New Delhi, June 1: India has agreed to purchase 10,000 megawatt of electricity from Nepal in the next 10 years. An agreement to this regard was signed today on the occasion of the ongoing India visit of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’.
As per the agreement, the southern neigbour will purchase the power also generated from the projects including the Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project.
At a joint press meet, Prachanda shared information about this. Besides, the bodies concerned have been directed to garner a consensus over the detailed project report regarding the Pancheshwor Multi-Purpose Hydroelectricity Project. With this, it has been expected that the project which has remained stalled for long would find a pace.
Phukot Karnali to be developed on joint-venture with India
Moreover, the Vidhyut Utpadan Company Limited (VUCL), the Nepal government’s entity, and India’s NHPC Limited have agreed to undertake the Phukot Karnali Hydro Electric Project on a joint-venture.
An agreement to this regard was signed and exchanged between the two countries. VUCL Managing Director Surya Prasad Rijal and NHPC representatives signed the bilateral agreement on behalf of their respective sides.
The Indian side shall have 51 percent share and Nepal shall have 49 percent share for the project. The capacity of the project is 426 megawatts and it is a run-of-river based in Kalikot district in the Karnali Province. The implementation of the project is estimated to cost around Rs 61.86 billion.
However, it was planned earlier to undertake the project with sole domestic investments, it was decided to develop on the joint-venture with India owing to challenges to garner investments, according to Rijal. (Ramesh Lamsal/RSS)
