Chinese billionaire to invest in solar projects in Nepal

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    KATHMANDU, Feb 23: Chinese entrepreneur Huan Ming is keen to invest in solar power projects in Nepal.

    In a game-changing announcement to a packed house on Day 2 of the ‘Make Nepal Green’ seminar on Tuesday, Ming, who is also the recipient of the prestigious Right Livelihood Award, disclosed that he was investing in special solar projects in Nepal.

    Responding to a question of Jalan Kumar Sharma, CEO of Nepal’s Sana Kisan Vikas Bank, Ming, who is also the founder of Himin Solar Energy Group, said that a formal announcement was likely during Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli’s China visit which is scheduled for next month.

    Ming, who had the audience riveted with his exhibition of various innovative solar products, hinted that the different projects that he is planning would serve the needs of the rural poor and social entrepreneurs.

    The two-day ‘Make Nepal Green’ seminar witnessed synergy and broad consensus among politicians, officials, bankers, farmers, civil society, and Laureates of the Right Livelihood Award which is also known as the ‘Alternative Nobel Prize.’

    Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, Ministry of Agricultural Development, and Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), among others, on Monday, had offered support to ‘Make Nepal Green’.

    NRB director Gopal Prasad Bhatta had asked the organizers to provide a full-fledged roadmap to make development recommendations in the pre-budget report.

    The meeting ended with the drafting of the Kathmandu Declaration which formulates a vision to “promote and upscale sustainable agriculture, harness renewable energy, foster eco-tourism, and develop information communication technology”.

    “This draft Declaration will be circulated widely to build broad consensus across Nepal to ‘Make Nepal Green’ a success” said Nepal’s Right Livelihood Award Laureate Shrikrishna Upadhyay.