The Karnali Deal: Fair? Unfair?

"China's Three Gorges International Corp, is also in talks with Investment Board Nepal to build a $1.6 billion dam to generate 750 megawatts of electricity on the West Seti River in the same area....."

If the Karnali deal is unfair, how does the West Seti deal stack up? What are the details of its terms?

A 27% stake. 12% electricity free. So Nepal gets paid for 15% of the electricity generated?

कर्णाली पीडीएको अनियमित पक्ष

यही कर्णाली जलविद्युत आयोजनाको पीडीएलाई अब बाँकी आयोजनाको सन्दर्भमा नजिर बनाएर चल्ने हो भने नेपाल जलस्रोत भएको मरुभूमि बन्नेछ। ...... यो सम्झौता गर्दा नेपाल सरकार र नेताहरूले मोदीजीले 'पैसा तिरेर मात्र पानी र बिजुली लिन्छु' भनेको कुरा बिर्सेका हुन्? सायद त्यसैले होला- नेपालको कानुन विपरीत नीतिगत भ्रष्टाचार गर्न लाजै मानिएको छैन। ...... विवादरहित ढंगले सम्झौता गरेको भए लगानीकर्ता र नेपाल दुबैलाई फाइदा हुने थियो। सुरुमै विवादका बीचमा गरिएको यो सम्झौताले लगानीकर्ताहरूलाई आकर्षण हैन, विकर्षण गर्नेछ। नेपाल सरकारकै मन्त्रीहरूले आफ्नो राष्ट्रहितमा नभएर व्यापारीलाई कसरी बढीभन्दा बढी नाफा दिने र नेपालको ढुकुटी खाली गर्ने भन्ने उद्देश्य राख्नुभन्दा ठूलो राष्ट्रघात, जनघात र भ्रष्टाचार अरु केही हँुदैन। ...... ९०० मेगावाटको पिकिङ रन अफ रिभरको ब्याक वाटर करिब ९ किलोमिटर माथिसम्म पुग्छ, जसले गर्दा हिमालयन पावर कन्सल्टेन्ट्सले प्रस्ताव गरेको ४,१८० क्षमताको जलाशययुक्त आयोजनाको भविष्य अनिश्चित हुने भएको छ। ........ काबु बाहिरको परिस्थितिमा समेत सरकारले कम्पनीलाई लगानी फिर्ता गर्नुपर्ने तथा प्रबर्द्धकले नै आफ्नो दायित्व पुरा नगरेको अवस्थामा सम्झौता सरकारले तोड्नुपर्दा पनि प्रबर्द्धकको ऋण लगानी सरकारले नै फिर्ता गरिदिनुपर्ने भन्ने छ। जसले आफ्नो दायित्व पुरा गर्दैन, त्यसैलाई पुरस्कृत गर्न खोजिएको यो कुराले नीतिगत भ्रष्टाचार भएको प्रस्ट गर्छ। ....... पीपीपी मोडलमा विकास गर्ने नाममा प्रबर्द्धकले लिनुपर्ने जोखिमसमेत सरकारलाई बोकाइएको छ। ..... आर्थिक वर्ष २०७१/७२ को बजेट वक्तव्यमा आर्थिक वर्ष ०७९/८० भित्र नेपालको राष्ट्रिय गि्रडमा जोडिने र निर्यात गर्ने जलविद्युत आयोजनाहरूलाई व्यापारिक उत्पादन सुरु भएपछि १० वर्षसम्म शतप्रतिशत र त्यसपछि थप पाँच वर्षका लागि ५० प्रतिशत आयकर छुट दिने व्यवस्था राखिएको छ। ..... सम्झौताको बुँदा नं १२ ए (३) अनुसार यदि काबु बाहिरको परिस्थिति सिर्जना भई वा कानुनमा परिवर्तन भई वा सरकारले दायित्व पुरा नगरी तोकिएको समयभित्र काम सम्पन्न गर्न नसकी कर छुट नपाउने अवस्था आएमा त्यसको सम्पूर्ण क्षतिपूर्ति सरकारले तिर्नुपर्ने व्यवस्था गरिएको छ। ..... बजेट वक्तव्यमा राष्ट्रिय गि्रडमा जोड्नेगरी निर्माण गरिने आयोजनालाई राष्ट्रिय गि्रडमा जोडेपछि प्रतिमेगावाट रु ५० लाखका दरले एकमुष्ट अनुदान दिने भनिएको तर यो आयोजना छुट्टै प्रसारण कम्पनी खडा गरी उत्पादित विद्युत मूलतः निर्यात गर्ने उद्देश्यले निर्माण गर्न लागिएकोले बजेट वक्तव्यकै आधारमा पनि यो आयोजना अनुदानको लागि योग्य छैन। ...... यदि यस आयोजनालाई प्रतिमेगावाट रु ५० लाखको दरले अनुदान दिने हो भने कुल रु ४५० करोड सरकारको ढुकुटीबाट खर्च हुनेछ। यो अनुदान रकम (४५० करोड) लाई स्वपुँजीको रूपमा लगानी गर्ने हो भने अर्को १०८ मेगावाटभन्दा बढी क्षमताको जलविद्युत आयोजना निर्माण गर्न सकिन्छ। यो क्षमता आयोजनाले सरकारलाई दिने भनिएको १२ प्रतिशत निःशुल्क विद्युत बराबर हो। ...... सम्झौतामा आयोजनाको लागि आयात गरिने सिमेन्ट, रड र स्टीलको भन्सारमा ५० प्रतिशत छुट दिने व्यवस्था गरिएको छ। ...... सरकारले ऋण सुरक्षाका लागि ऋण दिने संस्थासँग प्रत्यक्ष सम्झौता गर्नुपर्ने प्रावधान पनि सम्झौतामा राखिएको छ। सरकारले कुनै एउटा निजी प्रबर्द्धकको लागि ऋण दिने संस्थासँग प्रत्यक्ष सम्झौता गरी कुनै प्रकारको दायित्व लिनु उचित हुँदैन। ...... सदनलाई छलेर राष्ट्रिय सहमतिबिना गरिएको यो सम्झौताबारे अब के गर्ने? सबैले विचार गर्नुपर्ने भएको छ।

Former water ministers, secys express reservations about Upper Karnali PDA

signing the PDA with India’s GMR-ITD Consortium will “kill the prospect” of developing 4,180 MW reservoir projects at the upstream of Upper Karnali Project.

Nepal, India firm sign development pact for 900-MW Upper Karnali hydro project

The government awarded a contract in 2008 to GMR and consortium partner Italian-Thai Development Project Co. of Thailand to build Upper Karnali, then rated at 300 MW......... Following approvals by the Investment Board and Nepal's Cabinet, the development agreement was signed September 19 in the presence of Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and India Home Minister Rajnath Singh. ...... Upper Karnali is to be built in about five years in Nepal's Surkhet, Dailekh and Achham districts as a power export project. It is to deliver power to the Power Grid Corp. of India grid in India by a 400-kilovolt double-circuit transmission line....... The project is to deliver 12 percent of its power free of charge to Nepal. The Nepal Electricity Authority will hold 27 percent ownership in the project, with 100 percent transferred to the government at the end of a 25-year concession period. ...... GMR received the build-own-operate-transfer contract in 2008 as the result of Nepal's first international competitive bidding process to award a large hydro project. However, the project was delayed by changes in Nepal's government and calls for Nepal's hydropower not to be exported....... The World Bank provided technical assistance to the Nepal Investment Board in 2012 to review feasibility studies of the Upper Karnali, 650-MW Tamakoshi, 600-MW Upper Marsyangdi and 900-MW Arun 3 hydro projects.

Nepal approves hydropower deals with India

approved two long-delayed hydropower agreements with India in a bid to kickstart economic growth and ease crippling electricity shortages in both countries ...... 12 percent of the power generated by the $1.19 billion Karnali project, starting in 2021, will be given to Kathmandu free of cost, with the remainder exported to India. ...... will also provide Nepal with a 27-percent share of the equity, with GMR agreeing to transfer complete ownership of the project to Kathmandu in 25 years. ..... Nepal's total installed power generation capacity currently lags at just 750 megawatts -- less than two percent of its potential.

Power cuts are here to stay

One of the greatest failures of successive governments in Nepal has been the inability to generate adequate electricity to meet growing demand, and not fully opening its doors to foreign direct investment in hydropower. ..... due to the Bhote Kosi landslide that damaged power stations and transmission lines. This reduced the total installed capacity of 791 MW by 67 MW, against current peak demand of 1,201 MW. ..... The proposed addition of 628 MW to the national grid by 2017 will partially ease the energy bottleneck, but still fall short of the power needed for rapid economic growth. Because most of that power will be generated by run-of-river projects (except Kulekhani III) peak demand would still outstrip supply, making electricity imports necessary. The government’s electricity demand forecast grossly underestimated demand surges due to high remittances, which had raised purchasing power and, hence, consumption. ..... Even by its dismal standards, the past five years mark the darkest chapter in the annals of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) – the utility did not add a single new hydropower project. The last one was the 70 MW Middle Marsyangdi in 2008. Meanwhile, the 14 MW Kulekhani III, 30 MW Chameliya and 60 MW Upper Trisuli 3A which should have been operational by now have all been delayed. ..... Additional projects totalling 436 MW that are under construction would raise installed capacity to 1,855 MW by 2019-20, but that will barely keep pace with peak demand which is expected to rise by then to 2,052 MW. That 200 MW deficit would exist even if the proposed 140 MW Tanahu storage hydroelectric project is completed as scheduled by 2020. Nepal will therefore be dependent on imported electricity for at least another six years. ..... disallows FDI in hydroelectric projects less than 30 MW, barring capital in a highly capital intensive sector.

Listen to the people

the UCPN-M’s insistence on a federal Nepal, with provinces enjoying the “right to self-determination”. ... the year 2006 saw the rise of regionalism as well as the formation of new political parties in the plains adjoining India. Some of these parties echoed the same demand for more autonomy and self-determination. ...... A couple of weeks ago, the CA’s Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee, headed by former prime minister and Maoist leader Baburam Bhattarai, invited an unusual “expert” for his opinion on the constitution. C.K. Raut, a self-proclaimed activist who has held political rallies and lobbied in Delhi recently, demanded that the “right to secede should be incorporated in the constitution.” ..... A few days ago, he was arrested by the police and charged with “sedition”. While the case of an individual charged with sedition is a matter for the courts to settle, the bigger question this episode raises is where the constitution-making process is headed. ....... The UN country office, Western donors, developmental agencies and India have, in the past, directly or indirectly supported “ethnicity-based” federalism, with the right to self-determination. ....... Last Wednesday, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and his cabinet overruled objections raised by three ministers and announced the Project Development Agreement (PDA) on the 900 MW Upper Karnali hydro project, which will enable Nepal’s Investment Board (IB) and India’s GMR Group to sign the deal and move towards execution to meet the 2021 deadline for power generation. Timely conclusion of the project will, no doubt, enhance bilateral credibility, till date clouded by poor delivery. ....... Most hydro projects with India have come under suspicion, with many people believing India wants a monopoly on Nepal’s rich water resources and hydro potential. But the one between GMR and IB was finalised after long deliberations, under the supervision of both PMs. ...... Raut’s campaign, his deposition before the CA committee and his subsequent arrest, as well as its condemnation by Bhattarai and some leaders of the Madhesi parties, demonstrate the differences of opinion even on issues like territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Nepal, India begin talks to build 6,720 MW power project

Three days after Nepal and Indian infrastructure major GMR sealed a deal to develop the 900 MW Upper Karnali hydropower project in the Himalayan nation, senior officials from the two neighbours Monday resumed talks to build another mega bilateral power project in Nepal. ....... Talks at the secretary-level between Nepal and India have resumed in Kathmandu to develop the Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project that will have an installed capacity of 6,730 MW on the Mahakali river bordering Nepal and India. ...... The Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project (PMP) is part of the Mahakali Treaty signed in 1996 between Nepal and India which is called a bi-national hydropower project. The meeting is expected to finalise the status of the long due multipurpose project. ...... a 315 metre-high rock-filled dam with a central earthen core whose reservoir would be extended north from the exact project site in the Nepali side.

Nepal clears GMR plan for $1.4 billion hydroelectric plant

the project was delayed as the nascent republic was mired in instability with six government changes in as many years. Political parties also demanded greater benefits for Nepal from the scheme that is mainly aimed at exporting electricity to power-hungry India. ....... GMR and another Indian firm, Satluj Vidyut Nigam, plan to construct other hydroelectric plants in Nepal with a potential to generate up to 42,000 megawatts of electricity. ..... China's Three Gorges International Corp, is also in talks with Investment Board Nepal to build a $1.6 billion dam to generate 750 megawatts of electricity on the West Seti River in the same area, as Beijing competes with New Delhi for influence in Nepal. ..... The GMR plant, set for completion in 2021, will provide 12 per cent energy free to Nepal ..... was delayed because some political parties wanted to ensure that the supply of water to irrigation canals on the same river would remain unaffected by the dam ...... GMR will give a 27 per cent stake in the plant to Nepal. The company will build a separate power house to generate two megawatts of electricity to be supplied to villagers in Achham, Surkhet and Dailekh districts where the project will be located ..... A group of former Maoist rebels says benefits to Nepal were not adequate and has vowed to protest against the scheme. ..... Nepal's economy is expected to grow 4.6 per cent in 2014-15, against the government target of 5.2 per cent, with the country facing up to 16 hours of daily power cuts during the dry season when its rivers flow slowly...... Tourism and aid-dependent Nepal, one of the world's 10 poorest countries, has an electricity shortfall of about 600 megawatts.

'PDA in our interest'

Energy Minister Radha Gyawali has said the project development agreement signed with the GMR company was in the country’s interest and that it would open doors to further development. .... the power trade agreement (with India) and project development agreement had paved the way for many other development projects. .... the government was studying the possibility of hydel projects in Rolpa and Taplejung with the help of the World Bank