Building the Sunkosh hydropower project, downsized by almost 1,500 megawatts, will cost Nu 116 B less according to new estimates.

The downsized version of Sunkosh will need Nu 97.6 B instead of Nu 213 B to build.

“These figures will be confirmed when the detailed project report is finalised,” economic affairs minister Khandu Wangchuk said yesterday at a press briefing in Thimphu.

The Teri hydropower development corporation is in the process of preparing the DPR after which the date of construction and estimated cost will be finalised.

With the installed capacity now at 2,560 MW, the height of the Sunkosh dam will be 215 meters from 265 meters and the river backflow will stretch to around 40 kilometers upstream. Sunkosh will be a standalone project without the irrigation component as opted earlier.

The Bhutanese high-level delegation that recently returned from New Delhi after attending the empowered joint group (EJG) meeting finalised the cost, shape, size and the operation of the project.

With the reduced dam size, the project’s generation cost would also come down to Nu 3.72 a unit from Nu 8.15 a unit.

The managing director of DGPC, Dasho Chewang Rinzin, said although the dam size has been reduced, it will still be a reservoir scheme and the dam will hold around 2,569 million cubic meters of water that can be used during lean season.

Two important options were explored in the previous meetings, which was either to have a standalone hydro electric project or a project with a multi storage dam.

As a standalone project, with its original capacity, it was found that the cost of electricity will shoot up if the project is built specifically for electricity generation.

The other option was to have a multi storage dam and divert the cost on civil works like building irrigation channels that will draw water from the dam, which will be utilised in agricultural fields in India.

Around 40 percent cost was to be diverted to reduce cost on the electricity component to 60 percent. With this option, the price of electricity would be reasonable as the cost of construction would come down.

Lyonpo Khandu Wangchuk also said that in a bid to strengthen Bhutanese private sector involvement in the project, most of the works will be awarded to Bhutanese contractors while major ones will be done by Indians.

Bhutanese private sector can also partner with Indian contractors to carry out works in a joint venture, he said.

By Nidup Gyeltshen