Nepal eyes $6B investment in hydropower

Nepal has approved the template for hydropower projects above 500MW.

 
It is meant not only to ensure investments worth 6 billion U.S. dollars but also solve current power crisis and generate employment in the country.

The Project Development Agreement template will provide an impetus to enable negotiations on the current four priority projects, which will produce 3000 MW of electricity.

The caretaker Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, who chaired the recent meeting Nepali Investment Board, expressed optimism about the accomplishment of the joint efforts of the Investment Board, the Ministry of Energy and related agencies to develop the PDA template.

"Harnessing Nepal's hydro resources for Nepal's socio- economic transformation has always been my number one economic priority," said Bhattarai, adding that the new PDA template will now equip Nepal with the capability to negotiate good hydropower deals and ensure maximum benefits in terms of revenue, spending, industrial and employment benefits, and electricity.

The agreement ensures balanced and bankable deals that fully benefit and protect Nepal's interests.

The new template will currently be applicable to the four mega hydro projects.

The new PDA template comes as a response to the previous PDA model that was rejected by developers and financiers in 2010 for not being bankable, according to chief executive of the board Radhesh Pant.

For more.