West Seti Hydropower Co’s licence scrapped
KATHMANDU, JUL 28 -
The government has scrapped the licence of West Seti Hydropower Company Limited (WSHPL).
The company had acquired the licence 15 years ago for the much talked about 750 MW West Seti Hydropower Project. A Cabinet meeting on Wednesday took a decision to this effect.
The Energy Ministry had already recommended to the government to cancel the licence. “WSHPL licence has been scrapped,” said a high level official at the ministry.
After the cancellation of WSHPL’s licence, the ministry, however, is undecided about how the project will be developed now onwards. “A new modality will be prepared in a few days,” said the official.
The scrapping of WSHPL marks the end of the country’s one of the ambitious hydropower projects. The project was originally designed as an export-oriented with 90 percent of the power to be exported to India. However, promoter WSHPL failed to move ahead with the construction whose cost was estimated at Rs 120 billion.
Failing to manage resources, WSHPL had proposed building the project under Public Private Partnership (PPP) model in January, 2011. The company had filed an application at the Department of Electricity Development (DoED) seeking extension of the deadline for financial closure of the project and also sought the government’s involvement in the project.
However, indicating that it would not extend the deadline, the Ministry of Energy (MoE) had sought the clarification from WSHPL for its failure to proceed with the construction of the project located in Doti and Dadeldhura districts.
WSHPL had signed an agreement with the government 16 years ago to construct the project under the BOOT model. Australia’s Snowy Mountains Energy Corporation (SMEC) was the major promoter of the project. The project received major jolt when the main promoter SMEC stopped sending funds for office operations in August 2010. SMEC’s decision to stop funding was linked to the lack of interest shown by China National Machinery and Equipment Import and Export Corporation (CMEC) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) to pour in money in the mega project. SMEC, as the major promoter, has invested over $ 31 million in the project over the last decade.
Source: Kantipur
The government has scrapped the licence of West Seti Hydropower Company Limited (WSHPL).
The company had acquired the licence 15 years ago for the much talked about 750 MW West Seti Hydropower Project. A Cabinet meeting on Wednesday took a decision to this effect.
The Energy Ministry had already recommended to the government to cancel the licence. “WSHPL licence has been scrapped,” said a high level official at the ministry.
After the cancellation of WSHPL’s licence, the ministry, however, is undecided about how the project will be developed now onwards. “A new modality will be prepared in a few days,” said the official.
The scrapping of WSHPL marks the end of the country’s one of the ambitious hydropower projects. The project was originally designed as an export-oriented with 90 percent of the power to be exported to India. However, promoter WSHPL failed to move ahead with the construction whose cost was estimated at Rs 120 billion.
Failing to manage resources, WSHPL had proposed building the project under Public Private Partnership (PPP) model in January, 2011. The company had filed an application at the Department of Electricity Development (DoED) seeking extension of the deadline for financial closure of the project and also sought the government’s involvement in the project.
However, indicating that it would not extend the deadline, the Ministry of Energy (MoE) had sought the clarification from WSHPL for its failure to proceed with the construction of the project located in Doti and Dadeldhura districts.
WSHPL had signed an agreement with the government 16 years ago to construct the project under the BOOT model. Australia’s Snowy Mountains Energy Corporation (SMEC) was the major promoter of the project. The project received major jolt when the main promoter SMEC stopped sending funds for office operations in August 2010. SMEC’s decision to stop funding was linked to the lack of interest shown by China National Machinery and Equipment Import and Export Corporation (CMEC) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) to pour in money in the mega project. SMEC, as the major promoter, has invested over $ 31 million in the project over the last decade.
Source: Kantipur
