Govt to facilitate explosive import

 Kathmandu, Oct. 24

Foreign Minister Dr. Arju Rana Deuba has said that the government is ready to facilitate the import of explosives required for hydropower projects and the export of electricity.

"I will apply my full efforts to facilitate the import of explosives that are a critical need for the hydropower projects," she said to the delegation of the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal (IPPAN) led by its president Ganesh Karki that called on her at Singha Durbar on Thursday.

FM Deuba also said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) is planning to establish an economic diplomacy unit at the Ministry to deal with such issues and other related matters.

Karki said to the Foreign Minister Dr. Deuba that although the private sector has contributed greatly to Nepal's energy sector, it is now facing challenges due to the complexities in explosives import. It has hiked the construction cost and delayed the projects due to which they have to pay penalty to the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA).  

"If the construction of hydropower projects is moved ahead at the current pace, the target of 28,500 megawatts of electricity production in 10 years will not be met, and it will impact the target of exporting 10,000 megawatts of electricity to India in 10 years as well," said Karki.

He requested the FM to facilitate with foreign agencies to bring in foreign investments as there is a need for huge investment to generate 28,500 megawatts of electricity in 10 years.

The IPPAN said that the explosives in Nepal are transported and stored in close vigilance of the Nepali Army. Every project has maintained an army camp at the project site at its own expenses, and everything from the storage of explosives to their use will be done only under the authority of the army.

As of now, Nepal needs 400 tonnes of explosives per month and about 5,000 tonnes a year.

120 projects out of 183 projects under construction are being affected due to the shortage of explosives as it couldn't be imported from India on time.

India has been allowing the import of explosives only in very small quantities for the last two years. Due to this, not only the private sector but also various infrastructure projects initiated by the government are being affected, according to the IPPAN.

The promoters of the hydroelectricity projects have been saying that the non-availability of explosives is one of the main reasons behind the increment in the cost of infrastructure projects.

Karki reminded the Foreign Minister that while Nepal's total electricity capacity is about 3300 megawatts, about 80 per cent of it is developed and managed by the private sector and 80 per cent of the under construction and that are under the feasibility study are private sector projects.

In the past two and a half decades, 186 projects worth 2,500 megawatts have been developed by the private sector developers, while projects generating 4,000 megawatts are under construction and projects of the same capacity are awaiting financial closure after signing Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with the NEA. Likewise, projects of about 10,000 MW capacity are waiting for the PPA. 

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 25 October 2024.