Chinese team to arrive in Sept to discuss West Seti hydro project
KATHMANDU:
Chinese developer of 750MW West Seti hydropower project is visiting Nepal in the first week of September to discuss issues related to signing of power purchase agreement, development of transmission line and land acquisition, among others.
The delegation led by president of CWE Investment Corporation (CWEI), the development of the hydro project is expected to arrive in Nepal by September 3, a reliable source with knowledge of the matter told The Himalayan Times.
“We have received a letter from the company (which is a subsidiary of China Three Gorges Corporation) stating that it wishes to discuss issues related to power purchase agreement, development of transmission line and land acquisition,” the source said.
“We hope discussions on establishment of a special purpose vehicle to implement the project and initiating negotiations on project development agreement would also be held during the meeting.”
Earlier, the government had expressed commitment to facilitate the process of acquiring land required to build the $2.5-billion project. It has also agreed to build the transmission lines to evacuate electricity generated by the plant.
West Seti project is located in the far-western region of the country and will spread in four districts of Doti, Dadeldhura, Baitadi and Bajhang. The project has the capacity to generate electricity for 24 straight hours throughout the year, except in dry season when power generating capacity is expected to dip to eight to nine hours a day.
Although the power project is expected to give a lift to the economy of relatively underdeveloped far-western region, issues related to relocation of people from the project site and acquisition of land for the development of the project are likely to come in the way of smooth implementation of the project.
A study conducted by a parliamentary committee before the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly had found that the project will affect over 16,000 people of 2,125 households in 20 village development committees of four districts. Of these, close to 12,000 people of 1,393 households will have to be relocated, the study showed.
However, these estimates were based on 2008 population census and many more people may be affected by the time works begin at the project site, forcing project developers to foot a bill of billions of rupees.
Earlier, the parliamentary committee had suggested that the people, who stand to lose their land and houses, be relocated to Kanchanpur, Kailali and Bardiya. But whether this recommendation would be heeded is not known.
Along with this, problem of land acquisition is also expected to be tough nut to crack, as only around 20 per cent of land required for project is owned by government. Since a large portion of land is owned by locals, land prices are expected to rise, compelling project developers to fork out a huge sum.
Source: THT
