Vishal Group and Triveni Group, the two business houses have acquired 51 percent ownership of the 180 MW Kaligandaki Gorge PROR type Hydropower Project. Both groups purchased the project through Green Ventures Limited banner. An agreement was signed between Green Ventures and Kaligandaki Gorge Hydropower on 26 August to purchase 51 percent of the promoter shares.
Green Ventures has been operating four projects with a capacity of 52.2 MW. Green Ventures has stated that the project has received a generation license. Moreover, financial management has been completed with co-financing from various banks under the leadership of Lakshmi Sunrise Bank.
The project is estimated to cost Rs 39.5 billion. The investment structure has been designed with bank debt accounting for 75 percent and equity accounting for 25 percent. Laxmi Sunrise Bank will invest Rs 9 billion, Global IME Bank Rs 9 billion, Siddhartha Bank Rs 5 billion, Himalayan Bank and Nepal SBI Bank Rs 3 billion each, and Everest Bank Rs 2.5 billion.
The remaining investment will be raised from the equity founding investors Triveni, Vishal and Pradhan groups. The investment structure has been created such that Triveni and Vishal groups will own 51 percent of the project, and Gyanendra Lal Pradhan will own 25 percent.
A power purchase agreement (PPA) has been signed for the power generated by the project. The Nepal Electricity Authority has fixed a separate PPA rate for the PROR type project. The PPA rate has been set at Rs 4.80 per kWh during the wet season, Rs 10.55 for the peaking hours, and Rs 8.40 for the non-peaking hours.
The project will receive an eight-time price increase from the NEA at a rate of 3 percent per year. The peaking period of the project will be 6 hours per day during the dry season.
Accordingly, the company has stated that 717.338 million kWh of electricity will be generated during the rainy season and 338.113 million kWh during the dry season. Studies have shown that the semi-reservoir project will generate 1.55 billion 552 thousand 313 kWh of electricity annually.
The company will earn seven billion rupees annually by selling electricity to the Nepal Electricity Authority. The project will yield a return of 17 percent.
The project aims to start generating electricity from June/July 2029. The semi-reservoir project has been designed to have a peaking period of 6 hours.
Three turbines with a capacity of 60 megawatts will be installed in the power house. The tunnel is five kilometers long and has a head of 500 meters.
The project will generate 180 megawatts of electricity for 6 hours per day during the dry season as well.
Three turbines with a capacity of 60 megawatts will be installed in the power house. The tunnel is five kilometers long and has a head of 500 meters.
The project has proposed a dam at Ghansama in Thasang Rural Municipality of Mustang and a power house at Narchyang, Annapurna Rural Municipality-4, Myagdi. This project is the largest in Myagdi so far. The project is located 20 kilometers from Beni in Myagdi. The electricity generated will be connected to the Dana substation of Nepal Electricity Authority in Myagdi.
Triveni and Vishal Group have already commissioned the Likhu-4 Hydropower Project, while the 82 MW Lower Solu Project has just started generating electricity. Recently, Vishal and Triveni Group have been expanding their investment in hydropower. The group has been operating industrial businesses including cement, edible oil, etc. Similarly, it has been importing foreign brands of liquor and other goods.
Green Ventures Limited emphasized that the construction and operationalization of the Kali Gandaki Gorge Hydropower Project are expected to contribute significantly to the growth and sustainability of Nepal’s energy sector. This strategic investment highlights the growing confidence of private investors in Nepal’s hydropower sector and marks an important step toward meeting the country’s increasing energy demands.
The project is chaired by Subhas Chandra Shanghai, Anuj Agrawal and Gyanendra Lal Pradhan as the main directors.
