Manila: The Asian Development Bank said Friday it had approved an $800 million loan to help the mountainous north Indian state of Himachal Pradesh expand hydropower generation with a series of projects in the western Himalayas.

The loan is to be disbursed over a period of eight years.

Himachal Pradesh plans to harness five major rivers to build hydropower plants that will provide a combined capacity of 808 megawatts, the Manila-based bank said in a statement.

The ADB and the state government have identified two projects which will be financed through the first loan tranche of $150 million. These two projects are the 111MW Sawra Kuddu project on the Pabber river, and civil works for the 65MW Kashang-I project.

"Himachal Pradesh's focus on hydropower development will provide jobs to state residents and will further the state's and the country's goal of maximising this clean, indigenous resource to help meet its energy needs," said ADB energy economist Andrew Jeffries.

The mountainous area's power generation potential is 20,415MW --about 25 per cent of India's total hydropower potential -- out of which only 6,150MW has been developed, the bank said.

India is desperately short of energy to fuel its economy and imports more than 70 per cent of its energy needs.