Minister Paudel unveils rosy power picture
Himalayan News Service Kathmandu, November 24:
Minister for Water Resources Bishnu Paudel today held out hopes to tide over the power woes in the country. Inaugurating 'Vision 2020: Hydropower', a symposium, organised by the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), the minister said that the government would declare energy emergency soon. It will unveil several packages to implement short, mid and long-term solutions in the power sector.
Paudel said that the draft bills of the Electricity Act and Nepal Electricity Regulations Commission Act would be sent to legislative-parliament shortly to ensure investment-friendly environment and woo private investors. "Once these bills are passed, the environment will be favourable for healthy competition in the power sector.
The government plans to set up an independent and autonomous regulation commission to achieve its goals," he said. The Maoist-led government plans to generate 10,000 MW in the next 10 years. "The action plans will help to meet the target. The Mid-Marsyandi Hydropower Project has taught us a good lesson. It consumed a lot of time and money," he added.
The minister reiterated the government's pledge to develop a transparent system to attract private investors, who have evinced great interest in tapping the hydropower potential. He assured that power cuts would become less frequent once the Mid-Marsyandi started functioning by next month.
"The shortfall will decrease once the import from India goes up," he said. Kush Kumar Joshi, president, FNCCI, said that Nepal needed investment worth Rs 50 billion to realise its 10,000-MW dreams. "We have to attract foreign investment since the domestic ones aren't adequate. Investor-friendly policies, political stability and improved law and order situation are the need of the hour," said Joshi. "Nepal has the potential to not only meet domestic requirements but also cater to neighbouring India and Bangladesh's demands," he added.
USAID bounty KATHMANDU: US Agency for International Development's South Asia Regional Initiative for Energy (SARI/Energy) announced a hydropower deposit fund worth Rs 300 million on Monday. The corpus has been created to develop hydropower projects in Nepal. USAID's SARI/Energy promotes clean energy access in south Asia through three main areas: cross border energy trade, energy market formation, and regional clean energy development. — HNS
Source: The Himalayan Times daily, 25 November 2008
Minister for Water Resources Bishnu Paudel today held out hopes to tide over the power woes in the country. Inaugurating 'Vision 2020: Hydropower', a symposium, organised by the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), the minister said that the government would declare energy emergency soon. It will unveil several packages to implement short, mid and long-term solutions in the power sector.
Paudel said that the draft bills of the Electricity Act and Nepal Electricity Regulations Commission Act would be sent to legislative-parliament shortly to ensure investment-friendly environment and woo private investors. "Once these bills are passed, the environment will be favourable for healthy competition in the power sector.
The government plans to set up an independent and autonomous regulation commission to achieve its goals," he said. The Maoist-led government plans to generate 10,000 MW in the next 10 years. "The action plans will help to meet the target. The Mid-Marsyandi Hydropower Project has taught us a good lesson. It consumed a lot of time and money," he added.
The minister reiterated the government's pledge to develop a transparent system to attract private investors, who have evinced great interest in tapping the hydropower potential. He assured that power cuts would become less frequent once the Mid-Marsyandi started functioning by next month.
"The shortfall will decrease once the import from India goes up," he said. Kush Kumar Joshi, president, FNCCI, said that Nepal needed investment worth Rs 50 billion to realise its 10,000-MW dreams. "We have to attract foreign investment since the domestic ones aren't adequate. Investor-friendly policies, political stability and improved law and order situation are the need of the hour," said Joshi. "Nepal has the potential to not only meet domestic requirements but also cater to neighbouring India and Bangladesh's demands," he added.
USAID bounty KATHMANDU: US Agency for International Development's South Asia Regional Initiative for Energy (SARI/Energy) announced a hydropower deposit fund worth Rs 300 million on Monday. The corpus has been created to develop hydropower projects in Nepal. USAID's SARI/Energy promotes clean energy access in south Asia through three main areas: cross border energy trade, energy market formation, and regional clean energy development. — HNS
Source: The Himalayan Times daily, 25 November 2008
