Eleven hydroelectric projects are currently under construction in three rivers–Myagdi Khola, Rahughat, and Mistri Khola–in Myagdi district. Once completed, these projects will add 390 megawatts of electricity to the national grid.

In the past five years alone, four projects from Annapurna Rural Municipality contributed 111 megawatts of power to the national transmission system.

Some of the ongoing projects are expected to connect to the central transmission line within this fiscal year, while others are set to connect next year. Several of these projects are also working on constructing access roads and preparing to drill tunnels.

Among the projects under construction, the 40.7MW Nilgiri First (N-1) and the 6 MW Rele Khola projects in Annapurna-4 are in their final stages. “Four projects from our municipality have already been connected to the national grid, and two more will be connected within a year,” said Bharat Kumar Pun, chairman of Annapurna Rural Municipality. “We are also receiving royalties from these operational projects, and the local government is fully supporting other projects currently in process.”

In the Rahughat area, five hydroelectric projects are making significant progress, including the 40MW Rahughat, 37.5MW Mangale Rahughat, 48.5MW Upper Rahughat, 21.3MW Thulokhola, and 22.5MW Upper Thulokhola projects, all of which have achieved 70-95 percent progress in their construction.

“The Rahughat project, which had faced a terminated contract in the past, has now overcome significant risks and achieved 85-90 percent progress,” said Ganesh KC, managing director of Raghuganga Hydro Limited. “We are now close to generating electricity within a few months, as challenges related to adverse geographical location, shifting soils, and construction materials such as gravel and sand are gradually being resolved.”

Further upstream in the Myagdi Khola watershed, work is progressing on the 25MW Darbang Myagdi Khola and 53MW Upper Myagdi-1 projects, both of which are rapidly constructing tunnels. Additionally, the 37MW Upper Myagdi Khola and 57MW Myagdi Khola projects have begun tunnelling work this week after constructing access roads.

“Hydro electricity projects have made significant headway in the underdeveloped Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality. The locals, who once could not even imagine motorable roads, now have access routes,” said Thamsara Pun, former chairman of Dhulagiri Rural Municipality. “If these projects had not come to our area, it would have been unimaginable to even dream of motorable roads in this locality. But now, it’s a reality.”

In total, 42MW Mistri Khola, 71MW Nilgiri Cascade (N-2), 4MW Ghalemdi Khola, and 14MW Ghar Khola hydroelectric projects have already been connected to the national grid.

In the northern part of Myagdi, along the Kaligandaki River from Beni to the Mustang border, several large projects are underway. These include the 164MW Kaligandaki Gorge, 50MW Madhya Kaligandaki, 58MW Tiplyang Kaligandaki, 65MW Upper Kaligandaki, and 50.53MW Beni Kaligandaki projects, all with a combined capacity of nearly 388 megawatts. These projects have signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) with the Department of Electricity Development and are under construction.

However, the Kaligandaki Gorge project has struggled to secure funding, while the Beni Kaligandaki project has been delayed due to alignment issues in Beni, the Myagdi district’s headquarters. In addition, over half a dozen smaller and medium-sized projects are awaiting PPA approval after receiving electricity survey permits.