The two-day Nepal-India energy secretary-level talks began in the southern Indian city of Bangalore in India today.
Energy secretary Dinesh Kumar Ghimire is leading the Nepali team at the meeting that aims at finalising details related to the much talked about transmission line and energy banking projects through mutual understanding, whereas his counterpart Subhash Chandra Garg is leading the Indian team.
“The meeting will focus on finalising the construction modality of the 400 kVA New Butwal-Gorakhpur cross-border transmission line, the Energy Ministry informed, adding that it will also give the final touches to the bilateral energy banking agreement.
The New Butwal-Gorakhpur cross-border transmission line project is a must to implement the US government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) assistance to Nepal.
The secretary-level talks – known as Joint Steering Committee (JSC) meeting – will tomorrow discuss the overall agenda. Prior to the JSC meeting, the joint secretary-level Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting today will finalise the agendas for the JSC meeting.
Nepali delegation is hopeful that the construction modality of the New Butwal-Gorakhpur cross-border transmission line project will be finalised in the meeting as the government authorities from both the sides have spent a lot of time preparing the groundwork for the agreement.
There has been agreement to construct the transmission line on government-to-government modality and the detailed project report has also already been finalised during the last meeting. The cross-border transmission line project has been under discussion for a long time and it was also also discussed during the last JSC meeting in Pokhara on January 23, too. Nepal and India – during the Pokhara meeting – had also agreed to sell more electricity to Nepal. Likewise, at the Pokhara meeting, both the governments had agreed to build the respective length of the transmission line that falls in their territory.
Of the total 140-km-long transmission line, some 20 km falls in Nepali territory, whereas remaining 120-km lies in the Indian territory. Nepal had pledged to invest 50 per cent of equity in the Indian side of the transmission line. At that meeting, Nepal had also agreed to pay cent per cent wheeling charge for seven years from the beginning of the transmission line operation.
Nepal has proposed that both countries must pay according to the quantum of energy – after seven years of operation – used through this transmission line. But India has refused the proposal.
However, during the two-day Infrastructure Summit on September 11 and 12 held in Kathmandu, Indian Minister of State for Power RK Singh had pledged to support the usage proposal of the transmission line and its construction modality with the energy minister Barsha Man Pun.
During the last meeting in January in Pokhara, Nepal and India had discussed opening a joint company to implement the project and India will provide interest-free loan to fund the construction works, though any agreement has not been reached.
Energy secretary Dinesh Kumar Ghimire is leading the Nepali team at the meeting that aims at finalising details related to the much talked about transmission line and energy banking projects through mutual understanding, whereas his counterpart Subhash Chandra Garg is leading the Indian team.
“The meeting will focus on finalising the construction modality of the 400 kVA New Butwal-Gorakhpur cross-border transmission line, the Energy Ministry informed, adding that it will also give the final touches to the bilateral energy banking agreement.
The New Butwal-Gorakhpur cross-border transmission line project is a must to implement the US government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) assistance to Nepal.
The secretary-level talks – known as Joint Steering Committee (JSC) meeting – will tomorrow discuss the overall agenda. Prior to the JSC meeting, the joint secretary-level Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting today will finalise the agendas for the JSC meeting.
Nepali delegation is hopeful that the construction modality of the New Butwal-Gorakhpur cross-border transmission line project will be finalised in the meeting as the government authorities from both the sides have spent a lot of time preparing the groundwork for the agreement.
There has been agreement to construct the transmission line on government-to-government modality and the detailed project report has also already been finalised during the last meeting. The cross-border transmission line project has been under discussion for a long time and it was also also discussed during the last JSC meeting in Pokhara on January 23, too. Nepal and India – during the Pokhara meeting – had also agreed to sell more electricity to Nepal. Likewise, at the Pokhara meeting, both the governments had agreed to build the respective length of the transmission line that falls in their territory.
Of the total 140-km-long transmission line, some 20 km falls in Nepali territory, whereas remaining 120-km lies in the Indian territory. Nepal had pledged to invest 50 per cent of equity in the Indian side of the transmission line. At that meeting, Nepal had also agreed to pay cent per cent wheeling charge for seven years from the beginning of the transmission line operation.
Nepal has proposed that both countries must pay according to the quantum of energy – after seven years of operation – used through this transmission line. But India has refused the proposal.
However, during the two-day Infrastructure Summit on September 11 and 12 held in Kathmandu, Indian Minister of State for Power RK Singh had pledged to support the usage proposal of the transmission line and its construction modality with the energy minister Barsha Man Pun.
During the last meeting in January in Pokhara, Nepal and India had discussed opening a joint company to implement the project and India will provide interest-free loan to fund the construction works, though any agreement has not been reached.
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