Nepal Infrastructure 
KATHMANDU: In an effort to increase the consumption of electricity in the internal market, the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is going to establish a transmission network that can distribute 4,000 MW of electricity in Madhesh province.
The network covers Bara, Parsa, Rautahat, Mahottari, Dhanusha, and other districts of Madhesh Province by 2050. The NEA – the sole power distributor- is building a high-capacity transmission line corridor, especially considering the expansion of human settlements and industrial areas in the southern part of the province.
According to the plan, four circuit transmission lines and 400 KV substations will be constructed along the postal highway on the southern border with India.
Kulman Ghisingh, Managing Director of NEA, the transmission line corridor will be constructed in the initial phase of the four circuits, with the upper two circuits at 400 KV and the lower two circuits at 132 KV capacity.
Under the Bara-Parsa Industrial Corridor, transmission network infrastructure will be built to consume about 3200 MW of electricity in the Birgunj area and 800 MW in the Janakpur area.
According to the NEA, adequate, reliable, and quality electricity can be supplied in Madhesh province, where there is great potential for the expansion of urban areas and industrial areas after the construction of electrical infrastructure.
The planned transmission lines and substations in this province will cost more than Rs 50 billion which will be raised through the investment of the government and NEA, concessional loans from the Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank), the Asian Development Bank, and others.
A highly skilled team, including Ghising and consultants, visited the proposed line construction site last week and took information about the possible places for the construction of the proposed transmission lines and substations, electricity demand, and consumption conditions.
Ghising said that the South Corridor transmission line is going to be constructed in a phased manner to increase internal electricity consumption and export the excess electricity to India. In the first phase, the authority will construct transmission lines and substations that are urgently needed to increase electricity consumption.
In the second phase, the main line will be constructed in the South Corridor, and in the third phase, the cross-border transmission line will be constructed for international electricity trade.
“Some transmission lines and substations are being constructed, and some will be immediately built. The work of acquiring land for other substations, determining the route of the transmission line, and starting the process for environmental studies, etc., are also currently going on,” said Ghising.
