KATHMANDU, AUGUST 1

The Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao (GMR) group, an Indian company, has expressed commitment to complete the Upper Karnali Hydropower Project within the approved time.

A Cabinet meeting held on July 17 had extended the GMR's deadline by two more years to complete the financial management of project.

Srinagar Bommidala, chairman for energy and international airports of GMR group, said, 'The extension approved by the Cabinet is a strong proof of support and appreciation of our efforts towards successfully developing a tri-nation transformational export-oriented hydropower project, which will supply power to Nepal, India and Bangladesh. We are committed to delivering this project as per the commitments made to the government of Nepal.'

Although a Project Development Agreement (PDA) was signed between the Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) and GMR on September 19, 2014, the company has not been able to complete the financial management process and other important works. An agreement had been reached to complete the project within seven years back then.

The GMR had also signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with the Bangladesh Power Development Board to purchase 500MW of electricity generated from the project on January 30, 2020.

'We have finalised and initialled the PPA jointly with Bangladesh Power Development Board of government of Bangladesh out of our 792 sealed capacity. We are committed to conclude the PPA within the approved timeline,' Bommidala said.

The estimated cost of the Upper Karnali Hydropower Project is around $1.5 billion. The project falls in Achham, Dailekh and Surkhet districts of Karnali district.

A version of this article appears in the print on August 2, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.