Nepal decides to hand over West Seti Hydel project contract to NHPC

The Government of Nepal has decided to hand over the agreement of the 750-megawatt (MW) West Seti Hydropower Project and 308 MW SR6 Storage Hydroelectric Project to India's National Hydro Power Company Limited (NHPC). The Investment Board Nepal (IBN) 51st meeting chaired by Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has decided to award the firm with the agreement as per the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. Member of the IBN and former president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Bhawani Rana told the media that the decision was taken to hand over the West Seti and SR6 projects to NHPC for construction. The project, which has been stalled for a long period, is moving ahead. Modalities will be decided after talks with IBN. Constructing a power project will also help decrease the trade deficit. Nepali Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said that Nepal would not be able to construct the West Seti project on its own and announced hiring an Indian company for that. India does not purchase electricity generated by China. They don’t even purchase electricity produced from the projects constructed by Chinese firms. That is why an Indian player had to be brought in. The project has been stalled for 29 years as it has not been able to develop the modalities and investment structure. There is a responsibility to fulfil the domestic demand by importing electricity from India when there is an energy problem in winter. The Australian company Snowy Mountain Engineering Corporation (SMEC) did nothing but hold the licence of the West Seti hydropower project for 17 years. The Nepal government then gave the project to the China Three Gorges International Corporation (CTGI), but the Chinese company, too, did not construct it. The government has not been able to push the project ahead even though it was taken away three years ago from the Three Gorges Company. In March 2019, even though the government had showcased the project at the Nepal Investment Summit, the foreign investment sources and structure could not be finalised for the project construction. This project has been neglected for three decades and is listed as a project of national pride. The West Seti Hydropower Project was evaluated to cost Rs 165 billion earlier. Image Source Also read: India to aid construction of wastewater treatment plant in Nepal’s Solukhumbu