Kathmandu. Ganesh Karki, President of the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal (IPPAN), has urged Indian investors to invest in Nepal. Speaking on the occasion of the Nepal-India Energy Summit held in the Indian capital, New Delhi, on Wednesday, Chairman Karki said that the Nepalese government has recently set an ambitious target of generating 28,500 megawatts of electricity by 2035, and that an investment of $46.5 billion is required for that, so there is a golden opportunity for investment in Nepal.
He also informed that the Nepali private sector, which started generating electricity only in 2057, has now reached 3500 megawatts of total installed capacity, accounting for 80 percent (about 2800 megawatts) of it.
While Nepal and India are currently exchanging 1000 megawatts of electricity, a long-term agreement has been reached to increase it to 10,000 megawatts within the next 10 years. Projects worth 5,000 megawatts are underway in Nepal with the investment of Indian companies, and additional projects worth thousands of megawatts will require Indian investment. Karki said that he is waiting.
According to a preliminary study conducted by the Nepal Investment Board, Nepal’s solar power generation capacity is more than 4.32 gigawatts, so Nepal could be an attractive destination for Indian investors in solar energy, Karki said.
He also informed that Nepal is interested in partnering with major Indian business houses such as Adani Group, Tata Power, Jindal Power, GMR Group, SJVN Limited, and NHPC.
Karki said that Nepal can be developed into a country that meets the increasing energy demand in the regional market by turning Nepal’s abundant hydropower generation potential into a reality. .
IPPAN Vice President Anand Chaudhary, while giving a presentation, said that out of 3500 MW of electricity being generated in Nepal, 4,000 MW worth of projects are under construction, 4,100 MW projects are awaiting financial management through Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), and about 20,000 MW projects are in various stages of study, so there is an opportunity for Indian investors to select attractive projects and invest.
He also briefed Indian investors about 3 dozen large and attractive hydropower projects in Nepal, both private and government-owned.
Chiranjivi Chataut, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, said that the government has put forward 28,500 He urged all major Indian investors to invest in Nepal with confidence as the ministry will facilitate many things to achieve the megawatt electricity generation target.
He said that there is a suitable policy for electricity generation, a 400 kV AETA transmission line between Nepal and India is in operation and 2 more lines are under construction, so adequate infrastructure is ready for electricity generation and exchange.
Chataut urged all major Indian investors to invest in Nepal as Nepal’s hydropower policy is suitable and excellent for protecting investors.
The Nepali Embassy in India and IFGE organized an event under the slogan “Exploring Investment Opportunities in Hydropower and Renewable Energy Sector”. The conference was organized by the Indian Federation of Green Energy (IFGE) and was held with the institutional participation of IPPAN.
