Kathmandu, March 23

Informing that energy promotion is the major ladder to economic prosperity of the country, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Barsha Man Pun urged collaborative effort to develop the country’s hydropower sector.

Addressing a programme organised by the Society of Economic Journalists-Nepal (SEJON) in the Capital today, Minister Pun stated that development of large hydropower projects and promotion of the entire energy sector are crucial to achieve the double digit economic growth target of the government and the entire nation.

“The hydropower sector has a bigger role in materialising development targets of the country. Thus, the government is committed to promoting investment in the energy sector, facilitating the private sector by reducing bureaucratic hurdles and reforming policies,” said Minister Pun.

Informing that the government has set a target to produce 10,000 megawatts of electricity in the next one decade and increase energy consumption accordingly, Minister Pun said that the government will introduce a few new measures to materialise this plan and give continuity to plans related to the development of the energy sector formulated by previous governments.

On the occasion, Sailendra Guragain, president of the Independent Power Producers’ Association Nepal (IPPAN), urged the government to focus on implementing existing policies related to the energy sector and execute previous commitments and decisions of the government related to Nepal’s hydropower development, instead of bringing in new policies and plans.