Upper Ankhu Khola Hydropower Project

The Upper Ankhu Khola Hydropower Project is a run-of-river scheme on the Ankhu Khola, a perennial tributary of the Budhi Gandaki River in Dhading district. It is now designed as a cascade scheme, using the regulated tailrace discharge of the upstream Super Ankhu Khola Hydropower Project together with additional flow from the Lapa Khola to generate 44 MW.

Water is diverted at a headpond near Borang village and conveyed through an inverted-U headrace tunnel to an underground powerhouse near Jharlang, driving two vertical-shaft Francis turbines across a gross head of 281.7 m (net head 272.87 m). Because the scheme relies on flow rather than a large storage reservoir, its environmental footprint remains limited while it delivers a steady supply of renewable energy.

Generated electricity is evacuated to the national grid via a 6 km, 132 kV single-circuit transmission line to Borang Substation and sold to Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) under a power purchase agreement — contributing to Nepal's domestic supply and reducing reliance on dry-season electricity imports.

River

Ankhu Khola (tributary of Budhi Gandaki)

District / Province

Dhading, Bagmati Province

Rural Municipalities

Rubi Valley RM (headworks) · Khaniyabas RM (powerhouse)

Project Type

Run-of-river cascade scheme

Installed Capacity

44 MW

Annual Energy (Design)

259.44 GWh (dry 78.37 / wet 181.06 GWh)

Gross Head

281.7 m

Net Head

272.87 m

Rated / Design Discharge

18.43 m³/s (2 × 9.215 m³/s per unit)

Catchment Area at Intake

360.79 km² (397.25 km² at powerhouse)

Annual Mean Flow

31.10 m³/s

Headrace Tunnel

Inverted-U tunnel, ~6.85 km total, shotcrete & concrete lining

Powerhouse

Underground — 40.75 m × 20 m × 32 m

Turbines

2 × vertical-shaft Francis, 22.68 MW each

Generators

2 × synchronous salient-pole, 25.88 MVA, 11 kV

Transmission Line

132 kV single circuit, 6 km to Borang Substation

Power Off-taker

Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA)

Construction Period

Approximately 3 years

EPC Contractor

To be confirmed / awarded

Target Commissioning

To be confirmed (per implementation schedule)

Current Status

Under Construction