Nepal will export hydro power to India

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KATHMANDU, July 20 (PTI): A key parliamentary panel in Nepal has cleared the way for the construction of a mega power project located in the Himalayan nation's Doti district that will export power to India.
The Parliament Natural Resource Committee has opened the door for construction of the 750-MW West Seti hydropower project, which will export power to India on commercial basis.
The panel has approved the decision of the government to award the project, which is designed to export power to India, to Snowy Mountain Engineering Corporation (SMEC), an Australian company.
The committee has also instructed the government to try to get 10 percent free electricity from the West Seti project.
As per the understanding, the SMEC will give either 10 per cent free energy or equivalent amount of money to the government.
The SMEC has said it could build a separate 75 MW project if Nepal wants free power since it finds there will be technical difficulty in providing 10 per cent power from the West Seti project itself due to lack of transmission facilities in the project site, nepalnews online said.
The committee also instructed the interim government to call for open competition while awarding other big projects like Arun III and Upper Karnali.