Kathmandu. The government has approved an investment of more than 21.17 billion rupees in two hydropower projects with a power generation capacity of 105.62 megawatts. The 68th meeting of the Board of Investment held on Friday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Balendra Shah has decided to approve investment in Nar Khola in Manang and Sani Bheri-3 hydropower projects in Rukum.

The meeting approved the investment of 10.75 billion 497 thousand rupees in the Nar Khola semi-reservoir hydropower project with a capacity of 58.9 megawatts and 10.42 billion 33 lakh 62 thousand rupees in the Sani Bheri-3 project with a capacity of 46.72 megawatts. The total cost of both projects reaches 21 billion 17 billion 38 lakh 59 thousand rupees.

The board, which has approved investment in new projects, has also advanced the progress and future production targets of two large hydropower projects that have been under construction for a long time. The 900 MW Arun-3 project being built by India's state-owned company Sutlej Jalvidyut Nigam SJVN aims to start commercial production by February 2028. Earlier, the goal was to complete the construction by March 2025, but after the work was not completed, the process of extending the time was started.

In the case of the 900 megawatt Upper Karnali hydropower project, the meeting has decided to facilitate the construction immediately as per the provisions of the Project Development Agreement 9PDA0.