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Water experts flay govt for inking ‘unprofitable’ deal with India

KATHMANDU, NOV 05 - Nepali water resource experts have cautioned that the government’s decision to permit India to build a large hydroelectricity project taking only 15 per cent electricity in return could result in Nepal suffering a big loss in the long run.
Their comments come in the wake of recent negotiation between water resources officials of the two countries over the development of the 600-megawatt Budhi Gandaki hydroelectric project.
At a programme organised by Nepal Engineers Association here today, deputy executive director of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Dhruba Raj Bhattarai, citing the example of ‘Bhutanese model’ said, "It is a very negligible amount."
Bhutan supplies electricity to India at Indian Rs 1.50 per unit. Bhattarai said that Bhutan has collected Indian Rs 17 billion from India over a 17-year-period, supplying electricity generated from its 336-megawatt Chukha hydroelectric project at that rate.
Bhutan could have made only Rs 4 billion had it agreed to take 15 per cent in free electricity from the project, which was built through 60 per cent grant and the rest in loan assistance from the Indian government.
Bhattarai was among the five NEA engineers who recently carried out a two-week-long field study of Bhutanese hydropower projects. He also expressed views that Nepal should get much more price than Bhutan for its power export to India.
Prachar Man Singh Pradhan, another member of the team, said that India had also agreed to import the entire electricity generated from 1020-megawatt Tala hydroelectric project that it would start building in 2005.
Director at NEA, Dr Santoshanand Mishra, informed that India has started to pay Indian Rs 1.75 per unit for electricity imported from Bhutan. India had also offered Indian Rs 1.50 on Nepal’s surplus electricity.Posted on: 2003-11-04 09:02

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