Nepal Water & Energy Development Company Pvt. Ltd has received financing from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and a lending consortium for the construction of 216 MW Upper Trishuli-1 run-of-river Hydropower Project.
IFC has led a US$453 million debt financing package that includes nine international lenders. The project received more than US$100 million in support from the IDA Private Sector Window, an instrument that allows IFC and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) to extend its reach. IFC is providing a total of US$190 million. MIGA will provide US$135 million in guarantees to cover the political risk for the sponsors. Among the financiers are Export and Import Bank of Korea, the Asian Development Bank, the Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank, the Korea Development Bank, the UK’s CDC, Dutch entrepreneurial development bank FMO, the OPEC Fund for International Development and France’s Proparco. The project is also supported by the Finland-IFC Blended Finance for Climate Program and the Climate Investment Funds.
When completed, the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project, known as UT-1, will generate electricity sufficient to supply up to 9 million people (based on 2017 consumption levels). It will also set new environmental and social benchmarks for Nepalese hydropower projects that follow.
IFC, Korea South-East Power Co Ltd, Daelim Industrial Co Ltd and Kye-Ryong Construction Industrial Co Ltd own a 90% stake in the project company Nepal Water & Energy Development Company (NWEDC), while the remaining 10% is in the hands of a local stakeholder.
The project is expected to be operational by 2024. Once completed, the company will sell power generated by UT-1 to Nepal’s national public utility company, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), under a thirty-year power purchase agreement.
A government minister of Nepal has stated that China Gezhouba Group Company (CGGC) will construct and finance a 1,200 MW hydroelectric power plant in the country. CGGC agreed to develop the US$2.5 billion Budhi Gandaki project last year, but the agreement was scrapped shortly after and the project re-assigned to state-owned Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA).
Read moreThe Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved financing for the 216 MW Upper Trishuli 1 hydropower project in Nepal, which involves the development of a run of river hydroelectric power plant on the Upper Trishuli river, about 70km north of Kathmandu, for a total cost of US$650 million.
Read moreThe Prime Minster of Nepal intends to restart a Chinese-led US$2.5 billion 1,200 MW Budhi Gandaki hydropower project which was previously cancelled and will also remove the currently listed developer, Nepal Electricity Authority.
Read moreInvestment Board Nepal (IBN) has announced it is considering to develop a hydropower project under a PPP model with a mix of domestic and international investments.
Read moreThe Nepalese government has decided to award the contract to construct the Budhi Gandaki Hydroelectric Project to China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC).
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