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Green Signal To IBN For Initiating West Seti Hydel Project
By KTM Metro Reporter
December 14, 2013: the Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) can now proceed ahead with the West Seti Hydropower Project: one of the much-hyped projects in the country. The Board has received a letter from bodies concerned including the ministries of energy, finance, land reform and management. The letter has said an agreement in principle has been reached to resolve the local-level problems of the project. The letter paved the way for the IBN for holding negotiations with investors about the matters of accelerating the project, according to the RSS news on ‘gorkhapatraonline.com’.
The IBN is expected to gear up for necessary preparations for an investment agreement and talks with the investing company side by side. The Chinese Three Gorges Corporation is the main investor of the 750-megawatt-project.
Construction of transmission line, rehabilitation of the people of project-affected area and power purchase agreement are the matters of concern of Chinese Three Gorges Corporation, according to Board Joint Secretary Mukunda Poudel. The Board assured the Corporation that it would present the concerns of the corporation before the stakeholders and seek solutions to all problems through dialogue.
Last year, the Government of Nepal and the Chinese investor agreed in principle to proceed with the project. The Australian Snowy Mountain Company did the preliminary feasibility study of the project 20 years ago. The government annulled the license to the Australian company and moved to the IBN to expedite the project work after the Australian company did not move the project ahead.
Doti, Dadeldhura, Bajhang and Bajura are the most affected areas from the project. The project has been delayed due to several issues associated with the project including the resettlement plan for the project-affected people, land acquisition, power purchase rate agreement and transmission line.
Where and how to resettle the people to be displaced by the project has been the matters of debate for a long time. The Ministry of Land Reform and Management has given verbal commitment to make necessary arrangements for the resettlement of the affected people. The Ministry of Land Reform will present a draft of rehabilitation plan, Joint Secretary Poudel said. The project is expected to begin in 2014 and complete by 2020 and helps promote drinking water, irrigation and tourism sectors in the far west.
The estimated cost of the reservoir-type project is around Rs. 200 billion. Of the total cost, the Nepal Government will bear 25 percent and the Three Gorges Company remaining 75 percent. Around 10 percent shares of project will be allocated to the locals.
