity project constructed, will play an influential role in Nepal’s renewable energy scenario.
Kaligandaki Gorge Hydropower Project, the private sector developer had received the Generation License from the Department of Electricity Development on March 11, 2019 and subsequently signed the Power Purchase Agreement with Nepal Electricity Authority on March 01, 2023. The company is being promoted by Sanghai Group, Vishal Group and Gyanendra Lal Pradhan, the reputed hydropower entrepreneur.
The banking consortium has assured financing approximately 75% of the project cost, with the remaining 25% to be contributed by the project promoters and the public. Laxmi Sunrise has extended a Project Finance commitment of Rs 9 billion, while co-lead banks Global IME Bank and Siddhartha Bank have committed NPR 7.13 billion and Rs 5 billion, respectively. Likewise, Himalayan Bank and Nepal SBI Bank will contribute Rs 3 billion each, while Everest Bank will participate with Rs 2.5 billion. Collectively, the total Term Loan amounts to Rs 29.63 billion.
The hydropower project is anticipated to generate an estimated 1,056 GWh of power annually to the national grid and will be one of the large sized independent power producers (IPP). The project is expected to come into operation in June 2029.
The Kaligandaki Gorge Hydropower Project is located in the Mustang and Myagdi districts of Nepal, specifically in the Mustang and Myagdi districts, with the dam at Ghansha in Thasang Rural Municipality in Mustang and the powerhouse in Annapurna Rural Municipality-4 Narchang in Myagdi.
