Nepal Infrastructure 
KATHMANDU: Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation Pampha Bhushal said that the upcoming board meeting of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) would decide to reopen long-stalled the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). At a program held at her ministry on Sunday, Minister Bhushal said that she has made efforts to open the PPA has been stalled for the past four years. She said that the provision of Q25 in power generation has been advanced for maximum utilization of Nepal’s water resources, adding that it will increase the production of energy by 85 percent.
The private producers have been accusing the government of discouraging private investment in hydropower with the provision that the founder shareholder cannot sell shares or hold a mortgage until the loan repayment period or for 10 years from the date of the financial closure of the power project.
Stating that electricity trade with India has started and the process with Bangladesh has also been advanced under her leadership, she expressed commitment to proceed with the implementation of big projects such as Budhigandaki and Upper Arun.
Energy Secretary Shusheel Chandra Tiwari informed the program that discussions have been initiated with the relevant ministries and the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers to resolve the problems in land use policy, forest, and environment clearance for hydropower development. Madhu Bhetuwal, Joint Secretary and Spokesperson of the ministry informed the program that Nepal’s hydropower production capacity reached 2269 megawatts.
Sandeep Dev, Director General of Electricity Development Department stated a historical achievement has been made generating 736 MW the last fiscal year and added that applications for 14,000 MW survey licenses and 5,000 generation licenses have been registered.
