HIDCL's Rs 8 billion remains unused for 30 months
KATHMANDU, Feb 10:
At a time when the country is facing chronic power shortage, Hydroelectricity Investment and Development Company Limited (HIDCL) is sitting on cash pile of Rs 8.77 billion earmarked by the government to develop hydropower projects.
The Jhalanath Khanal-led cabinet had formed HIDCL 30 months ago to hasten the pace of hydropower development and to work as the government´s nodal agency to collect financial resources from domestic and foreign banks and financial institutions.
Deepak Rauniyar, CEO of HIDCL, said the company was preparing to invest in five projects. “It´s not that we are staying inactive. We have put in place essential laws and recruited necessary manpower. Now we can invest in large projects,” added Rauniyar.
Though Rauniyar claimed that necessary laws have been put in place, the company is yet to prepare investment work plan and law related to loan investment and recovery of debt.
According to Rauniyar, the company has already agreed to co-finance different projects like Mistri Khola (42 MW), Dordi (27 MW), Khani Khola (30 MW), Kabeli A (37.6 MW) and Solu (23.5 MW). The company is investing about Rs 2 billion in these projects.
Highly-placed government officials said the company couldn´t invest in hydropower projects on its own because of the irresponsible board of directors (BoD). The BoD of HIDCL is headed by energy secretary.
Company officials, preferring anonymity, said CEO Rauniyar was busy globetrotting on the pretext of preparing strategy for hydropower investment instead of identifying feasible projects over the past year.
Rauniyar was appointed to the post some 18 month ago.
During the inauguration of HIDCL in July, 2011, erstwhile energy minister Gokarna Bista had announced that the company would start investing within six months after preparing necessary laws.
The government has invested Rs 5 billion in HIDCL. Similarly, Employees´ Provident Fund, Citizens Investment Trust and Rastriya Beema Sansthan have invested Rs 1 billion each in the company.
An official at the energy ministry said keeping such a huge amount of money idle would make negative impact on national economy. “Had the company started to invest in time, it would have already managed to put its money on projects of over 100 MW,” the official said.
Though the company was formed to invest on large scale projects, all the projects that it is co-financing are below 50-megawatt capacity.
Leave alone making investment on feasible projects, the company is weak even in terms of money management.
Sources say the company lost interest income of Rs 6.8 million by not transferring Rs 1.51 billion from the company´s account in Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to commercial banks. An employee of the company said the management showed reluctance to deposit money in fixed deposit accounts of commercial banks through open competition.
Source: Republica
