NHPC eyes Nepal's $2.5-bn power project pulled out from China: report

India's state-owned National Hydro Power Corporation Ltd (NHPC) could bid for a $2.5-billion hyrdropower project in Nepal, after Kathmandu cancelled a deal with China's Gezhouba Group Corp, according to a Reuters report.

Nepal decided to scrap the contract to build the $2.5-billion 1,200-megawatt Budhi Gandaki Hydropower Project to China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC) after it was found that the contract was handed over to the company without any competitive bidding (See: Nepal scraps award of $2.5-bn hydro project to Chinese state firm).

If NHPC wins the project, the company could look at developing what will be Nepal's biggest hydropower project, Reuters quoted its chairman Balraj Joshi as saying.

In less than a month after Nepal formally agreed to take part in Beijing's ''Belt and Road Initiative,'' Nepal signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese state firm in June to build the 1,200MW hydropower plant, about 80km from Kathmandu.

The then energy minister Janardan Sharma and CGGC president Lv Zexiang signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to build the project under the engineering, procurement, construction and finance (EPCF) model. The agreement was signed in the presence of the then prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Chinese ambassador to Nepal Yu Hong.

Nepal is now expected to formally announce the cancellation of the deal with Chinese state-owned company, according to its deputy prime minister.

The scrapping of the deal with the Chinese company could be a setback to Beijing's efforts to expand its clout in Himalayan country through its `Belt and Road' initiative.

Joshi, however, told Reuters that the techno-economic parameters of the project are not yet known and it would take more time, especially with elections in Nepal scheduled to begin later this month.

China's state-owned Three Gorges International Corp is currently engaged in building a 750 megawatts (MW) project, to be built on the western parts of the country, while two Indian companies - GMR Group and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited - are set to build one 900 MW hydropower plant each, mainly to be exported to India.

Meanwhile, speaking at NHPC's 43rd raising day, on 7 November 2017 at its corporate office at Faridabad, Joshi highlighted the achievements of NHPC. He also spoke about the ongoing activities of the company, including upcoming projects and future plans towards capacity addition.