The Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) confirmed this, saying both the nations have potential areas of focus such as tourism for mutual cooperation on March 14, 2019.

In this regard, more Nepali companies are turning towards Vietnam for better opportunities. While, Nepal is also a promising destination for Vietnamese enterprises, Nguyễn Thế Hưng, Deputy Director of VCCI’s HCM City branch said in a statement.

Speaking at a seminar on ‘business opportunities in Nepal’, the VCCI official informed that the
Nepal-Vietnam trade was modest at USD 38 million in the first nine months of 2018.

In line with this trend, many Vietnamese products such as beverages, agricultural produce, textiles, garments, electrical equipment and food can be exported to Nepal, Hưng adds.

Besides, a large number of Nepali tourists are visiting Vietnam, and vice-versa.

According to VCCI, 7,000 Vietnamese tourists visited Nepal in 2007, with majority of them embarking on spiritual and eco-tourism.

Nepal Welcomes Investment

On the other side, Nepal is also welcoming investments in areas like hydropower, transportation, agriculture, tourism, ICT, among others, said Janga Bahadur Gurung, Counsellor and Deputy Chief of Mission at the Nepali Embassy in Bangkok.

Gurung informed that the Nepal Government would announce new policies for attracting FDI as part of the upcoming Nepal Investment Summit scheduled for March 29-30, 2019.

According to Gurung, Nepal Government will present 24 viable projects during the Summit that will see more than 700 participants from more than 50 countries.

In his address, Second Secretary at the Embassy Pratigya Rai highlighted Nepal’s potential in tourism and natural ecosystem.

Hope the new discussions will convert into tangible results for both the countries in the years to come!

The post Nepal, Vietnam Discuss Potential Opportunities Across Sectors appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

In a delegation-level meeting with the Deputy Director of the International Affairs of Agriculture and Forests Ministry of Japan Takami Nakada, Pun urged Japanese Government to increase its investment in Nepali energy and hydropower sector.

Highlighting Japan-Nepal ties, Pun thanked Japan for its technical and financial support to various Nepali projects and overall contribution to Nepal development.

Minister Pun informed the Japanese delegation about the ongoing irrigation-related developments in Nepali agriculture sector such as Bheri Babai and Rani Jamara.

Nepal Minister Pun discussion with Japan Minister Takami Nakada

In response, Takami expressed Japanese Government’s readiness to support Nepal in the near future.

“We have come here to carry out study and research about possibilities in Nepal. Japan’s private sector is willing to invest in Nepal,” reads a statement by the Deputy Directo.

Japanese Ambassador to Nepal Masamichi Saigo was among the key officials present at the meeting.

Earlier in this month, Japan and Nepal had discussed on enhancement of labor cooperation.

“I believe that the authorities of both the nations will finalize the modality of supplying workers and other legal issues, and also hold discussions on the sectors that Nepali workers will be employed in,”  said one of the sources associated with the process.

The latest developments indicate a notable growth in Japan-Nepal ties. What more to come?

Also Read:

• Nepal, Japan Sign New MoUs, Discuss Other Bilateral Issues

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The two countries agreed to the ‘Nepal-India energy banking deal’ at the 13^th meeting of the Power Exchange Committee (PEC) held in New Delhi, India on December 26, 2018.

This long-awaited ‘power or energy banking’ deal aims to help the two nations in effective and uninterrupted utilization of power.

The energy banking mechanism fulfils Nepal’s long-standing wish to export its surplus power to India, especially during the monsoon season, and also leverage the benefit of importing similar amount of power in exchange whenever required.

According to Kulman Ghising, Managing Director of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and Nepal’s delegation lead at the PEC meeting, the new agreement will also boost Indo-Nepal bilateral energy trade.

As part of the meeting, the two sides agreed on draft guidelines pertaining to the agreement needed to implement methodology and structure of energy banking.

The draft of the new deal is expected to be approved at the energy secretary-level joint steering committee meeting to be held in January 2019.

“The agreement has been forged on the guideline prepared for energy banking and will be implemented following approval from the secretary-level joint steering committee meeting,” adds Ghising.

Ghising terms the deal as a ‘milestone’ achievement in the history of Nepal hydropower sector.

According to NEA Spokesperson Prabal Adhikari, Nepal also made a proposal for an ‘energy book’ for the first 5-7 years with India and India agreed to the same.

“Nepal will book for energy in the first five to seven years as it will take almost four years to construct the transmission line. The model of the investment mechanism will be finalised by the joint steering committee meeting,” said Adhikari.

Over the years till date, NEA has been purchasing power on a need-to-need basis from Indian states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand under the ‘purchase-and-pay’ mechanism.

Hope the Himalayan nation’s power sector will progress to the next level under the new ‘milestone’ agreement.

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Towards this end, the officials are preparing a final a draft of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for energy cooperation and power trade agreement between the two countries.

According to Dinesh Kumar Ghimire, Joint Secretary at the Nepal Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation (MoEWRI), Nepal Government has already given its nod for the deals and is awaiting the response from the Government of Bangladesh.

We are currently holding discussions with the Bangladeshi Government to finalize the MoU, says Ghimire.

Ghimire further informed that Nepal has proposed a new energy mechanism for power trade and investment in its finalized draft.

Post signing the agreement, Nepal plans to set up a joint examining and working committees for bilateral energy cooperation and also hold trilateral discussions with Bangladesh and India for a feasible solution to address all the pending issues pertaining to transmission lines.

The latest update comes in the backdrop of earlier talks, where the Bangladeshi Government had promised to build a large hydropower project in Nepal and also received nod from the opposite side for related investment. However, things did not materialize then.

“Power trade between Nepal and Bangladesh is complex because the transmission lines would have to traverse India,” explains Ghimire.

The proposed project framework is based on SAARC Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation signed among SAARC member countries in 2014.

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The 900-MW capacitive Arun III hydropower project, to be built on Nepal’s Arun River, is drawing a huge investment from a wide variety of organizations belonging to the banking and financial services sectors.

In a recent move, India’s banking giant State Bank of India (SBI) announced its INR 80 billion investment for the project.

SJVN Limited and SBI entered into an informal agreement in this regard considering this investment as loan for the project. SJVN is the Indian PSU taking up the project construction.

“The Director Committee Meeting of the bank is due to make the recommendation. They soon will decide over. As of now they have decided over the loan extend and the interest rate over it has been finalized. The Rs. 1.4 trillion over the project will be expended for the construction of the structures and additional Rs. 11 billion for the transmission lines,” reads a statement by a source.

According to the sources, the Everest Bank Limited (EBL) and Punjab National Bank (PNB) are also investing in this prestigious project. “EBL will also invest INR 2.25 billion in the Arun III project,” the source added, while PNB’s investment stands at INR 5 billion.

This project, upon completion, will provide Nepal with 21.9 percent of the total electricity produced in a year, which equals to 197 MW, with 86 crore free units annually.

Besides, Nepali banks are also likely to offer Rs 4.06 billion as a bridge loan for the project.

Apart from the banking sector, the Government of India has already approved a sum of Rs 92 billion to be invested by SJVN.

With its total Rs 25 billion investment, SJVN will take the complete charge of the project for 25 years period excluding the construction time.

Post the finalization of investment, the Investment Board of Nepal will issue the license for the project.

“The Nepal Investment Board will soon issue the license for the construction of the project. It will not take more than a month meaning the license will be granted by mid-June as of now,” said an official representing the Board.

The Prime Ministers of India and Nepal, Khadga Prasad Oli and Narendra Modi, have recently laid foundation stone for Arun III hydropower project that is expected to be completed by September 2022.

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As a unique geography with around 6000 small and big rivers, and other natural resources like wind, solar, biofuel, among others, Nepal holds a strong energy potential that can power the local and global energy requirements in the future.

Despite its size, the country holds such a strong portfolio contributing to almost 3 percent of the world’s electricity generation through its hydropower.

Besides, the country also hosts a diverse biodiversity profile that helps it contribute to the development of the global ecosystem.

Continuing its journey from the past, Nepal has made major strides towards establishing its image as the country for clean energy solutions. As part of these efforts, the country underwent rapid developments and has taken active measures.

Good Bye Coal!

Coal consumption has always been a major topic of discussion when it comes to achieving full-fledged energy revolution.

And, Nepal stands at its best in this regard!

While its close neighbor India ranks among the top countries in terms of coal production and dependence on coal for electricity generation, Nepal claims to have been maintaining zero percent coal consumption for power generation.

This adds to Nepal’s strong energy portfolio at the global level.

Tapping Hydropower Potential

Out of Nepal’s 84000 MW hydropower potential, around 43000 MW is economically viable.

Taking ahead Nepal’s strong energy potential, the Government of Nepal has taken various initiatives over the period.

As a key measure in the process, the Nepal Government declared 2016-26 as the ‘national energy crisis reduction and electricity development decade’.

Experts feel that Nepal’s hydropower generation will reach record heights in the years to go.

The government envisages to take the country’s hydropower production capacity to 10,000-25,000 MW in the next 10-20 years period.

Progressing as planned, the country has seen major addition to its hydropower portfolio in 2017.

While the actual hydropower production was just 753 MW in 2015, the Nepal’s hydropower production capacity grew almost three-fold in 2017 alone.

With an addition of 50 MW to the national grid, the country’s energy sector saw its hydropower potential growing to 150 MW with the addition of 16 new hydropower projects with a total installed capacity of 100 MW, by the end of 2017.

Meanwhile, in the recently-held Himalayan Hydro Expo (HHE) 2018, the President of Nepal Bidya Devi Bhandari urged the global investors to invest in Nepal’s hydropower sector, which reiterates Nepal’s strong commitment to the development of hydropower sector.

“We have huge potential in hydropower development and if properly tapped, this sector will be able to change the fate of the entire nation. The country is importing huge quantum of electricity annually and this practice should be ended. The government and private sector should join hands and come together for hydropower development,” said the President in her address at the three-day HHE 2018.

Event Nepali industry experts felt that this conference would act as a major platform to draw investment into the country’s hydropower sector.

According to Vijaya Sagar Pradhan, Managing Director of Expo and Event Management Private Limited, this expo was aimed at achieving the key objective of generating 17,000 MW hydropower capacity over the next seven years.

The second edition of the three-day Nepal Power Investment Summit 2018, held during January 27-29, 2018, also saw Nepal’s special attention on hydropower sector, wherein, the President said the government will accord top priority to foreign investment and technology for the sector’s development.

It is noteworthy that Bangladesh has recently expressed its interest to invest in Nepal’s hydropower projects. “In order to meet the growing demand, we are considering Nepal a big market that can fulfil our needs,” Bangladeshi Ambassador to Nepal Mashfee Binte Shams said in a recent statement.

In another major announcement, the Government of Nepal has also announced the 1200-MW Budhi Gandaki Hydropower Project following Nepali Cabinet’s decision in this regard on November 24, 2017. This project to be built with domestic resources is being termed as a ‘national-pride project.

Solar and Wind, The Most Abundant

As a country surrounded by large mountains and natural habitat, Nepal holds a strong potential for solar and wind energy.

Considering the rate of wind blows at an average of 18 hours per day, APEC estimates Nepal’s wind energy potential can generate 3000 MW power with two remote districts Manang and Mustang alone holding 2500 MW potential.

Adding to the already-installed ones, Nepal is expected to ramp up the establishment of more wind power stations in the future.

When it comes to solar energy, Nepal find its true solar energy utilization across the hilly areas of the country with scattered settlements and no power access.

The population in such remote parts of the country are relying on solar energy for their energy needs. 

With the average solar radiation varying between 3.6-6.2 Kwh/m2/day and the sunshine of about 300 days in a year, AEPC estimates Nepal’s solar energy production potential at 2100 MW.

While Nepal had 185,017 solar powers installed across the country as of 2010 prior to the earthquake disaster, the number of installations went on to rise post the April 2015 earthquake and has substituted the hydropower requirements at large across the affected hilly areas.

It is noteworthy here that Nepal’s largest wind-solar hybrid power system, supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), is also already under operation.

The USD 16.2 million worth project, powered by 20-KW capacitive wind turbines and 15-kW capacitive solar PV panels, accounts to 110 units of energy generation per day and is currently catering to 83 rural households in the Hariharpurgadi village of Sindhuli district.

Green or Electric Vehicles (EV) Adoption

Nepal has been clear on its energy policies that have been in line with the eco-friendly requirements, over the period.

Taking a leap ahead, Nepal has already started looking for alternative energy solutions that are on high priority across the globe.

In a move controlling vehicle emissions and ensuring clean energy policies, Nepal is gearing up for the adoption of Electric Vehicles (EV) or green vehicles, at a pace expected to be faster than that of the neighboring Asian giant India, says Nepal’s former Finance Secretary Rameshore Khanal.

“When there is disincentive to buy petrol-fueled cars, people will readily buy EVs. Whereas, in Nepal, there has been a voluntary adoption of EVs even when enough incentives are not in place. EVs will provide a measure of energy security for Nepal,” says Khanal.

However, lack of strong government policies recommending the same are yet to happen across the country, he adds.

Khanal pitches for the official disincentivization of the fossil fuel car usage and declaration of rural areas recently connected with the national road network and other areas like Singh Durbar as
‘EV-only zones’.

With the right policies in place, Nepal’s complete transition to EVs can become a reality in a span of 10 years, says Khanal.

Biogas, an Eco-friendly Solution

As part of measures to protect its abundant natural resource and an eco-friendly environment, Nepal is also gearing up for the implementation of biogas plants across the country.

With the government’s subsidiary-level support, biogas plants of various sizes have already started coming up across different parts of the country.

According to Nepal’s Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (APEC), the existing 320,000 biogas plants across the country are saving about 400,000 trees, annually, which equals to minimizing Green House Gas (GHG) emissions by more than one million tons annually.

In addition, the existing animal population can result in 14.9 million tons of animal dung, which upon conversion to biogas can meet up to 40 percent of Nepal’s overall energy power requirements.

Besides animal waste, around 670 metric tons of waste generated from the country’s 58 municipalities also offer scope for the high-potential biogas production.

The Last Word

With such a strong energy potential, Nepal can be of a major advantage for the global energy sector.

Besides, this high-range energy portfolio would also be of major need for the country in its developmental path towards meeting the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The post Nepal For Clean Energy Solutions, Bets Big on Hydropower appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The three-day conference, held during January 5-7, 2017, saw the participation of around 30 experts related to the hydropower sector from countries such as India, Brazil, Italy, South Korea, among others.

Speaking at the inaugural session, the President of Nepal Bidya Devi Bhandari urged the global investors to invest in hydropower development of the country.

Lauding Nepal’s hydropower potential, the President urged on the need for public and private sector participation towards the development of the sector.

“We have huge potential in hydropower development and if properly tapped, this sector will be able to change the fate of the entire nation. The government and private sector should join hands and come together for hydropower development,” says the President.

“The country is importing huge quantum of electricity annually and this practice should be ended,” said Bhandari urging the government to focus on production to attain self-reliability.

In this regard, she also called on the need for replacement of petroleum products with that of the renewable energy.

Meanwhile, Shailendra Guragain, President of Independent Power Producers’ Association Nepal (IPPAN) said this expo will be a forum for discussions among investors, developers and other concerned stakeholders.

 “This expo is a one-stop solution for those who want to get information about the hydropower development and its other components,” he added.

Hari Bhakta Sharma, President of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) opined that the tapping of hydropower potential is needed for the economic growth of Nepal.

According to Vijaya Sagar Pradhan, Managing Director of Expo and Event Management Private Limited, this expo is aimed at achieving the key objective of generating 17,000 MW hydro power over the next seven years.

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