Prime Minister to inaugurate Pokhara Regional International Airport on January 1

As the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) is all set for the grand opening of Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA) in Pokhara, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' will inaugurate the airport on Sunday.

Pokhara Metropolis has announced a public holiday on Sunday to mark the inauguration and operation of Regional International Airport as it is going to be formally operate on the first day of the Gregorian calendar 2023 AD, 

Except Prime Minister Dahal, deputy prime ministers Bishnu Paudel and Rabi Lamichhane, and top leaders of various political parties, industrialists and tourism professionals will take part in the opening ceremony, according to the CAAN.

The crew and passengers of the aircraft landing at the airport from the first flight in the morning will be welcomed with garlands, the CAAN has palnned.

From Sunday, all domestic flights will be operated from the new airport as Buddha, Yeti and Sourya Air have already conducted the test flight and completed preparations including office management to start flying from the new airport.

The then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had laid the foundation of the airport on April 13, 2016, though it took yet another year to start construction. A Chinese company China CAMCE started the construction work one-and-a-half years after the foundation stone was laid. But the China CAMCE has handed over new airport to Nepal in the third week of last March, though only 93 per cent work was completed. The airport was handed over to Nepal on the occasion of Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi's visit to Nepal.

Narrow-body aircraft including Airbus A-320 and Boeing 757-200 that has capacity to carry less than 200 passengers can take off and land at the airport, according to director of Pokhara Regional International Airport Bikram Gautam. "The aircraft, at present however, can only land from the east in the one-way approach airport."

The airport has parking lots that can accommodate 11 aircraft including three large and eight small ones. The runway of the airport is 2,500 meters and the width is 45 meters and the thickness of the runway is 34 cm, Gautam informed, adding that the airport has the capacity to handle 610 passengers per hour during peak hours. "There will be 18-hour daily flights to and from Pokhara International Airport beginning February 23."

Estimated to have cost around Rs 22 billion with concessional loan from China’s Export-Import (Exim) Bank, the airport has domestic and international terminal buildings spread over 14,000 sq meters of land. The China CAMCE has constructed the airport on EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) model.

Four decades ago, some 3,106 ropanis of land in wards 14, 15 and 18 in Pokhara was acquired to construct the airport. After the land was not enough, another 521 ropanis of land was acquired. But the construction was started by acquiring another 60 acres of land to build a 10 km road around the airport.

The airport that is expected to be a milestone in the promotion of tourism, also wants to convey the message to the world that Nepal is eager to welcome more tourists, , according to the chairman of the Pokhara Tourism Council, Pom Narayan Shrestha. Pokhara's direct connection with international cities will help promote Pokhara more, he said, adding that Pokhara is a major tourist destination and the tourism sector will benefit more with the operation of the airport. "The tourism sector affected by Covid-19 will get relief with the increase in tourist arrivals with the operation of the new airport."

Bangladesh grants LoI to GMR to ink PPR

Bangladesh has granted letter of intent (LoI) to GMR to sign power purchase agreement (PPA) to buy 500 megawatts (MW) of electricity from the 900-MW Upper Karnali Hydro Electric Project (UKHEP), the first Nepal, India and Bangladesh – three country – joint hydel project.
The project head of Upper Karnali Hydro Electric Project KK Sharma confirmed that the LoI has paved the way for the project to ink the financial closure with various banks and financial institutions. “The LoI means that the Bangladeshi government has finalised all necessary legal issues to materialise the plan to buy energy from us,” he said, adding that the Bangladesh government had already – on December 18 – finalised the PPA rate with GMR. “At that time the Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase of Bangladesh had approved power purchase agreement rate to purchase 500 MW of energy generated by the project.”
Bangladesh has confirmed to import 500 MW of electricity through Indian firm GMR at a tariff rate of 7.72 cents (Rs 8.80 IC) per unit for a period of 25 years. The development of the project is going to open doors for the first-ever trilateral power trade, apart from ending suspicions that the project will never materialise.
The company is planning to complete the necessary works for the PPA within the next four months and by the next six months the project will ink the financial closure agreement, Sharma said, adding that the company will be able to sign the PPA in June, if everything goes as planned. “The buying entity will enter into a PPA for the purchase of the electricity at the rate of 7.712 cents per unit for a period of 25 years.”
The company also plans to complete the process of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and award the contract to the selected firm by March.
The Upper Karnali Hydro Electric Project will be the first Nepal-based private company to export hydropower to Bangladesh through India according to the trilateral agreement. The project also plans to develop its own transmission line to evacuate the electricity it generates in Nepal. The power generated from the plant will be evacuated through a 400 kV double circuit transmission line up to the interconnection point of Power Grid Corporation of India, in India. The Indian party will get IC 4 paisa per unit as a trading margin for transmitting the power to Bangladesh. The supply of power to Bangladesh from India is expected to become exemplary in terms of regional power trade agreement.
Estimated to cost around $1.5 billion, the company plans to collect 15 per cent of investment through Nepali banks and financial institutions (BFIs). It has already signed initial agreement with Nabil Bank and Nepal Investment Bank, which are interested to lead the debt consortium for the 15 per cent financing. “The project is in talks with the Indian Exim Bank, Chinese Exim Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank (WB) and Netherlands Development Finance Company and other multilateral lenders for the remaining project financing.”
The run-of-the-river hydropower project was awarded to the Indian Group through an international competitive bidding process in 2008 on a build, own, operate and transfer model as an export-oriented project aimed at the Indian market. Nepal will receive 27 per cent free equity and 12 per cent free energy from the project. Nepal will receive 108 MW out of the remaining 400 MW for free, while GMR plans to sell the remainder to the Indian government.
Expected to complete about five years, the project developer has to transfer the full ownership of the project to the Nepal government at the end of the 25-year concession period.

Bangladesh agrees to pay 7.7 cents per unit for Upper Karnali power

Opening the door for the first-ever trilateral power trade, Bangladesh has formalised its pledges to buy electricity from the 900-MW Upper Karnali hydel project, which is being developed by GMR Group. The move paves the way for the financial closure of the 900-MW Upper Karnali Hydro Electric Project.
The cabinet committee on Public Purchase (CCPP) of Bangladesh today gave the green signal to import power at a rate of 7.71 cents per unit – which is equivalent to Rs 8.80 per unit – for a period of 25 years, reported Bangladeshi newspaper Dhaka Tribune.
The energy-hungry Bangladesh will pay out a massive Tk381.60 billion (equivalent to Rs 511.69 billion) over 25 years to procure 500-MW of electricity.
On November 21, Bangladeshi State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid –speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the seventh Power Summit in Kathmandu – had hinted that they would get the PPA rate endorsed from their cabinet at the earliest.
GMR appointed project head of Upper Karnali in Nepal Kulmeet Sharma confirmed the development.
The tariff rate – a key point in the discussions between Indian developer and Bangladeshi energy officials – is around 2.5 cents less than what GMR Energy had offered to Bangladesh. “It will now help GMR to arrange funds for the construction of the hydel plant because the lender will approve credit only if a market for the electricity to be generated by the project is secured,” he said, adding that now a letter of intent from Bangladesh is expected within 4 to 5 weeks. “After the project receives the letter of intent, it will open the doors to make financing arrangements to build the hydropower project in the western Nepal.”
GMR is accelerating the pace to complete the necessary work for energy trade and working towards the project’s financial closure by 2020, he added.
According to the GMR, it plans to collect 15 per cent of investment through Nepali banks and financial institutions and the initial agreement has been made with them. Nabil Bank and Nepal Investment Bank have shown interest to lead the debt consortium for the 15 per cent financing. “We are also in negotiations with Indian Exim Bank, Chinese Exim Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank (WB) and Netherlands Development Finance Company and other multilateral lenders for the remaining project financing,” Sharma said, adding that the project will be built as per engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) model and the contract will be awarded to the selected firms by March, if everything goes as planned. “GMR has selected three companies for civil, hydromechanical and other infrastructure works and seven companies for electromechanical works through open bidding.”
GMR added that it had signed an MoU with NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd of India for sale of surplus electricity generated by the project. It is also trying to sign an off-take agreement with Bangladesh Power Development Board.
Nepal will receive 108 MW – out of the remaining 400 MW – free of cost, while GMR plans to sell the rest to the government of the Indian state of Haryana.
Bangladesh Power Development Board and GMR – last year – has signed a principal agreement on the commercial terms of the power purchase agreement (PPA), excluding tariff rates and they were negotiating on the rates since then due to high tariff proposed by the developer.
The export-oriented Upper Karnali hydropower project has a high price tag due to surcharges placed on the use of Nepali and Indian transmission lines. As the developer is required to relay energy using Nepali and Indian infrastructure, it will have to pay wheeling charges to both Nepal and India, and apart from the charges, the loss of electricity in long-distance transmission is also usually high.
Bangladesh signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with India’s NVVN to import electricity from the Upper Karnali scheme via India during Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to India in April 2017. As Indian laws don’t allow private developers to export electricity produced in third countries over Indian transmission lines, Bangladesh signed a MoU with the state-owned cross-border electricity trading agency while GMR was a witness.
GMR Energy and the government signed a MoU on construction of the hydel plant in 2008. Modelled to run in full capacity for only three months in a year, cost of the reservoir-type Upper Karnali is estimated to hover around $1.1 billion.

Upper Trishuli 3A adds 60 MW in national grid

Upper Trishuli 3A (UT 3A) hydropower project finally started evacuating its full capacity of 60-megawatts (MW) to the national grid from today.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli inaugurated the project from the control room in Singhadurbar via video conference, whereas finance minister Dr Yuba Raj Khatiwada and energy minister Barsha Man Pun formally inaugurated the project jointly by switching it on at the project site at Kispang-5 in Nuwakot.
Speaking at the inauguration programme, managing director of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Kul Man Ghising said that the project is the backbone for Kathmandu Valley’s distribution system. “The Upper Trishuli 3A and Kulekhani reservoir projects will be crucial in reducing import of electricity from India,” he said, adding that the country bought 2.8 billion units of electricity costing Rs 22 billion from India during the last fiscal year.
The cost of the project – when it was completed – has swelled to Rs 17.32 billion from the initial estimate of Rs 14.43 billion. “The project cost was managed by the government, NEA and a concessional loan of $114.7 million from the Export-Import Bank of China and built under engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) model.”
The Upper Trishuli  3A – that has already started commercial generation of electricity – has 8 per cent contribution to the energy consumed in the country. The Upper Trishuli 3A and Upper Bhotekoshi hydropower projects are finally set to generate 753.2 million units of electricity worth Rs 6.29 billion annually.
The NEA has signed an agreement with the CGGC for the civil powerhouse, dam, tunnel and structure, electro-mechanical and hydro-mechanical works in engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) model on July 30, 2010. The construction started from April, 2011..
The project that has dam in Rasuwa and powerhouse in Nuwakot was delayed during the construction due to the devastating earthquakes and blockade in the southern border in 2015. After the contractor was unable to complete the project within the initial deadline of May 31, 2014, the NEA had extended the completion deadline by 34 months to April 2019. “The 60 MW capacity project's 30 MW electricity from the first unit was linked to the national transmission grid on May 17, and the other 30 MW electricity produced from the second unit was linked to the grid on August 2,” Ghising added.
According to project chief Phadindra Raj Joshi, the project will generate electricity in full capacity for nine months and for the remaining three months, it will generate 45 MW of electricity.
The Upper Trishuli 3A project has become uncertain after China Gezhouba Group Company – the contractor – halted its works due to heavy damage to the access road and dam after the devastating earthquake 2015. But the contractor resumed the work after the Nepal Army repaired access road at a cost of Rs 690 million.
The electricity produced from the project's 3B hub is being transferred through 45 kilometers long transmission line to the substation located at Matatirtha, of which 132 KV from the powerhouse of Simle to 3B hub, 220 KV double circuit from 3B hub to Badbhanjyang and 220 KV 4 circuit transmission line from Badbhanjyang to Matatirtha have been constructed.

Land acquisition biggest hurdle
On the occasion, the premier said that the land acquisition process should not hinder the construction of any development projects. “The development projects like hydropower should not face any roadblocks during their construction,” he said, adding that every stakeholder concerned should facilitate in the smooth construction of the projects by settling the issues of land acquisition. “On the one hand, unwarranted compensation claims will raise the cost of the development projects, and on the other hand the projects will also encounter inordinate delays.”

Nepal Army shortlists six firms to build bridges along Express Way

The Nepali Army (NA) today shortlisted six international contractors for construction of 62 high-arch bridges along the 76.2-km-long Kathmandu-Tarai-Madhesh Expressway.
Asking the interested companies to submit their proposals based on engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) model, the army had called a global tender bid to submit the proposal for the construction of the bridges on April 5.
According to the army, five Chinese firms and one Turkish construction company have been selected in the initial phase. The shortlisted companies are China State Construction Engineering Corporation, Hunan Road and Bridge Construction Group Company, China Railway 20 Bureau Group Corporation, COVEC-CREGC Joint Venture and Longjian Road and Bridge Company Limited of China, and Dogus Insaat Ve Ticaret AS & Makyol Insaat Sanayi Turizm Ve Ticaret AS Joint Venture of Turkey.
"According to the tender notice, the company that has been selected will be responsible for building 62 bridges out of the 99 bridges," NA spokesperson Brigadier General Gokul Bhandari said, adding that the remaining bridges will be built by the Nepal Army. "The selected firm will be responsible for the design, planning, engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, operation and maintenance of the high-arch bridges."
The Nepali Army will further study the technical and financial proposals of the six shortlisted companies and will soon select the best company.
Earlier, the Nepali Army had decided to award the contract to conduct the detailed project report (DPR) of the Expressway to a South Korean joint venture company called Yooshin and Pyunghwa on September 19. The Korean joint venture company will submit the DPR by February, and the project is expected to be completed four years after the DPR has been submitted.
The Nepali Army has been assigned the responsibility to construct the Expressway, which it has separated into three segments. Out of the 76.2-km-long expressway, it plans to construct 17-km on its own, hire dependable Nepali contractors for 37-km of the stretch and sign up foreign contractors for the remaining 22.2-km of tunnel and bridge sections.

Construction of international airport in Pokhara starts, finally

Construction work of Pokhara Regional International Airport formally started from today, some 15 months after the foundation stone for the regional airport was laid.
The then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had laid the foundation stone for the national pride project on April 13, 2016. Similarly, CPN (Maoist Centre) supremo Pushpa Kamal Dahal, CPN-UML senior leader Jhalanath Khanal, then deputy prime minister duo Kamal Thapa and Bijay Kumar Gachhadhar, former foreign minister Ananda Prasad Pokharel and Nepali Congress General Secretary Shashanka Koirala had also laid stones at the construction site.
Albeit the construction was started on July 11, 2017, tourism minister Jitendra Dev today formally inaugurated the construction of the airport.
Dev, on the occasion, said that the project could be a milestone for the development and prosperity of the country once it comes into operation. It is one of the three new international airports planned in the Himalayan country.
Initially the Rs 22 billion-national pride project was planned to be completed by July, 2020. But Dev said that the project will be completed by July, 2021, also due to 15-month delay in starting construction work after laying foundation stone.
Of the 21 projects categorised as national pride projects by the government, five falls under the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation. Dev also said that he would spare no effort to make sure that the national pride project is completed within the deadline.
Director general of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) Sanjiv Gautam, on the occasion, said that Pokhara has waiting for this moment for almost 42 years. "The progress in expansion of Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) and construction of Bhairahawa International Airport is not so satisfactory," he said, adding, "But Pokhara Regional International Airport project should be completed on time."
Completion of construction on time is important, as our plan is to repay the loan secured to build the project by using revenue of the airport," he added.
According to the CAAN, the loan will be repaid in 26 installment, two installments per year.
Project manager of China CAMC Engineering Yang Jerry, on the occasion, said that they have begun building dormitories for worker. "We will start major construction works after the monsoon ends," he said, committing to complete the project in time, if they get support from the locals.
The government had signed a $215.96 million concessional loan agreement with China's Export and Import (EXIM) Bank – in March 2016 – to construct the Pokhara Regional International Airport. The loan has to be cleared within 13 years of the completion of the seven-year grace period.
China CAMC Engineering – the main contractor of the Pokhara Regional International Airport Project that bagged the contract in May 2014 – is constructing the project in Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) modality under 4D model according to the criteria set by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
The government had acquired more than 3,100 ropani of land spread in Ward No 14, 15, and 18 of Pokhara Municipality four decades ago. It acquired another 521 ropani later on.
Rabindra Adhikari, president of the parliamentary Development Committee, said adding that the locals of Pokhara have worked very hard to see this day. "We have now authorised the construction company to fulfill our decades-long dream," he added.
Lawmakers Sarada Poudel and Sita Giri, Airport Construction Project director Pradip Adhikari, former president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Ananda Raj Mulmi, president of Pokhara Chamber of Commerce and Industry Bishwa Shankar Palikhe, among others stressed on the need for the State to prioritise the construction of supporting infrastructures along with the construction of the airport.
Once the airport is ready for operation, it will have 2,500 meters long and 45 meters wide runway, which can handle medium category jets like Boeing 757 and Airbus 320, according to the project office.

NEA rolls back decision to upgrade Upper Trishuli 3A

Nepali Electricity Authority (NEA) today rolled back its earlier decision to upgrade Upper Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project to 90MW from 60MW bowing down to the intense pressure from civil society and its own employees unions.

A board meeting chaired by energy minister Umakant Jha today evening revoked the controversial upgradation decision as the foure employees unions have been locking horns with not only the NEA but also with the government.

On May 31, the board had decided to upgrade the hydropower project from 60MW to 90MW on the request of contractor.
The four trade unions of NEA have been protesting upgradation of Upper Trishuli 3A, saying that the move would hurt the country instead of addressing perennial power woes.

The NEA had awarded 60MW hydro-power project in Nuwakot to China Gezhouba Group Company on Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) model in 2011.
The NEA board, riding on then Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai cabinet’s decision of January 3, had on March 31 decided to upgrade the project by 30MW to 90 MW.

NEA decides to upgrade Upper Trishuli 3A hydro project to 90MW

Despite a huge opposition, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) board today decided to upgrade the Upper Trishuli 3A hydro power project, according to the request of the contractor China Gezhouba Group Company Ltd.
The board meeting chaired by the Minister for Energy Uma Kanta Jha decided to upgrade the hydropower project from 60 MW to 90 MW. With the upgradation of the project, its cost has also increased to $132 million from $89 million.
Earlier, the project was expected to be completed by May 30, 2014 but the upgradation – at the time when it has only one year left to complete the project but completed only 21 per cent of the work – will delay the project by two more years.
Those, who are protesting the upgradation, claims that it will cause NEA huge loss of around Rs 4 billion not only due to delay but also the project could not add enough energy in the dry season despite increased cost.
However, the NEA and the contractor are claiming that the upgradation will benefit the country as the project will produce more power.

Since last week, the five trade unions of NEA have been asking the chairman of Interim Election Council Khil Raj Regmi not to upgrade the project that will hurt the NEA.
Former Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai had – through cabinet decision – allowed NEA board to upgrade the hydropower project, claiming that the study panel formed by him has researched in detail it’s legal and technical aspects and suggested to upgrade the run of the river project to 90MW.
The NEA had decided to award Upper Trishuli 3A hydro power project to China Gezhouba Group Company Ltd under Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) model to avoid the project escalation cost as most of the power projects in the past ran into various trouble and cost the country more.
The protesters claimed that the EPC model of contract cannot be revised and the contractor should pay the government compensation, if it could not complete the project on time.
The Exim Bank of China has provided soft loan of $89 million for the project.

Pokharaelis pressure government for regional international airport

The Pokharelis today came in droves on buses, micros, minis, and bikes to gherau Singhdurbar against the delay in construction of Pokhara Regional International Airport that has been mired in legal complexities, coupled with commission and corruption controversy.

However, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) is, after China visit led by torusim secretary Yajna Prasad Gautam, planning to recall the render process to simplyfy the legal complexities.

"The CAAN has no plans to obstruct construction of the Pokhara Regional International Airport," said tourism secretary Yajna Prasad Gautam, who led a team last week to China to talk to the financier of the project, China Exim Bank.

“China Exim Bank is ready to finance the airport after the clearance of legal complexities," he said, adding that they held meeting with the vice president of Exim Bank who assured of loan. "There was some legal confusion and we are planning to recall the bidding,” the secretary said.
However some informed sources claim that the needs to amend the existing Procurement Act before calling the retender for the construction.

According to Ananda Raj Mulmi, who is leading the Pokharelis in favour of airport construction, China is interested to construct the airport under Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) model that means a contractor has to be selected first and it will do the final detailed project report and then the loan agreement with the Exim Bank will be signed.

But according to the current practice, the loan is signed first followed by the bidding process.

"The Chinese have constructed Srilankan Port and airports in Laos under the EPC model, which is economically beneficial for the country as there will be no tension of variation, a key headache for Nepal,” he said.

The misunderstanding on the project model made Chinese companies to bid higher, he said, adding that the Chinese companies bid was higher as they bid under EPC model.

The higher quotation made the CAAN more difficult to take decision as it would be economically unviable, a CAAN official said, adding that that it is only the implementing agency, and it’s the government that has to take the call.

Three different Chinese companies — CWT Company, Sino Hydro Corporation, and CAMC — had applied for the tender at $349 million, $337 million and $305 million, respectively.

The CAAN had announced the tender at a maximum bidding amount of $170 million and finally selected CAMC at a $305 million bid amount as it was the lowest bidder.

The CAMC will construct 3,000 metre taxiway, apron with the capacity of having six to 12 jet, and 3000 metre concrete runway, Mulmi said, adding that the concrete runway can have the life of 30 years, whereas the runway like TIA will have the life of six years only. "The cost could come down, if the government wanted less facility."

Termed as the national priority project, its work was stalled after the lowest bidder quoted $305 million that is around 80 per cent higher than the government’s earlier estimated cost of $170 million.

However, the opposition claimed that the caretaker prime minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai led government raised the cost to $287 million itself. "The UCPN-Maoist is trying to make it a milking cow at the cost of people," an opposition leader said, claiming that the huge commision has raised the cost of the project.

However, Mulmi opined that the construction work must start for the development of the country. "If there is corruption, the transparency watch dogs must keep vigil and punish the corrupt,” he said, adding that Pokhara locals will continue their protest to put pressure on the government.

On February 9, 2012, the CAAN had invited bid for the project and extended the deadline twice following the intervention by the CIAA.

The government and the Japan International Cooperation Agency conducted a detailed study for the project in 1989. It had proposed a runway 2,500m long and 50m wide, a terminal and a cargo building. Construction of the airport, which was expected to be completed in four years, was estimated to cost of $39.6 million at the time. The government had also acquired over 3,106 ropanies of land in 1975.