The construction of a 21-kilometer access road to the dam site of the 1,063-megawatt semi-reservoir Upper Arun Hydropower Project, located in Bhotkhola Rural Municipality, has officially commenced.
According to the project’s administration chief, Purna Chauhan, land acquisition for the access road has been completed, with 2,100 trees already felled. Construction materials have been transported by helicopter, and a total of 413 ropanis of land has been acquired for the project.
A payment of Rs 136.5 million has been made to the Forest Department for felling trees in the national and community forests of Wards 2 and 4 of Bhotkhola Rural Municipality. The land price in the area was set at Rs 150,000 per ropani.
As per the Project Development Agreement (PDA), trees removed during construction will be replaced by planting saplings elsewhere. The project has already paid Rs 136.5 million for reforestation efforts.
Infrastructure development along the access road includes the construction of a concrete bridge over the Arun River and another in Chepuwa. Additionally, a road will be built from Chhorang in Bhotkhola-4 to Rukuma Phedi in Bhotkhola-2. A budget of Rs 7.91 billion has been allocated for the access road construction.
