DGPC and Adani Power sign shareholders' agreement for the 770 MW Chamkharchhu-I hydropower project
5 October 2026
Druk Green Power Corporation (DGPC), Bhutan's state-owned power generation company, and India's Adani Power have signed a shareholders' agreement for the 770 MW Chamkharchhu-I Hydroelectric Project. The peaking run-of-river plant will be built on the Chamkharchhu river in Zhemgang district of central Bhutan. It will follow the Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) model, with a 51:49 equity split between DGPC and Adani Power. The concession lasts 30 years from the commercial operation date. Work is expected to start in the first half of 2027, and the plant is to be commissioned six years after groundbreaking. This is the pair's second project after the 570 MW Wangchhu agreement of September 2025, and part of a 5,000 MW hydropower MoU signed in May 2025. Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay attended the signing; the plant is meant to meet Bhutan's winter peak demand and send surplus summer power to India.
In plain words
DGPC Druk Green Power Corporation — Bhutan's state-owned hydropower generation company.
BOOT Build, Own, Operate and Transfer — A model in which a developer builds and runs a project for a set period before handing it over.
Run-of-river — A hydro plant that uses the river's natural flow with little or no large reservoir.
COD Commercial operation date — The date a power plant starts selling electricity commercially.