IFC and ADB sign financing mandate letters with NWEDC

KATHMANDU:

International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) today signed financing mandate letters with Nepal Water and Energy Development Company (NWEDC) — the developer of the 216 MW Upper Trishuli-I Hydroelectric Project in Rasuwa district, Nepal.

The signing of the mandate letters will enable the financiers to begin the appraisal process, as per the press statement issued here today. “But this process cannot be completed unless the project development agreement (PDA) and power purchase agreement (PPA) are both signed and are satisfactory to the lenders,” the statement adds.

The company is in negotiation with the government of Nepal, Ministry of Energy for concluding the PDA, while PPA negotiation with Nepal Electricity Authority is also in process, as per the statement.

According to the release, signing of the mandate letter even before signing of PDA and PPA proves the company’s readiness to develop the project.The Korean consortium composed of KOSEP, Daelim and Kyeryong own 75 per cent stake, while IFC owns 15 per cent and local developer owns 10 per cent stakes in the company. KOSEP is the Korean government undertaking company while Daelim and Kyeryong are world renowned construction companies, according to the press release.

Upper Trishuli-I Hydroelectric Project is a run-of-river project that will generate 1533.1 GWh of electricity annually and will be sufficient to reduce current load shedding hours by around four hours daily.The signing of mandate letter will open door for conducting due diligence study of the project by the lenders, thereby towards achieving the financial closure, the statement reads.

Source: THT