Nepal's budget focuses on hydropower, electricity export to Bangladesh begins from next year

Nepal intends to increase its hydropower generation capacity, taking advantage of its expanding power market access in Bangladesh.

Nepal has laid its focus on production of electricity and export to Bangladesh from the next fiscal year 2024-25, said Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun while unveiling the budget on Tuesday. Addressing a joint session of the Parliament on Tuesday, Minister Pun said that, "the budget of NRs 1.96 trillion for the upcoming fiscal year announced to prioritize hydropower, especially, the reservoir-based hydroelectric projects. To achieve the target, a budget amounting NRs 50.74 billion has been allocated for the development of the energy sector."

Nepal intends to increase its hydropower generation capacity, taking advantage of its expanding power market access in Bangladesh. "In the upcoming fiscal year, an additional 900 MW of electricity will be connected to the national transmission grid which would increase the electricity production capacity to four thousand five hundred megawatts. Also, the consumption of electricity per person would be increased to four hundred fifty units. Transmission of electricity to Bangladesh also will start from the upcoming fiscal year," Minister Pun said.

As per the Finance Minister, the government also will start the construction of hydropower projects with large generation capacity. He said the construction of the 1200 MW Budhigandaki Hydropower Project and the 1061 MW Upper Arun Hydropower Project would be started. Further, he added that the government would start construction of the Nalagad, Jagdulla, and Naumure multipurpose hydropower projects. In addition, the construction of 77.5 MW Ghunsa and 70 MW Ghunsa Khola hydropower projects would be funded with the investment from the Nepalis in foreign employment.

Additionally, he announced that the government would start the construction of the 783 MW Sunkoshi III hydropower project. The government aims to connect 100 MW of solar projects from the private sector to the national grid as well. The budget comes after an agreement over the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the parliamentary investigation committee with the agitating opposition Nepali Congress The budget size for the next fiscal year 2024-25, beginning mid-July, is 6.2 per cent more than the unrevised budget of the current fiscal year. The government had allocated Rs1.75 trillion budget for the fiscal year 2023-24.

Minister Pun stated that the recurrent expenditure has been estimated to be NRs 1.14 trillion, which is 61.31 per cent of the total budget. Likewise, the capital expenditure has been estimated to be NRs 352 billion, which is 18.94 per cent of the budget, and the expenditure for financial management has been estimated at Rs367 billion, 19.74 per cent of the budget.

According to Pun, the source of financing will be NRs 1.26 trillion from revenue, Rs330 billion from internal loans, NRs 217 billion from external loans, and NRs 52.3 billion from foreign grants. (ANI)

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