Nepal Infrastructure 
KATHMANDU: The process of registering the Budhigandaki hydropower project company has stalled due to the inability of the government to arrange Rs 6 million. In the last week of May last year, the government decided to build the 1200 MW storage project with domestic investment. Following the decision, the Minister of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation Pampha Bhushal said that the company could be established within the first week of July. One and a half months have passed even after the set deadline; the company has not yet been established.
“It is a shame to say that the company for Budhigandaki has not yet been incorporated due to lack of only Rs 6 million,” said a highly placed source at the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation (MoEWRI). At a program held at the Ministry, the secretary Shusheel Chandra Tiwari also said that although all the documents have been prepared for the registration of the Budhigand hydropower company, the process of arranging the budget for the registration is taking time. “There is a sufficient budget for the project, but it has to be transferred for registration purposes. Hence, there has been a delay. However, the process is in the final stage, it will be completed soon,”
Tiwari said. The company’s authorized capital and paid-up capital are Rs 20 billion and Rs 16 billion respectively. The MoEWRI holds 50 percent, the Ministry of Finance 30 percent, and local people and the general public 10/10 percent each as the stake in the project.
