Project Location and Accessibility

The Burgangchhu Hydropower Project is located near Buli village in Nangkor Gewog about 56 km away from Zhemgang town. The intake and powerhouse sites are 5 km and 11 km away respectively from the Nangkor Gewog center. Nangkor Gewog center is accessible via road from India border towns through three alternative routes; Pangbang, Gelephu and Phuentsholing with the shortest being 203 km from Pangbang for the transportation of equipment, construction materials, etc. 

Field Investigations

The topographical survey and mapping have been carried out at 1:5000 scale at 5 m contour interval for the whole project area and at a higher resolution of 1:1000 scale at 1 m contour interval for the main project components. The geological mapping, geophysical survey, core drilling and trial pit excavations have been carried out for ascertaining the geological and geotechnical conditions of the project area.

Several stages of field visits have been carried out to assess the topographical, geological and environmental & social impact assessment of the project. A team comprising of three key experts from Bernard Gruppe, Austria who has been recruited as the Consultant for providing technical support for the preparation of FSR and engineers from DGPC have carried out the final field assessment of Burgangchhu from October 12- 14, 2021.  The joint field assessment resulted in finalization of the project layout and development of project construction methodology.

Project Layout &  Features

The Burgangchhu Hydropower Project uses the water of the Burgangchhu, which is a tributary of Mangdechhu that drains into Drangmechhu (the biggest river basin in Bhutan). It joins Mangdechhu at an elevation of about 390 masl. The catchment area at the intake is 215.5 sq.km which is a completely rainfed catchment.

The project is a run-of-the-river power plant located on the left bank of Burgangchhu. It envisages a design discharge of 13.17 cumecs, net head of 462 m and corresponding installed capacity of 54 MW. The main components of Burgangchhu HPP are raised weir with side intake, surface desilting basins, water conducting system comprising of 1,120 m underground pipe, 925 m surface pipe, 206 m vertical shaft and 245 m inclined underground pipe, and surface powerhouse (located at the confluence of Burgangchhu and Yongdeygang to accommodate generating equipment).