Bank loan for Upper Tamakoshi

Over 10 commercial banks in the country, led by Himalayan Bank Ltd., have agreed to lend Rs 6 billion for the construction of the 309-megawatt Upper Tamakoshi hydropower plant.

This is the first large hydropower company to have only national investment. Memorandum of understanding (MoU) to this effect has been signed on Wednesday, Kantipur daily reported.

Employees Provident Fund has already agreed to invest Rs 12 billion for this project estimated to cost Rs 27 billion. Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) will manage the remaining amount through shares.

Construction of the 390 MW project based in northern Dolakha will begin once Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project is established. The project expects to pay back the loan within 15 years.

Preliminary estimations put the project to be the cheapest in Nepal costing only Rs 1.12 per unit of power. The plant will produce 1.74 billion units of power every year. nepalnews.com ia July 17 08