Nepal’s Budget Focuses on Hydropower Expansion and Electricity Export

Nepal’s Budget Focuses on Hydropower Expansion and Electricity Export

Nepal’s Budget Focuses on Hydropower Expansion and Electricity Export

Key Highlights:

1. Nepal to boost hydropower production and export electricity to Bangladesh.
2. NRs 50.74 billion allocated for the energy sector in the upcoming budget.
3. Major hydropower projects, including Budhigandaki and Upper Arun, set to begin.

Kathmandu [Nepal], May 28: Nepal’s Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun announced a significant focus on electricity production and export to Bangladesh starting from the fiscal year 2024-25. While unveiling the budget on Tuesday, Minister Pun highlighted a NRs 1.96 trillion budget prioritizing hydropower, particularly reservoir-based projects, with NRs 50.74 billion allocated for energy sector development.

Minister Pun, addressing a joint session of Parliament, outlined the goal to increase hydropower generation capacity. He announced plans to connect an additional 900 MW to the national transmission grid, raising the total capacity to 4,500 MW. The per capita electricity consumption is expected to rise to 450 units. Notably, the export of electricity to Bangladesh will commence in the upcoming fiscal year.

The government plans to initiate the construction of several large-capacity hydropower projects, including the 1,200 MW Budhigandaki and the 1,061 MW Upper Arun projects. Additional projects like Nalagad, Jagdulla, Naumure, 77.5 MW Ghunsa, and 70 MW Ghunsa Khola hydropower projects will also begin, with the latter two funded by investments from Nepalis working abroad. The construction of the 783 MW Sunkoshi III hydropower project and the integration of 100 MW of solar projects from the private sector into the national grid are also planned.

This budget comes following an agreement over the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the parliamentary investigation committee with the opposition Nepali Congress. The 2024-25 budget, which begins mid-July, is 6.2% larger than the current fiscal year’s unrevised budget of NRs 1.75 trillion.

Minister Pun revealed that recurrent expenditure is estimated at NRs 1.14 trillion (61.31% of the total budget), capital expenditure at NRs 352 billion (18.94%), and financial management expenditure at NRs 367 billion (19.74%). Financing sources include NRs 1.26 trillion from revenue, NRs 330 billion from internal loans, NRs 217 billion from external loans, and NRs 52.3 billion from foreign grants.

(Inputs from Reuters)

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Dil Bar Irshad is an Indian journalist, writer, and media entrepreneur from the Marmat area of Doda in Jammu and Kashmir, India. He is best known as the founder and Editor-in-Chief of VoM News ("Voice of Masses"), a digital news portal dedicated to highlighting public grievances and citizen issues.Career Overview• Early Career (2015–2016): He began his reporting career focusing on local public issues and citizen grievances in Jammu and Kashmir. • Regional & National Journalism: Over the years, he served as a District Correspondent for the English newspaper Khalsa Express News (2019–2020) and worked as an Urdu correspondent for Sada e Kohistan. He also reported as a J&K Correspondent for the Millennium Post. • International Reporting: In 2023, he expanded into international journalism, working as an India Correspondent for global agencies like BNN Breaking and later TrimFeed, covering diverse topics ranging from stock market updates to regional and global geopolitical developments. • Media Associations: He is an active member of the All India Media Association.Seen IN: Editor-in-Chief, VoM News India, Jammu and Kashmīr Business and Finance, Crime and Justice, Environment As seen in: VoM News, MSN, MSN India, MSN Singapore, MSN UK, Youth Ki Awaaz, Millennium Post, AgroPages, The California Courier, Hecho En California, Justice News, The Chenab Times, Niguro, Sisnoo