SMEC Win Hydropower projects for Nepal and India

Engineering consulting firm SMEC has been hired to support hydropower development projects in India and Nepal.

In India, contractor Megha Engineering & Infrastructures has selected SMEC to serve as its engineering and project management services partner for the Kundah Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Project.

Megha Engineering & Infrastructures is the project’s main contractor, operating under a contract with Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) – an electrical power generation and distribution undertaking owned by the Government of Tamil Nadu.

The project is one of the largest pumped storage electricity generating schemes in Tamil Nadu, set to provide 500MW. The energy will be generated from the use of two reservoirs in the Nilgiris hills, a reservoir at Porthimund as the upper reservoir and Emerald as the lower reservoir.

Neeta Arora, Director Design Centre at SMEC in India, said: “The Indian government has committed to a significant increase in power system flexibility, ensuring grid stability and avoiding power shortages. This provides a great opportunity for further hydropower development in the region, an area where SMEC has many decades of experience and a broad project portfolio.”

Meanwhile, in Nepal, SMEC has been appointed by the Department of Electricity Development to conduct a feasibility study and environmental impact assessment on the Kaligandaki Hydropower Project. Located along the border between Parbat and Myagdi, the multipurpose storage hydropower project will utilise river discharge flowing into the Kaligandaki River to generate 844 MW of power. 

Kamalesh Pradhananga, SMEC’s team leader on the project, said: “SMEC has a long track record of delivering hydropower projects, and we’re able to tap that experience combined with specialist engineering expertise to deliver technical and sustainable solutions for our clients and partners.” 

The latest project win comes within months of another engagement in Nepal. Late 2019, SMEC was hired to conduct a feasibility study, detailed engineering surveys and preparation of tender documents for the Simbuwa Khola Hydroelectric project (70MW) in the Taplejung district.

Earlier this year, SMEC bagged rail and metro engineering contracts in Bangladesh and India.