{"id":33740,"date":"2016-03-21T10:42:00","date_gmt":"2016-03-21T10:42:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-10-20T14:15:22","modified_gmt":"2020-10-20T14:15:22","slug":"8740-china-to-invest-in-nepal-s-hydropower-sector","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/business\/8740-china-to-invest-in-nepal-s-hydropower-sector\/","title":{"rendered":"China to invest in Nepal\u2019s hydropower sector"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Nepal\u2019s prime minister visits China this\u00a0week amid the country\u2019s growing energy crisis, Nepali officials hope that he will be able to secure a long-awaited investment from China to exploit its rich hydropower resources. <\/span><\/p>\n

Nepal is asking China both to build and invest in a number of major hydropower projects and power transmission lines, according to a high level official at Nepal\u2019s Ministry of Energy.<\/p>\n

The major goal is to seal an agreement with China\u2019s Three Gorges Company to build the long-stalled\u00a0West Seti dam<\/a>. The USD 1.6 billion project<\/a>\u00a0will be the country\u2019s largest reservoir dam and biggest foreign investment in Nepal. It will also be crucial for easing Nepal\u2019s chronic energy shortages and boosting the country\u2019s economy still struggling with the aftermath of last year\u2019s\u00a0devastating earthquake<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Nepal government signed a memorandum of understanding with the <\/span>China International Water and Electric Corporation (CWE)<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 a subsidiary body of\u00a0China Three Gorges<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 in 2011 and now officials hope things will finally move forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been pushing this agenda and hope to get it done during the prime minister\u2019s visit,\u201d said Radhesh Pant, CEO of Nepal Investment Board, the government authority responsible for large dam projects. Despite the earthquake, the government remains confident that investors will see Nepal as a good bet. None of them pulled their stakes, and\u00a0<\/span>Nepal has made forward progress<\/a>\u00a0on clearing red tape for such investments.<\/p>\n

A number of large dam were damaged by last year\u2019s earthquake, however the risks posed by large projects like West\u2013Seti have rarely been publically discussed. The environmental fears and\u00a0<\/span>vehement protests<\/a>\u00a0of the past have dissipated as chronic energy shortages have made daily life a struggle for so many people.<\/p>\n

The social and environmental costs of large dams are by no means small.\u00a0 About 18, 000 people will be displaced by the West Seti project and the 195 metre tall dam will flood 3% of the total surface area of the country, according the\u00a0<\/span>Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report<\/a>.\u00a0 The Asian Development Bank pulled out of the project in the wake of a campaign led by local environmental NGOs in 2010, over environmental and safety concerns.<\/p>\n

Read also:\u00a0Nepal earthquake highlights dangers of dam building in Tibet<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Nepal\u2019s hydropower dream<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Nepali government is betting big on hydropower as the transformative engine to deal with its energy needs. Last month, it unveiled\u00a0ambitious plans<\/a>\u00a0(in Nepali) to develop 10,000 megawatts of hydropower in next ten years \u2013 of which these Chinese-backed projects will play key role. The ten-year plan sets out 11 reservoir\u00a0projects, out of which the backed West Seti and Budigandaki are the major ones. Currently, there are 117 projects already under construction across the country.<\/p>\n