Tilak Battharai, Hydropower & Dams Manager SEA (extreme right), with the SMEC team, in a photo with Tobias K Thomas, General Manager of Enga Hydro Power Limited (fourth from left in blue cap)
Tilak Battharai, Hydropower & Dams Manager SEA (extreme left) conducting a site investigation with the SMEC team.
The Pilikambi Hydropower Project is located on the Lagaip River, near the Pilikambi Village in Papua New Guinea. Enga Hydro Power initiated the project in 2016 under a public-private partnership, working with private investors and the Enga Provincial Government. Once operational, the project will extend rural electrification in the Enga Province by replacing diesel generation with sustainable, renewable energy.
The major activities during the feasibility study will include supervision and management of the feasibility level field investigations, project preliminary designs, drawings and cost estimates for the analysis of the technical and financial viability of the Pilikambi Hydropower project.
“The development of the project will ensure the availability of reliable renewable energy throughout the grid connected areas, particularly as the Enga Provincial government is constructing a new hospital and other government facilities in Wabag town,” said Tilak Battharai, SMEC Manager, Hydropower & Dams Southeast Asia. “Furthermore, the injection of 15–18 MW of power will strengthen the grid reliability between Wabag and Mount Hagen.”
SMEC has operated in PNG since 1976, and established a permanent office in Port Moresby in 1996.
SMEC’s first project in PNG was the Highlands Highway Project, which helped to develop the capabilities of the Department of Transport, Works and Supply.
Since then, SMEC has undertaken a number of key projects throughout PNG, including: the Port Moresby Power Grid Development; Lihir Gold Mine geothermal power project; Four Bridges in Oro Province; and the National Roads and Bridges Project.
SMEC is currently acting as Implementing Service Provider on the Transport Sector Support Program (TSSP) Phase II. The objective of Phase II is to strengthen and improve support to the transport sector, in order to increase progress towards road sector targets.
