Kathmandu, March 27: Indian business houses have said that they are ready to invest in Nepal’s energy sector if investment and returns are assured.
Indian business houses participating in the ‘Nepal-India Energy Summit’ organized in New Delhi, jointly organized by the Embassy of Nepal in India and the Indian Green Energy Federation and with the institutional participation of the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal (IPPAN), stressed the need for policy protection for Indian investment in Nepal. They said that the government should facilitate the resolution of problems faced by hydropower projects, including ensuring returns after investment, easy withdrawal of investment, and resolving issues.
Sushil Sharma, project director of the Indian company Satluj Hydropower Corporation (SJVN), which is constructing the 900-megawatt Arun III Hydropower Project in Nepal, mentioned that the government is facilitating the resolution of problems related to forests, land acquisition, customs, and roads in Nepal.
He said that SJVN is constructing a 217-kilometer transmission line and with government support, the 900 MW project has been 84 percent completed in three years. He claimed that Arun-3 will be a major contribution to Nepal’s economy as it will be handed over to the government after 25 years with an investment of 34,000 crore Indian rupees. Sharma said that this project will attract Indian investors to Nepal.
Adani Group Vice Chairman Jayaraman Punidhan said that the company is looking for good projects to invest in Nepal’s hydropower sector. Informing that the Adani Group has signed an ‘MoU’ for the generation of 27,300 megawatts of electricity worldwide, he mentioned that Adani’s priority is neighboring countries and regional energy markets.
Additional Secretary of the Indian Ministry of Power, Akash Tripathi, said that there would be no problem in exporting electricity generated in Nepal to India as the infrastructure for exchanging 1,000 megawatts of electricity between Nepal and India has been prepared and four transmission lines with a capacity to exchange 8,000 megawatts of electricity are under construction.
Naresh Goyal, Executive Director of Uttar Bharat Hydropower Company, said that Indian investors are ready to invest in Nepal if the Nepalese government removes administrative obstacles and creates an investment environment. Nepali Ambassador to India Dr. Shankar Sharma said that the embassy organized the conference to achieve the Nepalese government’s target of generating 28,500 megawatts of electricity by 2035. He informed that Indian investors can buy ownership of projects in Nepal or work in a ‘joint venture’.
