India Says Exploring Investment Options in Nepal's Power Plants
India Says Exploring Investment Options in Nepal's Power Plants
By Ashok Bhattacharjee
Bloomberg, Aug 11, 2006
India is holdings talks with Nepal on possible investments into five hydropower projects in the Himalayan state to generate at least 4,200 megawatts of electricity, Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said.
Implementation of these projects will be taken up after an assessment of the plants' technical and financial feasibility and bilateral agreements, Shinde told the lower house of parliament in New Delhi today.
These projects are ``under discussion at various levels,'' Shinde said, without giving details of the negotiations or the funding required for the projects.
Nepal is seeking an economic package for reconstruction, including Indian investments in hydroelectric projects, to industrialize and bring Communist insurgents into the political mainstream. The country requires at least $5 billion for rebuilding after ending a decade-long conflict with Communist rebels, who fought to end the monarchy in the South Asian nation.
Nepal's economy, which depends on tourism for foreign exchange, has been hurt by the communist insurgency that has crippled the infrastructure in the rural hinterland. It requires investments and sustained economic expansion to lift about 40 percent of its 27 million citizens from poverty.
Starting Small
India may initially invest in a plant generating about 300 megawatts of electricity, Nepal's Finance Ministry Joint Secretary Rameshore Prasad Khanal said in New Delhi on June 8. That will mean a minimum investment of $450 million, he said.
Among the five projects is the 3,300-megawatt Sapta Koshi High Dam Multipurpose Project, which also has a water-storage and diversion component.
``The project could provide irrigation and flood control benefits in Bihar and also power generation, of which the major portion would be available to India,'' Shinde said.
India is seeking to expand generating capacity by 60 percent in the next four years to 200,000 megawatts to meet increasing demand from industry and services and sustain economic expansion at about 8 percent annually. The country's peak power deficit, or the gap between supply and demand during evening hours, widened to 13 percent in the April-May period, compared with a 10.5 percent gap in the nine months ended Dec. 31, 2005.
By Ashok Bhattacharjee
Bloomberg, Aug 11, 2006
India is holdings talks with Nepal on possible investments into five hydropower projects in the Himalayan state to generate at least 4,200 megawatts of electricity, Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said.
Implementation of these projects will be taken up after an assessment of the plants' technical and financial feasibility and bilateral agreements, Shinde told the lower house of parliament in New Delhi today.
These projects are ``under discussion at various levels,'' Shinde said, without giving details of the negotiations or the funding required for the projects.
Nepal is seeking an economic package for reconstruction, including Indian investments in hydroelectric projects, to industrialize and bring Communist insurgents into the political mainstream. The country requires at least $5 billion for rebuilding after ending a decade-long conflict with Communist rebels, who fought to end the monarchy in the South Asian nation.
Nepal's economy, which depends on tourism for foreign exchange, has been hurt by the communist insurgency that has crippled the infrastructure in the rural hinterland. It requires investments and sustained economic expansion to lift about 40 percent of its 27 million citizens from poverty.
Starting Small
India may initially invest in a plant generating about 300 megawatts of electricity, Nepal's Finance Ministry Joint Secretary Rameshore Prasad Khanal said in New Delhi on June 8. That will mean a minimum investment of $450 million, he said.
Among the five projects is the 3,300-megawatt Sapta Koshi High Dam Multipurpose Project, which also has a water-storage and diversion component.
``The project could provide irrigation and flood control benefits in Bihar and also power generation, of which the major portion would be available to India,'' Shinde said.
India is seeking to expand generating capacity by 60 percent in the next four years to 200,000 megawatts to meet increasing demand from industry and services and sustain economic expansion at about 8 percent annually. The country's peak power deficit, or the gap between supply and demand during evening hours, widened to 13 percent in the April-May period, compared with a 10.5 percent gap in the nine months ended Dec. 31, 2005.
posted by The Poster | 10:20 AM
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