Kathmandu, March 24 : A seminar on Investment Opportunities in Hydropower
Projects in Nepal was held at the Embassy of Nepal, Beijing on Friday.
The program
brought together prospective Chinese investors as well as senior officials of
three hydropower-related companies of the Government of Nepal for interactions
on facilitating Chinese investments in Nepal’s hydropower sector.
More than eighty
participants including representatives of the National Energy Administration of
the People’s Republic of China, and public and private sector companies, as
well as government officials and media persons participated in the event,
according to the Press Release issued by the Embassy of Nepal in Beijing.
The Minister for
Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation of the Government of Nepal, Barsha Man
Pun 'Ananta' sent a message of good wishes for the success of the Seminar.
In his message,
the Minister said that there are ample opportunities for investment and
cooperation in power sector development in Nepal, and invited Chinese investors
in the development of the country's hydropower projects.
In his opening
remarks, Nepali Ambassador to China Leela Mani Paudyal said that the year 2018
is a year of new beginnings in Nepal after the successful conclusion of three
tiers of elections, paving the way for political stability and good governance,
reads the statement.
Highlighting the Government’s policy of
attracting foreign investment, he called on Chinese companies and entrepreneurs
to utilize the opportunity for investing in Nepal's hydropower sector by taking
full advantage of its enormous possibilities and the government's favourable
industrial and investment policies.
The seminar
featured presentations on various aspects of hydro-electricity development in
Nepal, and the areas for potential investments in the generation, transmission
and distribution of electricity in the country.
Dr. Surendra Kumar Upreti,
Board Member of Electricity Generation Company Ltd, introduced the government's
policies and legal instruments for the generation, transmission and
distribution of electricity, as well as on the financing requirements and
modalities of hydropower projects in the country.
In his
presentation, Dr. Netra P Gyawali, Chief Executive Officer of National
Transmission Grid Company Ltd., focused on the investment potentials in the
transmission networks to evacuate the power generated from hydropower
generation stations in various parts of the country, and described the
Government’s Transmission Master Plan with a target of building 1500
Transmission Lines and 20 substations by 2025.
Similarly, CEO of
Hydroelectricity Investment and Development Company Ltd., Chhabi Raj Pokhrel,
outlined the strategies for resource mobilization and the company's business
models for the development of hydro-electricity projects in the country.
The Seminar had
constructive discussions on streamlining legal, institutional and procedural
mechanisms for further attracting foreign investments in Nepal’s hydropower
sector.
Earlier, Binod
Prasad Acharya, Minister (Economic) made a brief presentation on the prospects
for investment in Nepal and shed light on the industrial and investment
policies of the Government of Nepal.
Sushil K Lamsal,
Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission, in his closing remarks, summarized the
seminar's deliberations and said that the discussions indicated that Chinese
investors have a lucrative outlet for investment projects in Nepal's hydropower
sector.
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