Kathmandu, January 18

A meeting of the board of directors of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) held today has approved the joint venture agreement (JVA) signed between NEA and China Three Gorges International (CTGI) on Monday. The JVA that was signed by the two entities needed to be approved by their respective boards to bring it into effect.

The JVA was signed between NEA and CTGI to form a joint venture company to develop 750-megawatt West Seti Hydroelectric Project. CTGI had obtained survey licence of the West Seti reservoir project in 2012 and it has already conducted the feasibility study of the project.

The JVA agreement signed between NEA and CTGI has paved the way for Investment Board Nepal (IBN), the government agency that deals with hydropower projects with capacity of above 500 MW, to sign the project development agreement with the developer, according to Prabal Adhikari, spokesperson for NEA.

The China based CTGI will bear 75 per cent cost of the project and NEA will make 25 per cent equity investment. The total cost of project is expected to hover around $1.6 billion.

The JVA has also mentioned about floating 10 per cent shares of the West Seti Hydroelectric Project to the locals affected by the project.