The Asian Development Bank on Tuesday approved a $150-million loan for a giant hydropower plant to ease Nepal’s chronic electricity shortages which lead to power cuts of upto 14 hours a day.
Electricity demand is growing at 10 percent a year but a lack of investment has resulted in short supply, with load shedding forcing homes and businesses across the impoverished nation to use costly and polluting diesel generators.
A vast network of fast-flowing rivers through the Himalayas offers a huge hydro power potential to Nepal yet the country’s total installed power generation capacity is just 700 megawatts – 1.5 percent of its potential. The 140-megawatt hydro power plant will be located on the Seti River, 150 kilometres (95 miles) west of the capital Kathmandu and will generate electricity throughout the year. The $500 million project, co-funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the European Investment Bank and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, will also provide nearly 18,000 homes close to the plant with electricity.
Only one-third of households in Nepal are connected to the national power grid, with connection rates much lower in rural areas.