West seti project : Govt offers Chinese co 75pc stake

KATHMANDU, FEB 28 -

The government has offered 75 percent stake in the West Seti Hydro Electricity Project (WSHEP) to China Three Gorges Corporation (CTGC), in its bid to woo the company to build the 750-MW reservoir-type project.

The government made such a proposal during a meeting with top CTGC officials on Monday. A four-member team from CTGC led by its Senior Vice President Wang Shaofeng is currently here to discuss investment possibilities in the much-hyped project.

“We have begun formal talks with them (CTGC officials),” said Arjun Kumar Karki, spokesperson for the Ministry of Energy (MoE). “During the talks, both the parties will discuss viable investment modalities.”

The government has also asked 25 percent stake for the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) in the project. According to Karki, CTGC officials have agreed to come up with a decision on the government’s proposal within a couple of days.

The state-owned CTGC is China’s largest hydropower developer, better known as the company that constructed the Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest power station in terms of installed capacity (20,300 MW).

If the Chinese side accepts the proposal, the ministry is ready to float shares for local residents from the 25 percent stake to be owned by NEA, Karki said. Ministry officials have said the electricity generated from the project will be used domestically.

Earlier, CTGC had proposed that it would help the government get soft loans from the Exim Bank of China. The bank had offered Nepal soft and

commercial loans worth $1.6 billion, but the government had proposed the Chinese side to provide the entire amount in concessional loans.

The Nepal government had also made a formal request to the Chinese government for financing the West Seti project during the 60-member Chinese delegation’s visit to Nepal last year. In response, the Chinese side had asked for the Detailed Project Report of the project. Earlier this year, CTGC had also written to the Prime Minister’s Office expressing its interest to invest in the West Seti Project.

Following the termination of West Seti’s licence on July, 2011, the ministry had suggested three options to the government for the construction of the project— the government build the project on its own or find loans or call a global tender.

Source: Kantipur