Nepal-China power line will take time
There is a long way to go before the construction of the proposed Nepal-China cross-border transmission line begins.
Image for illustration purposes.
Nepal, Kathmandu: There is a long way to go before the construction of the proposed Nepal-China cross-border transmission line begins, despite the countries’ agreement to build one through Rasuwagadhi-Kerung border point, a senior official of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) said.
During Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s visit to China, the two countries agreed to launch the construction of the Jilong/Kerung-Rasuwagadhi-Chilime 220 kV transmission line at an early date, according to a statement issued after talks between Prime Minister Dahal and his Chinese counterpart Li Qiang. It would be the first-ever cross-border power line between the two countries.
“Even though the agreement was reached, there is still no clarity on how it will be built and what would be the funding modality,” said Dirghayu Kumar Shrestha, chief of transmission directorate at the NEA. Nepal officials earlier said that they expected China to fund the project as only a 16km section needs to be built on the Nepal side, while the nearest substation of China is around 80km from the border. A Detailed Project Report (DPR) and Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) should also be conducted, which may take 3-4 years.
Earlier, Nepal had proposed building a 400kV Ratmate-Rasuwagadhi-Kerung transmission line for electricity trade with China. The NEA has already conducted a feasibility study for the project, whose proposed length is around 70km and can carry 5,000MW power, according to the Nepal Electricity Authority.
During the meeting of the representatives of the NEA and the State Grid Corporation of China in February, the Chinese side had called for reducing the capacity of the power line to 220kV. Nepal is building a 220kV substation at Chilime Hub, about 16km inward from the border point while China is also distributing power in its bordering areas with a 220kV line. The Chinese side wanted to build a low capacity power line first so that the project could be developed as early as possible. Even though Nepal agreed to this proposal, a high-capacity transmission line will likely be required for large-scale trading of power in the future, which is why there has been discussion on constructing multi circuit transmission pylons along the alignment of the 220KV line so that the same pylons can be used to upgrade the capacity of the transmission line.
Source: Kathmandu Post