Ghaghara River - Development Projects On The River

Development Projects On The River

In Nepal

The Karnali basin is the first to arouse keen interest in Nepal's vast hydropower development study. There are several attractive sites for the generation of cheap hydroelectric energy in this basin.

The Master Plan Study for Water Resource Development of the Upper Karnali River and Mahakali River Basins (1993) identified 32 potential hydropower projects in the Karnali Basin. Despite the high potential of hydropower development (32,000 MW) in the Basin, only 2,245 kW capacities (from eight micro hydel schemes) has been developed so far.

Considering the pace of hydropower development in Nepal (Out of 83,000 MW potential, only 314.6 MW capacity hydropower projects were targeted for completion by 2007) in general and in the Karnali Basin in particular, harnessing the total hydropower potential of the Basin is envisaged to take a long time. Based on recent water resources development planning and project progress, the likely large scale hydropower projects that will be operational in the Basin by 2025 are predicted to be: West Seti HEP (750 MW); Upper Karnali HEP (300 MW); Bheri-Babai Multipurpose Project (48 MW); and Lohore Khola HEP (58 MW).

West Seti HEP (750 MW)

The proposed West Seti HEP is located on the Seti River in the Far-Western Development Region of Nepal. The West Seti HEP catchment covers the upper 4,022 km² of the Seti River Basin. The West Seti HEP is a large storage project with a rated capacity of 750 MW. The power station is located approximately 63 km upstream of the Seti River confluence with the Karnali River, with the dam site located a further 19.2 km upstream. All project sites, excluding the reservoir area and transmission line corridor, are located in either Doti and/or Dadeldhura Districts. The reservoir area is located in Doti, Dadeldhura, Baitadi and Bajhang Districts. The transmission line corridor is located in Doti, Dadeldhura, Kailali and Kanchanpur Districts. The project has been allocated for development as BOOT project under private sector.

Upper Karnali HEP (300 MW)

The proposed Upper Karnali HEP is located on the main course of the Karnali River and has a catchment area of 20,120 km². This project is one of Nepal's most economically attractive runof- river diversion schemes (300 MW), with daily peaking capacity and high firm energy. Project facilities will be located in three districts: Surkhet, Dailekh and Achham. Project hydrology is based on data from station 240 at Asaraghat. The river is snow fed and the mean annual estimated flow at the headworks is 500 m³/s. The project has been allocated to GMR of India for development on BOOT basis.

Bheri-Babai Multipurpose Project (48 MW)

The Bheri-Babai Multipurpose Project is an inter-Basin water transfer project prioritised for the development of irrigation in Bardia District . The intake of the Bheri-Babai (BR-1) diversion scheme lies on the Bheri River 45 km upstream of the confluence with the Karnali River. The tailrace outlet is located in the Babai River 20 km upstream of the existing Babai irrigation project diversion weir. The Bheri-Babai project aims to generate electricity and supply additional water to the Babai Irrigation Scheme in the Terai by diverting 40 m3/s of water from the Bheri River into the Babai River. project is yet to undergo a feasibility study.

Lohore Khola HEP (LR-1) – (58 MW)

The Lohore Khola HEP is a proposed reservoir storage project situated on the Lohore Khola, a tributary of the Karnali River in Dailekh District. The project is located a few kilometers downstream from the confluence with Chham River and upstream of Dungeshowr. The catchment area of the Lohore River at the reservoir site is 733 km². Based on the isohyetal map of the Karnali River Basin, average annual rainfall for the Basin is estimated to be 1,539 mm. As there is no stream gauge on the Lohore River, its flow was estimated using data from Station 240 (1963–2000) located on the Karnali River at Asaraghat with a catchment area of 19,260 km2. The sediment flow into the river is estimated to be 2.4 million tonnes per year. As the economic internal rate of return (EIRR) for the project is highest for the draft rate of 0.7, the flow for power generation was estimated for this draft rate. The riparian flow was assumed to be 10% of the monthly minimum flow (i.e. 0.53 m3/s).

Karnali (Chisapani) Multipurpose Project (10,800 MW)

The site of the Karnali Multipurpose Project, also Chisapani Dam Project, is located in the Karnali Gorge, immediately upstream of the Terai. The project has a catchment area of 43,679 km², covering nearly 30% of Nepal. The long-term average river flow is 1,389 m3/s, with an average dry season flow (November–May) of 451 m3/s and an average wet season flow (June–October) of 2,690 m3/s. The Karnali (Chisapani) Multipurpose Project is a potential mega multipurpose storage project on the Karnali River at Chisapani, envisaging a 270 m high dam, with reservoir area of 350 km², with power station operating under a design head of 185 m to operate 18 units of 620 MW capacity each ( 10,800 MW installed capacity) and with a reregulating wier downstream with power plant of 84 MW capacity operating under a head of 13.5 m. A Large scale irrigation development is also envisaged - 2,380 km² in Nepal and 32,000 km² India. Project planning commenced in 1960, although the feasibility study for the project was only completed in 1989. Before this project is developed a number of significant underlying issues have to be resolved. These issues include: Nepal and India reaching a bilateral agreement on the downstream benefits of regulated river flows; the resettlement of over 60,000 people; the impact on and restoration of habitat within Bardia National Park; and, above all, the financial arrangements for project funding. Accordingly, it is predicted that the chances of this project being implemented before 2025 are very slim, although increasing international pressure on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the energy generation sector may assist project initiation. While the likelihood of this project being developed by 2025 is low, Nepal and India could cooperate to develop this project to meet India’s growing energy demand from renewable resources.