Invest in Nepal's hydropower sector: PM to foreign investors

Published On: January 17, 2017 01:10 AM NPT By: Republica  | @RepublicaNepal


KATHMANDU, Jan 17: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has urged foreign investors to make investment in Nepal's hydropower sector. 

Addressing the opening ceremony of the Tenth Session of the World Future Energy Summit held in the UAE on Monday, Prime Minister Dahal maintained that investment in energy sector in Nepal offers a huge potential as the country now intends to intensify development efforts.
 
Prime Minister said that key agenda and the need of Nepal are to advance economic development as the conflict-hit country is emerging out of a protracted political transition.

“Nepal is targeting graduation from LDC status to developing country status by 2022, and aims to become a middle-income country by 2030. To meet the targets, Nepal will need at least 6,000 megawatts of additional energy,” he said. 

Arguing that there are vast opportunities for development of transportation and service in Nepal, Prime Minister said that they open up huge avenues for investment in energy. “Investment opportunities lie in the upgradation and expansion of distribution system and transmission system,” he further said.

Prime Minister Dahal also explained the slew of measures that Nepal has introduced to woo foreign investors in hydropower sector. While the government has endorsed the Action Plan on National Energy Crisis Alleviation and Electricity Development Decade, which targets to generate 10,000 MW by 2025, it has also introduced a liberal policy in foreign investment. 

The prime minister mentioned that Nepal adopted Renewable Energy Subsidy Policy in 2015 for increasing investment in micro-hydro and solar energy. “We have provided several incentives to promote investment in energy sector, such as tax rebates, concessional duty, excise duty and refunds, up to 100% reparation of profit. The government is also open to signing a separate Project Development Agreement (PDA) to boost confidence of investors,” he said. 

The prime minister mentioned that the Power Trade Agreement that has been signed with India opens up a large market for exporting electricity from Nepal to India. “The upcoming summit will adopt policies to attract investment in priority areas like clean energy,” he said, while asking business delegates to attend Nepal Investment Summit being held in Kathmandu on March 2-3 in Kathmandu.


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