Rs. 58 bn FDI in Hydro in last three years

Kathmandu, Dec. 29: In the past three years, nine hydroelectricity projects, seven large-scale and two medium-scale, with Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) worth Rs. 57.80 billion have come to Nepal. 

India and China have emerged as the largest FDI source countries in terms of hydropower investment with a venture commitment of Rs. 34.15 billion and 21.75 billion respectively in two projects each, according to the Department of Industry (DoI). 

Switzerland is the third largest FDI contributor, with a pledge of Rs. 3.70 billion while South Korea, Finland and Italy are also likely to develop hydropower projects in Nepal. 

These projects will generate 770 megawatts of power and generate employment for 1,295 people.

The FDI projects have a total capital investment of Rs. 70.37 billion and have a 5- 53 per cent local share. 

As per the DoI, the Indian company, KSK Ventures Limited, is investing in the 420 MW hydropower project in Kalikot. The total cost of the project is Rs. 42.10 billion, of which Rs. 33.68 billion is in foreign investment while S. C. Power Company Pvt. Ltd. will have a 20 per cent share in the project.

Another Indian company, Shiva Ganga Hydropower, is conducting a feasibility study of a 10 MW power project in Okhaldhunga. 

Two Chinese companies from the mainland and Hong Kong are investing in a 100 MW hydro project in Manang and 65 MW project in Myagdi. The projects have a 20 per cent and 5 per cent local share respectively. 

Three Chinese companies are developing a project in Manang as a joint-venture with Butwal Power Company, in which the Chinese firms have committed to invest Rs. 1.52 billion.

Similarly, Sino Hydro Holdings Limited of China has a 95 per cent stake worth Rs. 20.24 billion in the Upperdaki Hydroppower Company in Myagdi. 

Likewise, a South Korean company, Byuksan Engineering, is conducting feasibility study of the 149 MW Chera Khola Hydropower project in collaboration with a Nepali company. 

Switzerland is developing two hydroelectricity projects in Ilam and Rasuwa, while Finland and Italy are working in Mustang and Kaski districts. 

The immediate past president of the Independent Power Producers' Association of Nepal Khadga Bahadur Bista said that the trend was not encouraging compared to the hydropower potential of the country. 

"We lack a clear policy in terms of Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and have numerous hurdles at the central as well as local level while an uncertain power market in the neighbouring countries has also made the foreign investors apprehensive," he said. 

Although the country has successful FDI projects such as the Khimti, Bhotekoshi and Upper Marsyangdi, large-scale projects initiated recently like the Upper Karnali, Arun III and West Seti have made sluggish progress. 

The Investment Board of Nepal (IBN), an agency established to provide one-window services to large-scale foreign investment projects, says that it was putting its effort to facilitate the projects and, at the same time, trying to make its policy more investor-friendly.

Melamchi again fails to achieve its target

Kathmandu, Dec. 30: Due to the sluggish progress in tunnel construction, the Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP) will fail to achieve it's yet another target to supply the water of Melamchi River from Sindhupalchowk to the capital city. 

Although Executive Director of the Melamchi Water Supply Development Project Ram Chandra Devekota in October had claimed that the tunnel construction would be completed by mid-January 2018, the existing statistics negated it. 

The tunnel construction work is very slow with about 12 metre progress made in a day since September this year. 

As about 532.3 metres of tunnel is still to be constructed, at least 45 more days are needed to complete the construction of tunnel, and many more days to prepare the tunnel to get ready to flow the water up to the Water Treatment Plant (WTP) at Sundarijal. 

The total length of the tunnel is 27,584.5 metres.

The project has already failed to meet two deadlines set by the government. The then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda last year had promised to deliver the water from to Kathmandu by the end of September this year. 

The national pride project was unable to materialise the PM's promiaw as well as the direction of the Development Committee of the erstwhile parliament had directed the government to complete the project and begin water distribution in the Kathmandu Valley by October 2017.

But the project missed the deadlines.

It has been delayed by a decade, and its deadline has been extended multiple times in the past couple of years. According to the second revised date, the project should have been completed by September 2016.

But, the devastating Gorkha Earthquake in 2015 and border blockade imposed by India had created the shortage of fuel and construction materials and the deadlines were pushed ahead.

The MWSDP authorities said that the work was delayed because of the age-old machinery which caused frequent breakdowns during work.

In the first phase, the project aims to bring 170 million litres of water per day from the Melamchi River to Kathmandu, and in the second phase, another 340 million litres of water per day will be brought to the Kathmandu Valley from Yangri and Larke Rivers.

The Asian Development Bank funded project has completed the pipe laying works in more than 700 kilometres of 730 km.

The Project Implementation Directorate (PID) of the Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Improvement Project which is responsible for the pipe laying and distribution part of the project has already tested a significant part of the distribution system with the water from the Bagmati River.

The US$ 355.4 million project is being developed by the government with financial support of $145 million from the Asian Development Bank.

Progress at tunnel construction

Total length – 27,584.5 metres

Construction in October – 199.6 metres

Construction in November – 574.5 metres

Construction in December – 363.1 metres

Average progress in tunnel construction – 12 metres/day

Total tunnel construction by the end of 2017 – 27,052 metres

To be constructed – 532.3 metres

Source: MWSP

NDC to produce Cetamol in a couple of weeks

Kathmandu, Dec. 26:

The Tablet Manufacturing Unit at Nepal Drug Company (NDC) is in the final phase of reconstruction and will be completed within a couple of weeks with the installation of a compression machine.

All the core facilities have been already installed, and the compression machine is shortly arriving Kathmandu from India.

The new plant will have a production capacity of 320,000 tablets per batch, every 4 to 5 days.

The company on Tuesday said that it would begin the production of Cetamol, a paracetamol tablet which once dominated the medicine market in the country, by the end of January 2018.

Works related to tendering for the import of raw materials, packaging and distribution have been concluded.

“We are making preparations to produce at least six other products, including iron pills, Albendazole and other tablets within this fiscal year 2017/18. I am hopeful of adding one product every month,” Director General of the NDC Dr. Robhash Kusum Subedi said at a press conference organised by the company.

Cetamol will be the first tablet-size medicine and fourth product of the state-owned drug company after it resumed production of medicines with the production of ‘Jeevan Jal’ – an oral rehydration solution (ORS) – in May this year after shutting down for eight years.

Currently, the NDC is producing Jeevan Jal, glycerine and distilled water.

The company was forced to halt its operations in 2009 as it couldn’t follow the WHO-GMP guidelines and Codes on Drug Manufacturing, 1984.

The erstwhile Minister for Industry Nabindra Raj Joshi had decided to reopen the company in order to lessen the dependency of medicines on other countries, use domestic raw materials and herbs, counter the private sector monopoly, and supply necessary drugs to the government at lower rates.

The minister had announced that the NDC would produce about 40 types of medicines, including anti-venom and anti-rabies vaccines, of which 15 types of medicines would be produced by October 2017.

But lack of cooperation from the Ministry of Finance, confusion created by the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in India, and change of leadership at the Ministry of Industry (MoI), had hampered the reoperation process of the company and delayed the production of pharmaceutical products.

The company was able to come into operation with a Rs. 64.8 million loan support from the government. The Ministry of Finance has pledged loans totally Rs. 146.5 million to the company, but the latter is yet to get the remaining money.

About Rs. 80 million is needed for the renovation of the plants at the company.

Company secretary Tikaram Aryal said that the Quality Control Department and Microbiology Department at the NDC had come into full operation following the installation of 28 types of new machines.

Similarly, a Research and Development Department, and Quality Assurance Department have also been established.

The company plans to produce medicines of international standard as per the World Health Organisation (WHO) Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) guidelines.

Hydro Expo from January 5

Kathmandu, Dec. 26: The Independent Power Producers’ Association of Nepal (IPPAN) is set to organize ‘Himalayan Hydro Expo 2018’ from January 5 to 17 at Bhrikutimandap.

The first ever expo will be organised in collaboration with Expo and Event Management Service Pvt. Ltd.

According to the IPPAN, the expo will feature more than 100 stalls of hydro power producers, hydro equipment producers, suppliers, designers, consultants, insurance companies, investors, and banks and finance companies.

“More than half of the stalls have been sold to foreign companies. Companies and stakeholders from China, India, Norway, South Korea, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Italy, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Brazil will participate in the exhibition,” said Shailendra Guragain, President of the IPPAN.

Some of the foreign participants are CMC Italy, Voith Germany, Crystal India, Flovel India, Vaptech Bulgaria, Marvel Czech Republic, BFL India, Powerchina and CSEC China.

The organizers said that the event will help in expanding Nepal’s hydroelectricity market and experience sharing.

They also claimed that the expo will also support to meet the government target to produce 17,000 megawatt electricity in the next 7 years.

There will be seminar on the pertinent issues such as hydro tunnelling, banking and insurance and hydropower.

Guragain said that Hydro Product and Service Competition will also be organised during the expo. Students and other individuals can present their discoveries and innovations that could contribute to the development and enhancement of hydropower at the expo and the three best products or services will be awarded with Rs. 55,555, Rs. 22,222 and Rs. 11,111.

The National Planning Commission, Ministry of Energy and Ministry of Population and Environment are the patron of the expo while Nepal Electricity Authority, Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Confederation of Nepalese Industries, Nepal Chamber of Commerce, Nepal Banking Association, and Youth Community for Nepalese Contractors are supporting the event.

Sluggish progress in rebuilding health institutions

Kathmandu, Dec. 27: Among the infrastructure damaged by the devastating Gorkha Earthquake 2015, reconstruction of health centres is sluggish while there has been significant progress in reconstructing government buildings. 

According to the statistics of the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) published on the occasion of the second year of its establishment, 1,197 health centres were damaged in the quake but only 257 health institutions have been reconstructed and 119 are under-construction.

However, of 483 damaged government buildings, 177 were fully reconstructed and 203 are under construction.

NRA Spokesperson Yam Lal Bhoosal said that the reconstruction of schools was moving smoothly.

"Altogether 7,553 buildings of educational institutions were damaged in the quake. By the third week of December 2,741 school buildings were reconstructed and 1,004 are under construction," he said.

Similarly, 79 archaeological heritages have been rebuilt while construction of 314 is ongoing. The quake had damaged 753 heritages across the country. 

NRA Chief Executive Officer Yuba Raj Bhusal maintained that the reconstruction of hundreds of thousands of private houses, thousands of educational institutions, hundreds of government buildings, hundreds of cultural heritages, health institutions and drinking water systems was certainly not easy.

"This scale of reconstruction is the first of its kind in Nepal’s history. 

Many people even believe that this is the largest owner-driven reconstruction project in the world," he said while speaking at a programme organised to celebrate the second anniversary. 

He said that the main objective of NRA at present is to provide safe housing to hundreds of thousands of earthquake victims. There has been encouraging increase in the number of people who have received the second tranche after beginning the construction with the first tranche. 

"Reconstruction of 79,514 houses was completed while 194,196 are being rebuilt," said Bhusal.

The NRA also said that in addition to housing reconstruction, the government had also started to help relocate thousands of people who had been living in vulnerable areas to safer locations. 

NRA has started rehabilitation process by buying land in safer locations for them. Similarly, policy and process of establishing integrated settlement has been prepared for its implementation.