Kathmandu, June 21: Co-financing banks and promoter companies have signed a loan agreement to manage the financial management of the 66.3 MW Madhya Kaligandaki hydropower project to be built on the Kaligandaki River in Annapurna Rural Municipality of Myagdi district through Hydro Support Pvt Ltd, a company of the IME group.
The agreement was signed by IME Group Chairman Chandra Prasad Dhakal on behalf of Hydro Support Pvt Ltd and Gyanendra Dhungana, Chief Executive Officer of Nabil Bank, the lead bank of the consortium, on behalf of the bank.
The consortium banks are led by Nabil Bank Limited, while the other participating banks are Everest Bank Limited, Nepal Investment Mega Bank Limited, Nepal Bank Limited, Rastriya Banijya Bank (RBB) and Prabhu Bank Limited.
Apart from interest during the construction period, the estimated cost of the project is Rs 12.93 billion, 75 percent of which has been raised from loans and 25 percent from equity. Equity will be invested by IME Group and general public.
Co-financing banks will invest Rs 11.12 billion in the project. Of the total loans, Nabil Bank will have Rs 3.12 billion, Everest Bank and Nepal Investment Mega Bank will have Rs 2 billion each, and Nepal Bank, RBB and Prabhu Bank will have Rs 1 billion each.
The construction of Madhya Kaligandaki hydropower is set to be completed within 4 years starting from 2024.
Based on the electricity purchase and sale agreement with the Nepal Electricity Authority, the winter electricity purchase rate is Rs 8.40 and the rainy season rate is Rs 4.80 per unit. An annual income of Rs 2.42 billion will be generated from the total production of 407 gigawatts of electricity.
