Kathmandu, June 11: The construction of the Dhalkebar-Inaruwa section of Hetauda-Dhalkebar-Inaruwa 400 kV transmission line has been completed. The transmission line has been constructed to strengthen and make reliable the electricity transmission system within the country and to expand the electricity trade between Nepal and India.

The construction of 154 km 400 kV double-circuit transmission line from Dhalkebar in Dhanusha to Inaruwa substation located in Bhokraha Narsingh Rural Municipality-4 in Sunsari has been completed. The transmission line can transmit about 4,000 megawatts of electricity.

The construction of the 288 km transmission line from Hetauda substation to Inaruwa substation at Thanabharyang located in Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City-11 of Makwanpur was divided into two sections and the construction started. The transmission line is divided into two sections Hetauda-Dhalkebar 134 km and Dhalkebar-Inaruwa 154 km. 

Out of this, the construction of Dhalkebar-Inaruwa section has been completed, according to the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA). Similarly, the Hetauda-Dhalkebar section is under construction. Managing Director of NEA Kul Man Ghising said that the completion of the Dhalkebar-Inaruwa section was an important achievement to make the country’s overall transmission system qualitative and reliable and to increase the volume of electricity trade between Nepal and India.

“As the transmission infrastructure on our side is not ready, the amount of electricity import and export from the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur cross-border transmission line which is currently in operation is only 800 megawatts. Now after the construction of Dhalkebar-Inaruwa section is completed, the quantity of electricity trade can be increased.”

“The electricity coming to Inaruwa substation via Koshi Corridor can be consumed in that area and if there is excess, it can be brought to Dhalkebar through Dhalkebar-Inaruwa transmission line and exported to India,” said Ghising.

There was a problem in supplying electricity from Dhalkebar to Inaruwa during winter when the capacity of the existing 132 kV transmission line was not able to handle the load. The line itself was in a state of breaking due to the inability to bear the load, he said. 

Now, as enough electricity can be supplied from the 400 kV transmission line, the voltage has been improved and the power supply of the Sunsari-Morang Industrial Corridor has been improved, he said.

The Inaruwa 400 kV substation has been completed and brought into operation. In order to improve the overall power supply of the Sunsari-Morang Industrial Corridor, the process of replacing the old conductor of the Inaruwa-Duhabi 132 kV transmission line with high capacity has already started, said the NEA.

With this, the current capacity of the transmission line, which can transmit about 200 megawatts of electricity, will be increased and almost doubled. A 132 kV transmission line from Inaruwa to Barju and a 132 kV substation at Barju are under construction. A total of 417 towers have been constructed on the Dhalkebar-Inaruwa section of the transmission line.

Project Director Shyam Kumar Yadav said that the construction had been affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Koshi floods, obstruction of the construction by locals demanding to change the route of the transmission line, interim order of the Supreme Court, land use in the forest area and procedural entanglement relating to felling trees.

He said that due to the interim order of the court in the line area of ​​Siraha, the work was stopped for four years and the project had to conduct preliminary environmental assessment (IEE) three times. 

He said that since the construction of Dhalkebar-Inaruwa section had been completed, so all the manpower would be mobilised for the construction of Dhalkebar-Hetauda section. Currently, the work of expanding the wire of the transmission line from Dhalkebar to Hetauda is going on. 

Few locals of wards 15, 16 and 17 of Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City have been obstructing the construction works in that area for about seven years, demanding to alter the route of the transmission line. A total of 16 towers are yet to be constructed, including 14 in Hatiya area and two in Thanabharyang located in Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City-11

The Hetauda-Dhalkebar-Inaruwa transmission line project passes through 10 districts namely Makwanpur, Bara, Rautahat, Sarlahi, Mahottari, Dhanusha, Siraha, Saptari, Udayapur and Sunsari. The contract was signed in February 2013 to complete the construction in 30 months.