KATHMANDU, Sept 3: There is good news for the people affected by the Budhi Gandaki Hydropower Project and the Nepali people in general. The project had become uncertain due to the long political indecision and policy instability.
Finally, the government has set up Budhigandaki Hydropower Public Limited Company to start the construction works, raising hopes among people that the project would be moved ahead in an expeditious manner.
The Office of the Company Registrar has made available the certificate of the formation of a public limited by the name 'Budhi Gandaki Hydropower' to the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation on Friday.
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It had been long since a decision to establish a company had been taken but the process for the same had not made any progress. This had raised concerns among all that the project may not be built.
Earlier, Energy Minister Pampha Bhusal had stated in a program that it took time to set up the company as some technical issues were yet to be settled. It is said that an environment has been created for construction of the much-anticipated project in the 'company model' and that also with the own investment of Nepali people as per the aspiration of the general public and the project-affected people.
The government had decided on June 28 to set up a company for the construction of this ' national pride' project. The project has a total installed capacity of 1,200 megawatts. A French company- Tactwell- had prepared the detailed project report of the Budhi Gandaki Hydropower Project in 2014. It had stated that the project cost would be Rs 270 billion. This cost estimation was made nearly eight years back and the cost is expected to go up now.
The government has distributed compensation of Rs 40 billion so far to the project-affected population. The authorized capital of the company would be worth Rs 60 billion and the issued capital is worth Rs 20 billion.
(RSS)
