By Our Staff Reporter
SHIMLA, 11 Jul: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed for the development of the 679 MW Lower Arun HEP between SJVN & Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) in Kathmandu. The MoU was signed by Nand Lal Sharma, Chairman and Managing Director, SJVN, and Sushil Bhatta, CEO, IBN.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Nepal Deputy Prime Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra. On this occasion CEO, SAPDC, Arun Dhiman and CFO, SAPDC, Jitender Yadav were also present, along with other senior officials from Government of Nepal and SJVN.
Nand Lal Sharma stated that SJVN Limited bagged the 679 MW Lower Arun HEP through International Competitive Bidding (ICB), which involved big players. The Lower Arun Hydro Electric Project is located in Sankhuwasabha and Bhojpur Districts of Nepal. The project will not have any reservoir or dam and will be a tail race development of 900 MW. The project will have four francis type turbines. On completion, the Project will generate 2970 million units of electricity per annum. The project is scheduled to be completed in four years after commencement of construction activities. The project has been allocated to SJVN for 25 years on BOOT basis.
Sharma expressed deep gratitude to the Government of Nepal for its faith in the abilities and capabilities of SJVN by selecting it as developer for Lower Arun HEP. He also thanked Ministry of Power, Government of India, for supporting SJVN in all its endeavours in India and abroad. He recalled that SJVN started its journey in Nepal in 2008 by signing of MoU for implementation of 900 MW Arun-3 Project. The Project construction activities commenced with laying of foundation stone jointly by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in 2018.
Sharma further stated that the 900 MW Arun 3 Hydro Electric Project has achieved significant progress in the last three years despite the global pandemic. In order to mitigate any delays due to pandemic, SJVN has already implemented an acceleration plan and is committed to commissioning this project ahead of schedule.
Sharma stressed that Hydro Power has to be developed with Integrated River Basin Development approach for economic viability.
