Nepal denies China to build Budhi Gandaki hydroelectric project

Energy Minister announced that the government will call for global tenders to develop the Budhi Gandaki hydroelectricity project.

The newly elected government in Nepal has said no to China to build the mighty USD 3 billion Budhi Gandaki hydroelectricity project that was awarded to a Chinese firm by the previous Pushpa Kamal Prachanda led government in 2016.

The decision by the current government came as a relief to New Delhi as it fears that investment in Beijing would surpass in Nepal and would lessen India's influence in Kathmandu.

The previous government had also asked China to list the project under its Belt and Road Initiative, of which Nepal is a part.

The Prachanda-led government, without any tendering, had decided to give the contract to China Gezhouba Group Company to build the scheme under the engineering-procurement-construction-and-financing (EPCF) model which led to a huge controversy in Nepal.

Nepal's Energy Minister Barsha Man Pun announced that the government will call for global tenders to develop the Budhi Gandaki hydroelectricity that is expected to generate 12,00-megawatt electricity. The total cost of the project is around USD 2.73 billion.

Budhi Gandaki Hydropower Project is a storage type project located in Central/ Western Development region on the Budhi Gandaki River of Nepal. This project was identified during the Gandaki Basin Study in late 70's. In 1984. The project lies in Gorkha and Dhading districts in Western/ Central Development region of Nepal.