The completion of the Dordi Corridor transmission line in Lamjung in central Nepal has spurred hydropower investors to expedite their projects.

They had been working slowly because there was no power line to evacuate the electricity they would be producing after their plants became ready. They are now rushing to finish construction work.

Around 80 megawatts of electricity is now flowing through the Dordi Corridor 132 kilovolt double-circuit transmission line to the national grid, officials said.

Hydropower plants ranging in capacity from 2 to 27 megawatts have been transmitting power to the national grid through the power line.

According to the Dordi Corridor project, a combined 78.83 megawatts of electricity from six plants has been connected to the national grid.

The 27 megawatt Dordi Khola Hydropower Project started commercial production on September 30. The 12 megawatt Dordi I scheme has also gone into commercial production. The 25 megawatt Upper Dordi A is ready for commercial production.

“The project is doing trial runs, and will start commercial production after Tihar,” said a project official.

The 8.83 megawatt Chepe Khola Small Hydropower Project built on the Chepe River has also started commercial production.

The 4 megawatt Upper Chandi Khola scheme has been producing electricity on the Chyangdi River, a tributary of the Dordi River, last year.

The combined cost of the power plants that have been feeding power into the Dordi Corridor transmission line amounts to Rs14.18 billion.

The 27 megawatt Dordi Khola Hydropower Project was built with an investment of Rs4.83 billion, while the 25 megawatt Upper Dordi A Hydropower Project cost Rs4.64 billion.

The 12 megawatt Dordi I plant has a price tag of Rs2 billion. The Chepe Khola project was constructed at a cost of Rs1.50 billion and the Upper Chandi Khola project was constructed at a cost of Rs803.5 million.

More than 80 percent of the construction work has been completed at the 54 megawatt Super Dordi Hydropower Project B being built on the Dordi River.

Arjun Gautam, director of the Super Dordi Hydropower Project, said the plant would start generating electricity from next year. The scheme cost Rs8.80 billion.

With the completion of this hydropower project, a total of 132.83 megawatts of electricity will be produced in the Dordi Corridor with investments amounting to Rs22.98 billion.

Most of the projects are being built with domestic capital. The 27 megawatt Dordi Khola Hydropower Project was constructed by NRN Infrastructure and Development Company. It was established by non-resident Nepalis who hold a 35.7 percent stake.

"After the transmission line was completed, we started feeding electricity into the national grid," Gautam said.

Rajendra Wasti, director of the Upper Dordi A Hydropower Project, said they started producing electricity after the transmission line was built.

"The production of electricity was delayed due to lack of a transmission line. After the line was completed, we started generating electricity," he said.

Deepak Gyawali, an engineer at the Dordi Khola Hydropower Project, said the 27 megawatt project started churning out power commercially on September 30.

Bijay Khadka, an electronic engineer at the Dordi I Hydropower Project, said the 12 megawatt plant began commercial production on October 3.

Ramesh Paudel, chief of the Dordi Corridor project, said the 10 km transmission line had been extended by 1 km to Udayapur. Four more towers were built to lengthen the power line which originally had 33 towers.

Since there is no substation at Udayapur to connect with the 220 kilovolt Marsyangdi Corridor transmission line, the electricity of the Dordi Corridor has been linked with the Mid-Marsyangdi transmission line.

The Dordi Corridor was initially planned to be completed in 2016, and land acquisition began in 2017.

Construction started in 2018, but hydropower projects located along the Dordi Corridor stalled after the transmission line was delayed.

The Dordi Corridor transmission line is estimated to have cost Rs850 million. The Nepal Electricity Authority gave the construction contract to Mudbhary and Joshi Construction. Work on the substation was done by Nepal Hydro and Electric.

Three new towers have already been erected. A tower above Hille Bazaar is being replaced after it was damaged by last year's floods.

As the tower has not been completed, a 3.5 km single-circuit transmission line constructed by the Dordi I Hydroelectric Project is being used to evacuate power.

After the tower is ready, the authority will feed all the electricity of the Dordi Corridor to the national grid through its own transmission line.