▲ Bundang Doosan Tower in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province
The Doosan Enerbility and Korea South-East Power (KOEN) workers who lost contact amid severe flooding in Nepal on the 26th were constructing Nepal's largest-scale hydroelectric power plant.
According to the industry on this day, the hydroelectric power plant in question is the Upper Trishuli (UT)-1, which is being built with a capacity of 216 megawatts (MW) on the Trishuli River, located 70 kilometers northwest of Nepal's capital, Kathmandu.
This region is known as a high-altitude canyon area with a high risk of landslides and overflowing during torrential downpours.
The total project cost is $647 million, and upon completion, it will be the largest scale in Nepal.
To minimize political and financial risks associated with local conditions in Nepal, Korea South-East Power and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) jointly participated in its development from the early stages of the project.
Doosan Enerbility is in charge of constructing the power plant and manufacturing and supplying major equipment such as turbines and generators.
The power plant entered main construction in January 2022 and was scheduled for completion by the end of this year.
Once the power plant is completed, Korea South-East Power planned to operate it directly for 27 years.
However, with site workers confirmed to have lost contact or become isolated due to the sudden flooding, Doosan Enerbility and Korea South-East Power, which are in charge of construction, are in utter dismay.
In the case of Doosan Enerbility, 5 out of 15 people at the site are currently out of contact.
Korea South-East Power has lost contact with 3 on-site construction management personnel.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that adding 1 South Korean employee belonging to Doosan Enerbility, a total of 9 people are currently out of contact.
Another 10 South Koreans affiliated with Doosan Enerbility have evacuated to a relatively safe area and are awaiting rescue.
Doosan Enerbility CEO Jung Yeon-in has formed a response team and is scheduled to depart for the site on the 27th.
Korea South-East Power is also operating a 24-hour response system centered around Acting President Cho Young-hyuk.
The government plans to dispatch a joint government rapid response team consisting of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Fire Agency, and the Korean National Police Agency—headed by Lim Sang-woo, the Foreign Ministry's government representative for overseas Korean protection and consular affairs—to the site on the 27th to support the search and rescue of South Koreans.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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