Lower Arun Hydroelectric Project

About Lower Arun Hydroelectric Project:

• It is a 679MW hydropower project.
• It is a run-of-river project planned on Arun River (a tributary of the Koshi River), Nepal.
• The project will be built under the build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) model.
• The project is being developed by Investment Board Nepal and SJVN.
• This is the second project awarded to SJVN in Nepal, the first one being the 900 MW Arun 3 Hydro Electric Project in Sankhuwasabha District.
• The project will not have any reservoir or dam and will be a tailrace development of the Arun-3 hydro project, which will mean water re-enters the river for the Lower Arun project.

Key facts about Arun-3 hydro project:

• It is a 900MW run-of-the-river hydropower project being developed on the Arun River in Sankhuwasabha District in Nepal.
• It will include the construction of a 70m-tall and 466m-long concrete gravity dam on the Arun River.
• It will be the biggest hydroelectric facility in Nepal.
• SJVN Arun-III Power Development Company (SAPDC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of India’s SJVN, is developing the project on a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) basis.
• SAPDC will operate the facility for a period of 25 years, excluding the construction period of five years, before transferring the ownership to the Nepal government.

Q1) What is a gravity dam?

A gravity dam is a structure designed to withstand loads by its own weight and by its resistance to sliding and overturning on its foundation. Newer dams of this type are typically composed of unreinforced concrete monoliths with seals at the joints.

Source: Nepal approves investment proposal from India’s SJVN for 669 MW Lower Arun hydropower project

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