Nepal Announces Its National-Pride Hydropower Project

In a landmark decision, the Government of Nepal has decided to construct a 1200 MW major Budhi Gandaki Hydropower project, which it terms as a ‘national-pride’ project, utilizing its own technology and resources.

The government took this decision at a cabinet meeting in Kathmandu on November 24, 2017.

Post the cabinet meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Kamal Thapa tweeted about this infrastructure project saying, “this national-pride project would be constructed with domestic investment and technology”.

This decision by the government is coming after a recent cabinet decision to scrap a deal signed with the Chinese company, Gezhouba Water & Power (Group) Co Ltd, for the construction of the same project.

A MoU for this contract signed in June 2017, however, could not move ahead due to allegations over violation of laws during the signing of the deal.