Wang Shengling, a high-level official of China’s Three Gorges International Corporation, is arriving tonight for revising the MoU signed between Ministry of Energy and the corporation in February on 750 MW West Seti hydro project.
Chief of Nepal Investment Board Radhesh Panta said a meeting was scheduled for tomorrow morning at Ministry of Energy that will revise clauses of the MoU and add some others.
Allotting 10 per cent share of the project to the local people, multipurpose use of water, such as drinking and irrigation, and resettlement of the people affected by the project are the three key clauses the two sides will dwell on tomorrow.
The Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources and Means has suggested to the government to hold talks with the CTGI on equity sharing, with the Nepali side holding 49 per cent and 10 per cent stake going to the people of the Far-West. Though officials have vowed to comply with the committee’s recommendations, revised MoU is unlikely to have anything on that. Previous MoU only mentions of two to three per cent shares for the local people. The MoU will include development of industrial corridor in the Far-West region and enabling consumption of 150 MW power in the region, a source told The Himalayan Times.
A source claimed that the company has given its word to provide a soft-loan for the 500-km transmission line set-up from Doti to Butwal to connect national power grid. Energy Secretary Hari Ram Koirala, four joint-secretaries, NEA MD Mahendra Lal Shrestha and Radhesh Panta have drafted MoU document.
Source : The Himalayan Times
