Sunkoshi Marin Diversion Project- After the Breakthrough

Sunkoshi Marin Diversion Multipurpose Project (SMDMP) is one of the National Pride Project being developed by Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation (Nepal). The project got the status of National Pride Project on 20 January 2020.

The project is an inter-basin water transfer project aimed to transfer water from the Sunkoshi River to the Marin river, a tributary of the Bagmati River. The flow will be augumented to the Bagmati Irrigation System to irrigate an additional 122,000 ha of land in Rautahat, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sarlahi, and Bara.

The design flow of the project is 67 m3/s. The intake has a 12 m high diversion dam in the Sunkoshi river. The flow is transferred via a 13.3 km long tunnel. The project also has a power station to generate 31.07 MW of electricity. The powerhouse is located in Kamalamai municipality.

The 13.3km long tunnel has been breakthrough on 8th May 2024 completed before 15 months earlier than the projected time. Excavation through TBM has recorded the highest rate within 24 hrs and within a month in any TBM tunnel excavation in the world.

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