Upper Karnali is to be built in about five years as a power export project. It is to deliver power to the Power Grid Corp. of India grid in India by a 400-kilovolt double-circuit transmission line.
The Investment Board now invites expressions of interest from consultants to serve as engineering geology and geotechnical engineer and general hydropower engineer for Upper Karnali. The engineers are to advise the government of Nepal, GMR Upper Karnali Hydropower Ltd. and Karnali Transmission Co. Private Ltd. on all aspects of the project as provided in terms of reference.The Investment Board of Nepal and India builder GMR Group last year signed a project development agreement for construction of Upper Karnali in the Surket, Achham and Dailekh District of Nepal. The government awarded a contract in 2008 to GMR and consortium partner Italian-Thai Development Project Co. of Thailand to build Upper Karnali, then rated at 300 MW. The World Bank recruited consultants in 2012 to review plans for Upper Karnali and three other hydroelectric projects in Nepal totaling 3,050 MW.
