but has the Asian Development Bank approved the loan?
Consultants have begun fieldwork for Nagaland’s proposed 66 MW Lower Tizu and Zungki hydropower projects, two years after Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio announced that the Government of India had approved the projects for funding under the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
However, ADB’s latest published records continue to list the separate US$98 million main project loan as “Proposed”. Although the bank has approved two technical assistance programmes worth US$225,000 and US$2 million for project preparation, these are not loans for constructing the hydropower plants.
Italian engineering consultancy Studio Ing. G. Pietrangeli Srl announced on October 6 that it had begun work in Nagaland in association with DMR Hydroengineering & Infrastructures Ltd., now DMR Engineering Ltd. The team has visited the proposed dam sites in the Kiphire area to collect information on the terrain, geology, site access, construction areas and possible alternative dam locations.
On October 14, DMR Engineering disclosed that it had received a 12-month assignment worth US$216,000 from Studio Pietrangeli to provide engineering consultancy services to ADB and the Department of Power, Nagaland. ADB lists the overall project-preparation consultancy contract at US$861,386.
The consultants will update the Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) and review the projects’ technical, economic and financial aspects, including the steps required before implementation. The assignment is part of project preparation and does not confirm that construction has begun or that the main loan has received final approval.
The two projects comprise the 42 MW Lower Tizu and 24 MW Zungki schemes, which together are expected to add 66 MW of installed generation capacity to Nagaland.
Three separate ADB amounts
ADB’s records refer to three separate amounts connected with the proposed hydropower projects. Approval of the two smaller amounts does not mean that the main construction loan has also been approved.
US$225,000: First technical assistance program
ADB approved the first program, titled “Preparing the Nagaland Hydro Power Development Project”, on October 9, 2023.
The funding came from ADB’s Technical Assistance Special Fund and supports preliminary assessments and project preparation. The program is listed as “Active”, with a revised closing date of December 31, 2026.
The program was intended to support the work needed to prepare the proposed hydropower development project for further consideration.
US$2 million: Second technical assistance program
ADB approved a second program, titled “Supporting the Project Preparation of Nagaland Hydropower Development Projects”, on December 29, 2025.
The funding comes from the Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia and the Pacific. It supports further studies and due diligence for the 42 MW Lower Tizu and 24 MW Zungki projects.
The program also covers environmental, gender and social assessments, preparation of a wider hydropower development plan for Nagaland, and capacity-building support for the Department of Power. Its published status is “Active”.
Together, the two technical assistance programs amount to US$2.225 million. Their purpose is to support studies, assessments and project preparation, rather than finance construction of the dams.
US$98 million: Proposed main project loan
The third amount is the proposed US$98 million loan under the Nagaland Hydropower Development Project. This is the separate main project loan associated with the proposed development of the two hydropower plants.
ADB’s project page lists the loan status as “Proposed” and does not show an approval date. The page was last updated on December 29, 2025.
The published records reviewed for this report do not establish whether the status of the main loan has changed since that update.
What did Rio announce in 2024?
In his Independence Day speech on August 15, 2024, Rio announced that the Government of India had approved the 42 MW Lower Tizu and 24 MW Zungki hydropower projects for funding under ADB.
He put the estimated cost of Lower Tizu at Rs.541.12 crore and Zungki at Rs.368.53 crore. The combined estimated cost was Rs.909.65 crore.
The announcement referred to the Centre’s approval for funding under ADB. It did not, by itself, establish that ADB had formally approved the separate US$98 million main project loan.
ADB’s records show that preparation of Nagaland’s hydropower proposal began several years ago. The bank states that the project was identified during a visit to the state in 2019 to assess its power-sector needs.
The Department of Power subsequently submitted preliminary project reports seeking assistance for further studies of the proposed hydropower projects. According to ADB, the reports were approved by the Government of India’s Department of Economic Affairs in 2022 and forwarded to the bank.
ADB approved the first technical assistance prograemm in October 2023. A second program followed in December 2025, providing additional funding for due diligence, environmental and social assessments and wider hydropower planning.
The consultancy assignment was advertised in April 2026, with a submission deadline of May 1. ADB’s published contract records show that the overall consultancy contract was awarded in August 2026. Studio Pietrangeli subsequently announced that field activities had begun in Nagaland.
Why is Nagaland pursuing hydropower?
Nagaland depends heavily on electricity purchased from outside the state and power supplied through central generating stations. Developing its own generation capacity is one way to reduce this dependence and strengthen its electricity supply.
Figures in the Nagaland Statistical Handbook 2025, published by the Department of Economics and Statistics, show that the state purchased 925.65 million units of electricity in 2023–24 at a cost of Rs.557.67 crore.
In 2024–25, the volume purchased increased to 1,010.04 million units, while the reported cost was Rs.550.27 crore.
The handbook also records power revenue receipts of Rs.296.71 crore in 2023–24 and Rs.300.02 crore in 2024–25.
ADB’s assessment also points to rising electricity demand in the state. According to the bank, Nagaland’s electricity consumption increased from 826 gigawatt-hours in FY2021 to 938 GWh in FY2024.
ADB projects that total electricity requirements could reach around 1,759 GWh by FY2035. Peak demand, which stood at about 194 MW in FY2025, is projected to rise to around 304 MW by FY2035. These are projections, not actual future demand figures.
The bank estimates that Nagaland has a hydropower potential of 1,634 MW, but only about 5% of this potential has been developed.
ADB says additional hydropower capacity could help reduce dependence on costly power purchases, improve electricity supply for households and businesses, and support the use of other renewable energy sources, including solar power.
However, the addition of 66 MW of installed capacity would not, by itself, establish how much electricity the two projects would generate annually or how much the state’s power-purchase costs would fall. Those outcomes would depend on the final project designs, water availability, financing, construction and actual generation after commissioning.
ADB has classified the proposed project as Category A for environmental safeguards and Indigenous Peoples safeguards, and Category B for involuntary resettlement. These categories indicate the level of assessment required; they do not, by themselves, establish that specific harm has occurred.
The second technical assistance program includes environmental, gender and social assessments. These studies form part of the work needed to examine potential impacts and identify measures to address them.
The latest published ADB project record reviewed for this report continues to list the US$98 million main loan as “Proposed”. The two approved technical assistance programs are separate and do not constitute approval of the main construction loan.