The planned stock issue of the 25 megawatt Upper Dordi Hydropower Project has been pushed back due to the ongoing lockdown in the country.

The shares would be offered to locals of the district and residents impacted by the construction of the power station. The plant located in Lamjung in central Nepal is in the final stages of completion.

The project had expected to start issuing shares on March 23, but the lockdown which was implemented from March 24 due to the Covid-19 threat forced it to put the plan on hold, said Rajendra Basti, promoter of Liberty Energy.

The first phase of share applications for locals lasted from March 10-24. The company would be accepting applications from March 24-April 8 in the second phase.

Share applications could be collected for 13 days only, said Basti. NIBL Capital is the issue manager.

Interested buyers could apply for shares at 36 branch offices of 19 banks in the district, and also at two counters of the Dordi project located at Kirtipurbeshi.

The issuance of shares has been halted till further notice and until the situation fully returns to normal. “The Securities Board of Nepal and NIBL Capital will fix the new dates,” he said.

The project will issue 1.5 million shares worth Rs100 each to locals.

The power station is expected to go into production in mid-April. Project manager Suresh Prasad Joshi said they had aimed to start generating power by mid-April, but the deadline will certainly be extended because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The plant was initially expected to come online last August, but a landslide in July forced it to push back the date. Almost 97 percent of the construction work has been completed, he said.

The construction cost is estimated to go up to Rs4.63 billion from the original Rs3.93 billion due to the time overrun.

The devastating earthquake of April 2015, the Indian government's unofficial blockade and landslide swelled the price tag by Rs670.6 million.

The current lockdown has brought construction work to a complete halt, which is expected to increase the cost further. The project's construction cost is Rs180.54 million per megawatt.