It is necessary to build a reliable transmission system to implement the long-term plan put forward by the government with the target of generating 15,000 MW of electricity in 10 years. Due to the continuous rise in the price of fossil fuels, a country with a weak economy like Nepal has become increasingly reluctant to buy oil at the expense of remittance dollars.
In this situation, the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) formulated a master plan with the aim of establishing intensive access to electricity in major urban areas including Kathmandu Valley. The master plan was prepared by the government-owned National Transmission Grid Company with a definite study and a specific roadmap for the transmission system. The grid company has suggested building five large hub stations across the country. It is also divided regionally on the basis of river corridors.
Dodhara and new Attaria substations will be constructed covering Mahakali, West Seti and Karnali corridors. It will connect Bareilly and Uttarakhand in India. The proposed station will connect 3,240 MW of Pancheshwor, 916 MW of Humla Karnali Cascade, 750 MW of West Seti, SR 6, Chainpur Seti and other projects. Apart from boosting domestic consumption, it also plays a special role in the Far Western region for India's exports.
New Butwal Gorakhpur is another hub station linked to the MCC, a US aid project that has been in parliament since Sunday due to heated disputes between political parties. According to the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, a meeting of the Energy Secretaries of Nepal and India scheduled for March 26 and 27 will discuss important issues related to electricity trade besides the construction of the New Butwal-Gorakhpur interstate transmission line. The electricity of Kali Gandaki, Marsyangdi and Budhigandaki corridors will be connected to the substation.
Similarly, Upper Marshyangdi II 600 MW, Kali Gandaki Kovan 400 MW, Manang Marshyangdi 282 MW will be connected to the same substation. New Butwal Gorakhpur Interstate 400 KV transmission line will pave the way for the import and export of electricity.
It is mentioned that the government has set a target of generating 15,000 MW of electricity in 10 years and exporting at least 5,000 MW of electricity. The transmission line from Butwal in Nepal to Gorakhpur in India plays an important role in exporting electricity to India and Bangladesh when the electricity generated in Budhigandaki, Marshyangdi Corridor and other places is more. At the same time, it is necessary to build a transmission line as Nepal cannot export electricity only from the desired place.
According to the MCC, the agreement tabled in the parliament, according to the current price, is about Rs. 60 billion grant and an additional budget of Rs. 14 billion from the Government of Nepal will be used for the construction of transmission lines and road infrastructure. A double circuit 400 kV transmission line will be constructed in the section from Lapsiphedi in the northeast of Kathmandu to Ratmate in Nuwakot, from Ratmate to Hetauda, from Ratmate to Damauli, from Damauli to Butwal and from Butwal to the border of India.
The transmission line will be 312 kilometres long. Apart from the transmission line, three state-of-the-art substations will be constructed at Ratmate, Damauli and Butwal. The Rasuwagadhi Kerung 400 KV transmission line being constructed between Nepal and China will also be connected to the Ratmate substation. This will create the most reliable transmission structure for the export of electricity to India and China.
According to energy entrepreneur Prakash Dulal, the transmission line is necessary for the projects being constructed and going to be constructed around the transmission line. Therefore, there should be no politics in the construction of transmission lines, he said. Construction of transmission lines and substations alone will cost US ४० 400 million. Similarly, a total of 100 kilometres of the road will be upgraded from Chandrauta of Kapilvastu on East-West Highway to Shivkhola in Banke and Dang districts. The grant from MCC will cost US ५ 52 million.
According to MCA Nepal, established by the government for the implementation of MCC, assistance will be utilized for the construction of 22 km transmission line of the Butwal-Gorakhpur interstate transmission line to the Nepal and India border. Technical assistance will also be available for capacity building and enhancing the reliability and sustainability of MCC investment in the energy sector.
The transmission line to be constructed with the MCC grant is aimed at covering the cities including Bhairahawa, Butwal, Narayangarh, Pokhara and Dang where electricity is in high demand. The transmission line connecting Gorpur, India via the New Butwal substation is 140 kilometres long. Only 20 km section falls in Nepal and 120 km section falls in India.
The government has given utmost importance to that transmission line. Nepal and India have also agreed to build the transmission line with equal investment. The detailed project report (DPR) of the transmission line has been prepared. Another door of electricity trade will be opened after the construction of another substation near the existing substation of NEA.
According to sources, the NEA will have to pay billions of rupees in royalties and the export target will not be met due to the failure to generate electricity in Budhigandaki and Marshyangdi corridors. No one's consent has to be obtained for the construction of any transmission line or substation to be built on Nepali land. As it is an inter-country transmission line, there is a provision that mutual consent is required.
According to MCA Nepal, the transmission line route has been prepared based on the study and research done by a team of experts based on the government's power policy and master plan. Its environmental impact has been assessed. MCC has so far provided grants to 49 countries around the world. MCC, which was established in 2004, had decided to provide a grant to Nepal in August 2017.
Making the MCC agreement in the House of Representatives on Sunday, Minister for Communications and Information Technology Gyanendra Bahadur Karki clarified that there would be no agreement on Nepal's sovereignty, independence and sovereignty.
He endorsed the proposal, recognizing that Nepal's sovereignty, independence and sovereignty are intact and inalienable, assimilating the UN Charter, the principle of non-aligned panchsheel, international law and Nepal's foreign policy of non-alignment with world peace. I propose to this esteemed House. "
Pursuant to the provisions of Article 4 of the Treaty Act, 2047 BS, the meeting of the Council of Ministers on January 10, 2008, decided to approve the Ministry of Finance to submit the MCC grant assistance agreement to the Federal Parliament for approval. However, the opinion that the development project or the agreement would have been signed-in the parliament would not have been raised in the meantime.
A study conducted before the signing of the agreement had estimated that 23 million people would directly benefit from the transmission line and one million people from road maintenance. 5 million households will benefit from these projects.
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