The 2,640 MW Kuri-Gongri Hydropower Project is a planned reservoir-based hydropower scheme on the Kuri Chhu and Gongri Chhu in eastern Bhutan, currently in extended planning. Originally conceived in the 2008 India–Bhutan agreement to develop 10,000 MW by 2020, the project has been redesigned from run-of-river to reservoir, with the most recent Detailed Project Report estimating capital costs of approximately Nu 306–307 billion. As of mid-2025 no construction agreement has been signed.
The Kuri-Gongri Hydropower Project is a planned 2,640 MW hydropower scheme on the Kuri Chhu and Gongri Chhu in eastern Bhutan, with the dam site located at the confluence of the two rivers in Mongar and Lhuentse dzongkhags. It is one of two next-generation flagship projects, alongside the 2,560 MW Sunkosh scheme, intended to push Bhutan's installed hydropower capacity decisively above 5,000 MW.[1][2]
The project was originally conceived under the 2008 India–Bhutan agreement on 10,000 MW of hydropower development by 2020 and has passed through successive design iterations. The latest Detailed Project Report (DPR), prepared by Indian and Bhutanese engineering consultants and finalised in 2020, recasts the scheme as a reservoir-based dam with a generating potential reported at up to 2,800 MW from the same site, although the headline figure remains 2,640 MW.[3]
The most recent published cost estimate is approximately Nu 306–307 billion at the levelised tariff rate of Nu 6.13 per kilowatt-hour assumed in the DPR. As of mid-2025 no construction agreement has been signed and the project remains in planning. The Sapchuu Joint Venture between Druk Green Power Corporation and the Indian public-sector undertaking SJVN, which had been involved in the parallel Kholongchhu project, was dissolved in January 2023 with DGPC acquiring SJVN's shares; the joint-venture model originally contemplated for Kuri-Gongri has not been concluded.[1][4]
Location and design
The dam site is at the confluence of the Kuri Chhu (rising in Lhuentse and joining the Gongri downstream of Lhuentse Dzong) and the Gongri Chhu (rising in Trashiyangtse). The combined river continues south as the Drangme Chhu, which is in turn the principal eastern tributary of the Manas river system. Two underground powerhouses are envisaged, with the lower powerhouse handling base-flow generation and the upper powerhouse providing peaking capacity.[2][3]
The 2014 design was a run-of-river scheme with limited storage. Following technical and economic review by the Central Electricity Authority (India) and the Druk Green Power Corporation, the scheme was redesigned in 2017–2020 as a reservoir project to enable storage-based peaking generation, in line with the broader shift in Indian hydropower planning towards firm peaking capacity rather than run-of-river base-load.[2][3]
Project history
2008 framework agreement and initial DPR (2008–2014)
Kuri-Gongri was identified as one of ten projects under the 2008 India–Bhutan agreement to develop 10,000 MW of hydropower in Bhutan by 2020 for export to the Indian grid. Initial pre-feasibility work in 2009–2011 envisaged a 1,800 MW run-of-river scheme. The first full DPR exercise was halted in September 2014, with the National Assembly being told that the project "was found to have some affects on environment and was not feasible" under the original design.[1][3]
2017–2020 redesign and reservoir DPR
A new DPR was commissioned in 2017 under the inter-governmental project model. The redesign moved the scheme to a reservoir basis and increased the headline capacity to 2,640 MW (with technical generating potential reported as up to 2,800 MW). The DPR was finalised in 2020 with capital cost estimated at Nu 306–307 billion at a levelised tariff of Nu 6.13 per kilowatt-hour.[3]
SJVN, Kholongchhu and the joint-venture model (2020–2023)
The original implementation model contemplated for the post-2017 hydropower projects, including Kuri-Gongri, was a Bhutan–India joint venture between DGPC and SJVN, the Indian central public-sector hydropower undertaking. The 600 MW Kholongchhu project was the first to be tested under the model, with implementation difficulties contributing to its dissolution in January 2023, when DGPC acquired SJVN's stake and continued the project alone. The dissolution of the Kholongchhu joint venture, although not Kuri-Gongri itself, has been treated as a setback for the joint-venture approach more broadly and has contributed to the continued absence of a signed construction agreement for Kuri-Gongri.[4]
2023–2025 status
As of mid-2025 the project remains in planning. The 2024 Cabinet under Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay identified Kuri-Gongri and Sunkosh as priority next-generation schemes to be advanced under the 13th Five-Year Plan, with Energy and Natural Resources Minister Gem Tshering leading negotiations with the Indian Ministry of Power on financing structure. A separate, smaller scheme, the 1,125 MW Dorjilung project on the Kuri Chhu upstream, advanced to construction phase in mid-2025 under a public–private model with Tata Power.[5][6]
Environmental and social considerations
The reservoir design implies the inundation of a substantial valley area in Mongar and Lhuentse and the displacement of a number of villages whose precise tally has not been published. The 2014 halt of the original DPR was attributed to environmental concerns; the 2020 DPR includes an environmental and social impact assessment, but the document is not publicly available. International Rivers and the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) have raised concerns about cumulative impacts on the Manas basin, downstream sediment flows in Indian Assam, and the seismic vulnerability of large reservoirs in the eastern Himalaya.[7][8]
Strategic context
Kuri-Gongri is one of three remaining mega-projects (Sunkosh, Kuri-Gongri, Wangchu) on which Bhutan's ability to meet its 2008 commitment of 10,000 MW depends. The 2020 deadline has long since passed: as of 2024 Bhutan's installed capacity stood at approximately 2,335 MW. The continued delay of Kuri-Gongri and the difficulties at Punatsangchhu I — which has been under construction since 2008 and remains incomplete — have prompted public reassessment in Bhutan of the sustainability of the hydropower-led development model and its dependence on Indian financing and offtake.[1][6][7]
References
- 2,560 MW Sunkosh and 2,640 MW Kuri-Gongri Project — The Bhutanese
- Reservoir-turned 2,640 MW Kuri-Gongri Project to Generate Double the Power of Sunkosh — The Bhutanese
- DPR shows Kuri-Gongri Hydro-Electric Project can generate 2,800 MW — Bhutan Broadcasting Service
- Kuri-Gongri Project's DPR Reveals 2,800 MW Potential — Kuensel
- What Bhutan's Failed Hydropower Goal Means for Energy Geopolitics — Dialogue Earth
- Bhutan DRP 2023: Uncertain Fate of Mega Hydro — SANDRP
- Hydropower in Bhutan – Time for a Rethink? — International Rivers Resource Hub
- National Assembly debate on Kuri-Gongri DPR — National Assembly of Bhutan
See also
Chukha Hydropower Project
The Chukha Hydropower Project is a 336 MW run-of-the-river hydroelectric station on the Wangchhu river in Chukha dzongkhag, commissioned between 1986 and 1988. Financed and built by India under a 60 percent grant and 40 percent loan arrangement, it was Bhutan's first major hydropower facility and remains a foundational element of the kingdom's power export economy.
society·5 min readPunatsangchhu-I Hydropower Project
The Punatsangchhu-I Hydroelectric Project (PHPA-I) is a 1,200 MW run-of-the-river hydropower scheme under construction on the Punatsangchhu river in Wangdue Phodrang dzongkhag. Launched in 2008 with an original commissioning target of 2015, it has been severely delayed by recurrent slope instability on the right bank above the dam, with cost estimates rising from around Nu 35 billion to over Nu 90 billion.
society·5 min readPunatsangchhu-II Hydropower Project
The Punatsangchhu-II Hydroelectric Project (PHPA-II) is a 1,020 MW run-of-the-river hydropower scheme on the Punatsangchhu river in Wangdue Phodrang dzongkhag, downstream of Punatsangchhu-I. Launched in 2010 and originally targeted for completion in 2018, its first units were synchronised in December 2024, with the final unit connected to the grid in August 2025.
society·4 min readTala Hydropower Plant
The Tala Hydropower Plant is a 1,020 MW run-of-river hydroelectric facility on the Wang Chhu river in Chhukha District, Bhutan. Commissioned in 2006 with Indian financing, it is Bhutan's largest operational hydropower plant and one of the biggest underground powerhouses in the world, tripling the country's electricity generation capacity overnight.
society·6 min readPunatsangchhu Hydroelectric Project
The Punatsangchhu Hydroelectric Project comprises two large run-of-river hydropower plants on the Punatsangchhu (Sunkosh River) in Wangdue Phodrang District, Bhutan: Punatsangchhu-I (1,200 MW, still under construction) and Punatsangchhu-II (1,020 MW, fully commissioned August 2025 and inaugurated November 2025). Originally expected online by 2016-2017, both projects suffered severe delays and massive cost overruns. Punatsangchhu-II was commissioned in phases from December 2024 to August 2025, boosting Bhutan's power generation capacity by 40%, while Punatsangchhu-I remains stalled by geological challenges.
society·7 min readChamkharchhu-I Hydroelectric Project
The Chamkharchhu-I Hydroelectric Project is a planned 770 MW run-of-river hydropower scheme on the Chamkhar Chhu river in Zhemgang District, central Bhutan. One of the largest proposed hydropower projects in the country, it features a 108-metre concrete gravity dam and a 19.2-kilometre headrace tunnel. In 2024, Druk Holding and Investments (DHI) signed a strategic partnership with India's Reliance Power for the project's development.
society·6 min read
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