India and Nepal are on course to set up a 400Kv double-circuit link between the two nations connecting Muzaffarpur in Bihar and Dhalkebar in Nepal. The Rs 240-crore link is likely to be commissioned by December 2010.
Infrastructure major IL&FS has picked up 37 per cent stake in the special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up by the Indian side and another 26 per cent stake in the SPV set up by Nepal called the Power transmission Company of Nepal.
Of the total investment, Rs 153 crore is the Indian investment in the project while Rs 85 crore is the Nepalese investment.
The Indian SPV has been set up as a consortium with IL&FS, Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) (26 per cent) Power Trading Corporation 11 per cent and Power Grid Corporation (26 per cent) as stakeholders. On the Nepal side, Nepal Electricity Authority has a 50 per cent stake in the SPV, IL&FS has 26 per cent and banks and financial institutions have the balance 24 per cent stake in the venture.
Currently, India exports about 60 MW of electricity to Nepal which is expected to go up to 250 MW in the next 4-5 years.
“However, with the SJVN setting up a 402-MW plant called Arun-III in Nepal it will become a net importer of electricity to India by 2017,” minister of state for power Jairam Ramesh said. Nepal could export as much as 700-800 MW of power to India by 2017.
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