Kathmandu, February 16:

Clean Energy Development Bank Ltd (CEDBL) has entered into agreements with Financierings Maatschappij-voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), the Netherlands, as a foreign joint venture partner and Triodos Renewable Energy for Development Fund (TREDF) as a development partner.

The Fund is a renewable energy fund managed by Triodos Bank, The Netherlands.

Under the agreement, FMO is investing 14 per cent in equity in CEDBL, states a press release of the CEDBL. They are also financing to clean energy projects in Nepal through CEDBL as a subordinated loan upto $5 million. They are also providing an initial amount of $5,00,000 as ‘Capacity Building Fund’ and ‘Access to Energy Fund’ for capacity building of micro-finance institutions.

FMO is the international development bank of the government of the Netherlands. It invests capital in companies and financial institutions in the private sector in developing countries and emerging markets in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe to contribute to the structural and sustainable economic growth.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, minister for Water Resources Gyanendra Bahadur Karki said new possibilities of water resource development have opened up in Nepal with the joint investment with the foreign banks.

Acting governor of Nepal Rastra Bank, Krishna Bahadur Manandhar, said collaboration between the Clean Energy Development Bank and key banks of the Netherlands has opened up new avenues of investments in the hydropower sector.

Chairman of the CEDBL, Dhananjaya Acharya and CEO Manoj Goyal expressed their confidence that partnership with FMO and Triodos would contribute to sustainable socio-economic development.