Kathmandu, March 8 -- Workers finally started installing penstock pipes at the Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project after a new contractor took charge of the construction of the plant.

Work had halted for months at the construction site of the 456 MW scheme because the Indian contractor for the hydro-mechanical component, Texamo Railway Engineering, lacked expertise to implement the complex task.

The project developer had to appoint another contractor to fit the high pressure steel penstock pipes when Texamo abandoned the project after completing more than 95 percent of the construction work. The penstock pipe conveys water from the reservoir to the turbines to generate electricity, and fitting such pipes is considered to be one of the mo...