Around 400 families affected by the 900-megawatt Arun III Hydropower Project, currently under construction in Makalu Rural Municipality, Sankhuwasabha, are set to receive compensation for their land acquired for the project. The Arun III Hydropower Project is almost 80% complete.
On December 26, the Supreme Court directed authorities to disburse compensation within a month, in line with a notice issued by the District Administration Office, Sankhuwasabha, on April 12, 2023. The notice had determined compensation for 524 ropanis of land along the 24-kilometer access road from Chhyanguti to the power house at a rate of Rs 1.175 million per ropani. In response, Arun-3 Power Development Company Limited deposited Rs 530 million into the government’s account under pressure from the district administration.
The land and homes of about 400 families lie along the project’s access road. Chief District Officer Binod Kumar Khadka confirmed that a letter was sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs following the Supreme Court's directive.
The Arun III Hydropower Project achieved a significant milestone on June 4, 2024, with the breakthrough of its main tunnel, signaling the completion of the tunnel work.
The project is being developed by SJVN Arun III Power Development Company Private Limited, a subsidiary of India's SJVN Ltd., on a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) model. SJVN will operate the plant for 30 years before transferring the ownership to the Governmentof Nepal. During this period, Nepal will receive 21.9% of the generated power free of cost.
The estimated cost of the project is US$1.6 billion, including $156 million allocated for developing the transmission line. Once operational, Arun III is expected to generate approximately 4,018.87 million units of electricity annually. The project is anticipated to create around 3,000 jobs in Nepal and India during its construction phase.
The construction includes a 70-meter high, 466-meter wide concrete gravity dam across the Arun River, capable of storing 13.94 million cubic meters of water. The power evacuation will be facilitated via a 300-kilometer-long, 400kV transmission line to India, routed from Diding to Dhalkebar in Nepal, and finally to Muzaffarpur in India . (With inputs from RSS)