Financial closure secured for 24.8 MW Bajra Madi Hydropower Project

KATHMANDU, MAY 11: Bajra Energy Ventures Pvt. Ltd. has successfully concluded the financial closure of the 24.8 MW Bajra Madi Hydropower Project, which it is promoting. A consortium led by NMB Bank Limited,  with Agricultural Development Bank Limited (ADBL) as the sole partner, committed a loan investment of NPR 3.74 billion for the project. The financial agreement was finalized last Friday.

Located in the Madi Rural Municipality of Kaski district, the run-of-the-river project is being developed on the Madi River. Although the project currently holds a generation license for 24.8 MW, the company has applied to the Department of Electricity Development to upgrade the capacity to 31 MW.

According to the project design, it will feature a 43-meter-long dam, a 100-meter-long desander, an approximately 8-kilometre-long tunnel, and a gross head of 125.5 meters. The generated electricity will be transmitted to the Lekhnath substation via a 7.2-kilometre-long 132 kv single-circuit transmission line.

The Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for the project was completed some 3.5 years back. The project has already obtained both the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) approval and the generation license. The project's total estimated cost is NPR 5.35 billion, with a target completion period of 42 months.

At the same event, the 25 MW Seti River Hydropower Project—located on the Seti River in Machhapuchchhre Rural Municipality and Pokhara Metropolitan City of Kaski—was officially inaugurated.

According to company chairman Sudip Singh Adhikari, the project, promoted by Vision Lumbini Energy Company, has been completed and is now connected to the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) grid. The construction started in 2020, and the NEA began purchasing electricity from the project starting November 13, 2024.

The electricity generated by the Seti River Hydropower Project is connected to the NEA’s national transmission network via a 4-kilometre-long, 132 kv transmission line to the Lahachowk substation.

The project was financed through a loan consortium led by NMB Bank, with additional funding from the Employees Provident Fund and the Agricultural Development Bank. The financing structure comprises 70% debt and 30% equity investment.