Doosan pledges $5 million for flood relief as Upper Trishuli-1 suffers major loss

South Korean conglomerate Doosan Group has pledged US$5 million in emergency assistance to Nepal following devastating flash floods and landslides in Rasuwa, where its flagship hydropower project, Upper Trishuli-1 (UT-1), has suffered extensive damage.

Upper Trishuli-1 bears the brunt

UT-1, a 216 MW hydropower project in Rasuwa, was severely damaged by the flooding. Reports from the project site indicate that more than 90% of the upper dam section was destroyed, while the construction camp and other project facilities were also heavily damaged.

The scale of the loss is significant because the project was already about 84% complete when the disaster struck. Construction had been scheduled for completion by the end of this year, with commercial power generation expected to begin in July 2027.

With an estimated cost of $647.3 million, UT-1 is one of Nepal’s largest foreign-investment projects and among the country’s most significant hydropower developments. The plant was expected to make a substantial contribution to Nepal’s electricity supply once operational.

The disaster has now put both the project’s construction schedule and its future timeline under serious pressure.

Doosan employees among those missing

The human toll has also reached Doosan directly. Doosan Enerbility, a Doosan Group affiliate and the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for UT-1, has lost contact with six employees who were at the project site when the disaster struck.

Three employees of Korea Southern Power, another company involved in the project, are also missing.

A further 10 Doosan workers who were in the affected area have been reported safe but remain stranded and are awaiting evacuation.

The contribution is among the largest corporate relief packages announced in the aftermath of the disaster and will support search, rescue and recovery operations in the flood-hit region, where hundreds of people have been killed or remain unaccounted for.

Additionally, Doosan Enerbility has established an emergency response headquarters at its South Korean headquarters.
The company has also sent a field response team to Nepal led by its CEO, Jung Yeon-in. The team is working with Nepali authorities and supporting efforts to locate missing employees, assist those stranded in the disaster zone and assess the condition of the UT-1 project.

Doosan has also said it will assist the families of affected employees who wish to travel to Nepal.

Another setback for a troubled project

The destruction at UT-1 represents another major setback for a project that has already faced repeated delays.

Development began in 2011 under the joint leadership of Korea South-East Power and the International Finance Corporation. The project was subsequently affected by the devastating 2015 earthquake, when landslides damaged access routes to the site and a Korean employee was injured.

The project regained momentum after a government guarantee agreement was signed in 2016 and a power purchase agreement (PPA) was concluded in 2018. 

In 2019, several Development Finance Institutions came together in a landmark consortium financing deal arranging $453 million in debt financing for the project. The lenders include FMO, BII, Export-Import Bank of Korea, ADB, AIIB, Korea Development Bank, OPEC Fund and Proparco.

The construction of the project, considered as a benchmark for future foreign investment in Nepal’s hydropower sector finally began in 2021.

But the project faced further disruption when flooding along the Trishuli River caused delays in both 2024 and 2025.

The latest disaster is potentially the most damaging setback yet, with the upper dam and project infrastructure suffering extensive destruction at a stage when most of the construction had already been completed.

Nepal, meanwhile, has borne the heaviest losses. Wednesday’s floods in the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers severely damaged over 800 MW of hydropower and solar projects, affecting 12 operational plants and 15 under construction. Other projects hit hard were Rasuwagadhi Hydropower and a Nuwakot solar plant. 

South Korea also steps in

Doosan’s$5 million contribution comes alongside assistance from the South Korean government.

Seoul has pledged$1 million in humanitarian assistance through international organisations operating in Nepal to support emergency response and recovery efforts.

South Korea has also dispatched a rapid response team to Nepal following reports that nine South Korean workers went missing in Rasuwa. The team includes officials from the foreign ministry, police and the national fire agency.