India ready to provide Nepal grant for hydropower project

The Indian government is willing to provide grant aid to Nepal to build hydropower projects with a total capacity of 250 megawatts for Nepal's own use, a major English daily reported on Thursday.

"An Indian embassy official conveyed India's willingness to provide grant aid for projects up to a total capacity of 250 megawatts," The Kathmandu Post quoted Secretary at the Ministry of Water Resources Tika Dutta Niraula as saying.

"The official also said that this grant is in addition to the regular grant being provided by India, We are soon proposing projects totaling 250 to 300 megawatts in capacity to the Indian government," Niraula told The Kathmandu Post.

It is learnt that Nepal is also considering proposing to the Indian government the building of the 240 MW Naumure project and the 60 MW Kankai project with Indian grant money, the report added.

During a two-day long "Power Summit 2006" that was held in Kathmandu in September, Indian ambassador to Nepal Shiv Shankar Mukherjee promised to provide grant aid to Nepal for the development of hydropower projects in the range of 100-150 megawatts for Nepal's internal consumption.

Source: Xinhua