Dechen Dolkar 

The 1,200 MW Punatsangchhu-I Hydropower Project  is  going ahead with the construction of the dam with essential stabilisation measures for the right bank slide. 

After 11 years of deliberation and more than 30 Technical Coordination Committee (TCC) meetings, the governments of Bhutan and India have finally reached a consensus to advance the dam’s construction. 

However, TCC is still discussing whether to go ahead with dam construction.

Rectification works will be carried out on the right bank, which suffered a major landslide, bringing the works at the hydropower project site to a sudden halt. 

Speaking to Kuensel, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Gem Tshering said that the Central Water Commission (CWC) of India had prepared the design for the right bank stabilisation measures and submitted it to the Bhutanese government.

“The CWC’s proposal is still under technical review,” Lyonpo Gem Tshering said. “We will evaluate if it meets our requirements, and only then will we discuss with the Indian counterparts the adequacy of the stabilisation measures, based on the geological profile of the hill slope.”

However, Lyonpo said that it is unclear how long the review process and subsequent joint discussions will take. 

“We have been requesting a joint sitting for a long time, but the Indian side is not yet ready,” he added.

Differences in geological interpretations between the two governments have led to disagreements about the necessary stabilisation measures

The construction of PHPA-I dam was halted after a major landslide on the right bank of the site, leading to an indefinite delay. Several rounds of geo-technical studies were conducted, with two potential solutions being proposed: building either a dam or a barrage to salvage the project.

The first major landslide occurred in 2013, prompting rectification measures. However, these measures failed again in 2016 and 2019, further delaying the project.

The government of Bhutan had proposed the construction of a barrage as a feasible alternative to a dam. A detailed project report (DPR), prepared by Swiss company Stucky at the cost of Nu 150 million, found the barrage to be viable at a location 2.6km upstream from the current dam site. 

However, Indian officials raised safety concerns and expressed reservations about the barrage proposal.

The cost overrun for Puntsangchhu-I has reached a whopping Nu100 billion from the initial project cost of Nu 35 billion. So far, the project has spent around Nu 86 billion.

The Punatsangchhu-I project is executed under a mutually beneficial bilateral agreement signed between the government and the Government of India in July 2007. The construction works on the hydro project kicked off in November 2008.