The project will help strengthen the capacity of power sector agencies in Nepal to plan and prepare hydropower generation and transmission line projects along international standards and best practice. The project will also help improve the readiness of power sector agencies to undertake regulatory and institutional reforms, World Bank said in a statement.
The first component of the assistance will support the preparation of Upper Arun Hydroelectric Project and the Ikhuwa Khola Hydroelectric Project which have been identified as priority public investments by Nepal. It will also support the preparation of transmission line projects to be identified by the ongoing Transmission System Master Planning, the statement added. Similarly, the second component will finance studies and propose policy recommendations critical for power sector reforms.
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"It will also promote river basin planning in an integrated water resource management approach for selected river basins and recommend improvements in water resource management and regulations," the statement said, adding that the third component will support capacity building for safeguards management and sustainable hydropower development.
Julia Bucknall, practice manager for Energy and Extractives at the World Bank, said reforms initiated under this project will underpin the agenda of transformational hydropower development that the World Bank Group intends to support in Nepal over the coming years. "This project will help identify and address key challenges that stand in the way of Nepal achieving its full potential in the power sector," she said.
Similarly, World Bank Country Manager for Nepal Takuya Takuya, as hydropower development in Nepal involves many partners, the project benefits from the inputs of a wide range of knowledgeable stakeholders which we hope can help define a broadly owned vision for hydropower development in Nepal.
"As coordination will be key to the success of the project, implementation will bring together a wide range of power sector agencies in Nepal including Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Environment, Investment Board of Nepal, Department of Electricity Development, Department of Irrigation, Department of Water Supply, Water and Energy Commission Secretariat, Electricity Tariff Fixation Committee, Nepal Electricity Authority, Alternative Energy Promotion Center, as well as academic institutions, CSOs and development partners including ADB, USAID, JICA, KfW and the Norwegian government," Jie Tang, Program Leader at the World Bank, said.
In additional to concessional credit financing from the International Development Association (IDA), the project will also receive a $2.5 million grant from the South Asia Water Initiative (SAWI) -- a multi-donor trust fund administered by the World Bank.
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