German grant sought for new thermal plant NEA wants funds for spares
AKANSHYA SHAH
KATHMANDU, Nov 5: After a delay of over a month, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) has forwarded a proposal for setting up a thermal plant under German assistance to the German embassy in Nepal.
The Ministry has sought a “commodity grant” for the proposed plant.
“This is a grant in kind. We have forwarded the letter seeking the commodity grant to the embassy,” a MoF official said, adding, “It is now up to the embassy to do the needful.”
The German government gave its nod to the plant, which can help produce up to 50-100 MW, last month after Minister for Energy Dr Prakash Saran Mahat visited that country.
The Ministry of Energy had initially set December as the date for finalizing the proposal and terms of agreement with Germany.
However, due to bureaucratic delay, the project is now not likely to materialize before next year.
“It is unfortunate that there has been delay from our side in sending the proposal on time,” Dr Mahat told myrepublica.com, pointing to the delay caused by MoF in forwarding the proposal.
He added, “We now have to wait for the embassy to complete all the formal procedures. Only after that can we start the process.”
Had the proposed plant come into operation in the stipulated time, it would have helped immensely in reducing the power cuts the country is facing in the coming winter.
Govt´s high priority to WB loan for plant repair
Meanwhile, Dr Mahat also said that the Ministry is working with high priority to get a World Bank loan sanctioned for repair work at the thermal plant in Biratnagar.
Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is working to procure spare parts for the Multifuel Diesel Power Plant in Biratnagar from Wartsila Corporation, a Finnish firm, within five months. NEA has sought an exorbitant Rs 500 million for the procurement, to be funded through a World Bank loan within this winter.
The Biratnagar power plant, which has faced technical problems due to poor maintenance, has the capacity to generate 39 MW, but is currently generating only half its original capacity as most of its parts are now defunct. NEA engineers have said that if the parts are not repaired at the earliest the machine will become useless. More importantly, if this work is not undertaken soon it will not be helpful for reducing load-shedding this winter.
Currently, 20-25 MW is generated from the various thermal plants in the country.
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German Grant Sought For New Thermal Plant NEA Wants Funds For Spares
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