A number of hydropower projects in Nepal suffered substantial damages as a result of floods and landslides that were not predicted in the recent past. The devastation caused by the floods and landslides in the hydropower power plants has highlighted an urgent need for resilience in the construction and design of these vital infrastructures.
KATHMANDU, Jan 27: On June 14, 2023, the employees working in the under-construction Super Hewakhola hydropower project at Chainpur, Sankhuwasabha, went to sleep after having dinner. The heavy flood in Hewakhola at around 9:30 PM not only washed away 18 workers along with their tents built on the river bank, but also damaged more than half a dozen structures of the project.
Despite initialling a 25-year-long inter-governmental framework agreement on selling Nepal’s electricity to the southern neighbour, the agreement is yet to be signed.