Nepal Power Investment Summit 2016
Organized by
Energy Development Council
Location: Hotel Yak and Yeti, Durbarmarg, Kathmandu
Date: 31st May – 3rd june, 2016
Report: Summary of Nepal Power Investment Summit 2016 from 31st May to 3rd June
Day 1: 31st May
PM inaugurates Nepal Power Investment Summit 2016
EDC — the umbrella organization of the entire energy sector in Nepal organized ‘Nepal Power Investment Summit 2016’ (NPIS 2016) with the partnership of Ministry of Energy (MOEN) and Investment Board of Nepal (IBN). Rt Honorable Prime Minister K. P. Oli inaugurated Nepal’s largest power investment summit which was held at Hotel Yak & Yeti, Kathmandu. With the theme, ‘Nepal — the future battery of South Asia’, the summit aims to deliver the message that Nepal is an emerging market for renewable energy projects.
Prime Minister K. P. Oli remarked that the conference can be a milestone and a turning point in the history of hydropower development in Nepal. “Nepal has the best investment opportunities and the government will support to create a favourable investment environment.” He further added, after the promulgation of new constitution in Nepal, the government took clear policy on development of energy sector. “Transformation of the country’s economy is an important sector to transform economy,” he added.
“Nepal is the number one destination in South Asia for investment in renewable energy projects. And through this summit we will prove it,” said Sujit Acharya, Chairperson of Energy Development Council (EDC), adding that Nepal is among the top three emerging markets in Asia. “Through the summit, we want to send a message to the world that the investment climate is improving and Nepal is ready for business.” According to him, Nepal offers higher rewards than in other South Asian countries.
“This is the right opportune moment to conduct the summit and invite investors to acknowledge the investment opportunities,” said Radhesh Pant, CEO at Investment Board of Nepal (IBN). Welcoming investors in the country and assuring that the government will support them in every way possible, he said, “Nepal is all set for business and we assure you that the government will assist you for developing projects without bureaucratic delays.”
According to him, political consensus, stable government, already signed Project Development Agreements to export oriented projects, bilateral and multilateral agreements for energy market have made Nepal as lucrative market for business. Moreover, Pant said that Nepal offers power purchase agreement rates higher than other South Asian countries.
“This event is the best platform to meet all the key decision makers of the energy sector, investors, contractors, manufacturers and technicians,” said Kushal Gurung, Summit Director of NPIS.
There are more than 200 participants from China, USA, Canada, Bulgaria, Norway, India, Bhutan, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Thailand, Vietnam, France, Austria, UK among others. Allard Nooy, CEO of Infraco Asia, Radhesh Pant, CEO of IBN, S C Agrawal, CEO of SAPDC, Deepak Amitabh, CMD Power Trade Corporation India Limited, William Pegues OPIC and Kuenga Namgay, Director of O&M Druk Green Power Corporation are among the prominent speakers.
Altogether 40 national and international high-powered speakers will discuss about the Nepal power market, policy updates and financing methods for power development in Nepal, power transmission and distribution in Nepal, role of Nepal’s decentralized renewable in the energy mix and various hydropower project showcase in the two-day conference. Besides the conference, there is a Project Expo where national and international energy related companies showcased their projects and products. On June 2 and 3, the organizers will conduct business trade mission in which participants will have business meetings and site visits of hydropower projects.
WAPCOS India, Infraco Asia Singapore, Dragon Capital Thailand, Power Trade Company India, China International Water and Electric Corporation along with other companies are prominent participant investment companies. On the first day, 20 speakers shared their expertise and experiences on Nepal’s power market, opportunities and challenges of rebuilding it, policy updates and financing methods for Nepal power development, experience sharing from leading utilities and private sector perspectives.
The government and private sector from Nepal is showcasing hydropower projects such as Upper Arun 335 MW, Thuli Bheri 530 MW, Nalsingad 410 MW, Upper Tamor 415 MW, etc along with high voltage transmission lines projects and other clean and renewable energy projects. The summit will be concluded on 3rd June.
Day 2: 1st June
With the key note that Nepal requires USD 20 billion to develop 10,000 MW on grid hydropower projects in the next 10 years, the summit concluded successfully.
The summit also declared the need of USD 5 billion dollars, required investment in high voltage transmission line projects to complete within 2035. Budhigandaki 1,200 MW, Nalsingad 410 MW, Tamor 762 MW, Andhikhola 180 MW, Tamakoshi V 87 MW, Upper Tamor 415 MW, Tamakoshi III 650 MW and Thuli Bheri 530 MW projects are identified as prominent opportunities for investors.
Investors expressed interest to explore investing in mid and large scale power projects in Nepal worth billions of dollars provided the investment environment improved and Nepal’s ranking in the ease of doing business increased. They have also expected to soon have a one-window policy to get all necessary approvals and permits for doing business.
The NEA and PPP model consists of 1046 MW hydropower projects that are under construction. NEA is conducting feasibility of projects such as Dudhkoshi, Upper Arun, Tamor, Uttar Ganga, among others. EDC launched the book ‘Inventory of Rivers of Nepal’ in the summit that identified 11,614 rivers and rivulets. The organization will soon carry out a study of the potential of hydropower projects of those rivers and rivulets in second phase.
In the conference, international speakers highlighted the investment challenges and opportunities on energy and infrastructure development in Nepal. Speakers also stressed on the need to develop an alternative source of energy.
Aliana B Teplitz, Ambassador of USA Embassy for Nepal stated, “Despite of having a huge potential of generating more than 40,000 MW electricity, the installed capacity of Nepal is merely at 780 MW. There is still a huge room for development.” She stressed on the need to have better policy and legislation to improve the present scenario.
NEA presented that altogether 1,330 MW projects are under construction and will be completed by 2020. They faced various geological problems, contractors not working efficiently, technical problems in structures and other natural calamities. “We need to invest about USD 20 billion in the next ten years for generating 10,000 MW in a decade,” said Lila Nath Bhattarai, Deputy Managing Director at Engineering Services Directorate, NEA.
“Tedious and elongated process of acquiring necessary approvals and permits for doing business in Nepal is one of the biggest hindrances for investors,” said Allard Nooy, CEO at Infraco Asia. He presented the challenges of investing in the energy and infrastructure sector in Nepal. “No coordinated approach to get necessary approvals and permits and lack of adequate background information required of projects and related risks are major challenges for the investors.” Stating that hydroelectric projects are in great need for the country, he said, “The government needs to introduce more transparent regulatory framework with satisfactory returns in order to attract foreign direct investments to have economic transformation.” According to him, the generation of electricity has increased by two folds from 2001 to 2013 while the import from India has become four times higher.
Another speaker from Sri Lanka Zachary Smith, CEO of Radiance Renewable Technologies said that foreign investors look for lower political risks, ease of doing business, long term incentives and policy that bridges investors and locals to better understand the environment. The government policy has to be precise and clear and also have a framework that allows flexibility in order to allure investors, he added.
There are more than 200 participants from China, USA, Canada, Bulgaria, Norway, India, Bhutan, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Thailand, Vietnam, France, Austria, UK among others.
Important declaration of NPIS 2016
- Nepal requires USD 20 billion to develop 10,000 MW on grid hydropower projects in the next 10 years.
- USD 5 billion dollar required for investment in high voltage transmission line projects to complete by 2035.
- EDC launched a book ‘Inventory of Rivers of Nepal’ in the summit that identified 11,614 rivers and rivulets.
- The NEA and PPP model consists of 1046 MW hydropower projects under construction.
- NEA is conducting feasibility of projects such as Dudhkoshi, Upper Arun, Tamor, Uttar Ganga, among others.
- Budhigandaki 1,200 MW, Nalsingad 410 MW, Tamor 762 MW, Andhikhola 180 MW, Tamakoshi V 87 MW, Upper Tamor 415 MW, Tamakoshi III 650 MW and Thuli Bheri 530 MW projects are identified as prominent opportunities for investors.
- Investors expressed interest to explore investment in mid and large scale power projects in Nepal worth billions of dollars provided the investment environment improved and Nepal’s ranking in the ease of doing business increased.
- Investors expect a one-window policy to get all necessary approvals and permits for doing business.
Days 3 & 4: 2nd June & 3rd June
The after-event Trade Mission is a significant activity for the summit, which will create a perfect platform between concerned industrial players and Nepal Government/key players for exchanging technical know-hows. Highlights of the trip are as follows:
– Ideal platform for industrial players and Nepal Government/key players to exchange technical know-hows
– In-depth understanding of Nepal power market and formulating a detailed investment plan from both sides
– Exclusive networking hours for Nepal Government/key players and international potential investors
Schedule: 2nd – 3rd June, 2016
Format: Business meeting & site visit
Venue: Office of MOE, IBN, NEA & selected power plants
Agenda:
- Mr Suman Prasad Sharma, Secretary of Ministry of Energy (MOEN) led the delegation from the ministry and hosted the foreign delegates. Discussion of Nepal Power Development’s Master Plan in the following 5-10 years was carried out.
- Mr. Radhesh Pant, CEO of IBN greeted and hosted the delegates. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Policy, investment environment in Nepal, power generation plant investment policy and process, resettlement problem were discussed during the meeting.
- Mr. Mukesh Raj Kafle, Managing Director of NEA hosted the delegates and the meeting included specific hydro and Transmission & Distribution (T&D) project planning, focal investment projects showcase.
On 3rd June, the delegates were taken to visit Pharping hydroproject, the first project of Nepal. They were briefed about the important history and the technology of the project.
List of visitors and organizers are stated below:
| Name | Organisation |
| Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli | Rt. Honorable Prime Minister of Nepal |
| Sujit Acharya | Chairperson – Energy Development Council (EDC) |
| Bishal Thapa | Vice Chairperson – Energy Development Council, MD – Saral Urja Nepal Pvt. Ltd. |
| Olivier Bianchi | Regional Manager, FIT Conseil |
| David Doran | Chairman and Managing Director – DFDL |
| Audray Souche | Partner and Deputy Managing Director – DFDL Legal & Tax |
| Christian Siemer | Partner – Fichtner GmbH & Co. Kg |
| Abhay Shah | Regional Sales Director – APR Energy |
| Neng Wang | China Energy Engineering Corporation Limited |
| Cong Zhang | China Energy Engineering Corporation Limited |
| Qing Xie | General Manager – Chongqing New Century Electrical |
| C V Malla | Chongqing New Century Electrical |
| Yikai ZHU | Neoventure |
| Zicheng Shen | Neoventure |
| Yan Wang | Neoventure |
| Yaoge Zhang | Neoventure |
| Kushal Gurung | CEO – WindPower Nepal |
| Rajan Tiwari | Renewable Energy Officer – WindPower Nepal |
| Radhesh Pant | CEO – Office of the Investment Board (IBN), Government of Nepal |
| H.E. Mrs. Alaina B.Teplitz | Ambassador of USA Embassy |
| Dr. Yubaraj Khatiwada | Vice Chairperson – National Planning Commission |
| Gagan Thapa | Chairman – Water Resource and Agriculture Committee, Legislative Parliament |
| Kuenga Namgay | Director O&M – Druk Green Power Corporation |
| Mr. Joseph J. Hoess | Director – Dragon Capital |
| Parveen Nanda | Senior Vice President – Hydro, Greenko Group |
| Dr. Aiming Zhou | Senior Energy Specialist – Asian Development Bank |
| Michael Boyd | Senior Energy Policy & Strategy Advisor – USAID Nepal |
| Dinesh Kumar Ghimire | Joint Secretary – Ministry of Energy |
| Surya Nath Upadhyay | Former Chief Commissioner of CIAA & Secretary General of Jalsrot Vikas Sanstha & EDC Advisory panel member |
| Zachary Smith | CEO – Radiance Renewable Technologies |
| Jeebach Mandal | Joint Secretary – Water and Energy Commission Secretariat |
| Dr. Himesh Dhungel | Country Director – Millenium Challenge Corporation |
| Deepak Rauniar | CEO – Hydroelectricity Investment and Development Company |
| Upendra Poudyal | President – Nepal Bankers Association |
| William Pegues | OPIC |
| Prof. Dr. Govind Raj Pokharel | Former Vice Chairman of National Planning Commission, Nepal |
| Mukesh Raj Kafle | Managing Director – Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) |
| S.C. Agarwal | CEO – SAPDC (SJVN Arun-3 Power Development Company) |
| Abhijit Pujari | Marketing Manager, South Asia – Aggreko |
| Allard Nooy | CEO – Infraco Asia |
| Sean Purdie | APAC Managing Partner – Power, ERM |
| Neena Singh | Partner – ERM |
| Sashin Joshi | CEO – Nabil Bank |
| Stephane Barbeau | Senior Operations Official – IFC |
| Bidhya Sigdel | Investment Director – Dolma Fund |
| Dr. Sandip Shah | General Manager – Himal Power & Vice President, Country Director – Statkraft |
| Surendra Rajbhandari | Deputy Managing Director – NEA |
| Kanhaiya Kumar Manandhar | Deputy Managing Director – NEA |
| Sher Singh Bhat | Deputy Managing Director – NEA |
| Shri R. P. Sasmal | Director (Operations) – Power Grid Corporation of India Limited |
| Ajit Kumar | Director – Power Trade Corporation India Limited |
| Rajiv Panda | Head-Technical – South Asia Regional Initiative For Energy Integration (SARI/EI) |
| Gyanendra Lal Pradhan | Chairman – Energy Committee FNCCI |
| Dr. Andrew Deeks | Managing Director – NGI Perth |
| Oyvind Torgersrud | Senior Engineer – NGI |
| Sonam Tashi | Chief Planning Officer – Ministry of Economic Affairs Thimpu, Bhutan |
| Ram Prasad Dhital | Executive Director – Alternative Energy Promotion Center |
| Dr. Tika Limbu | Head Portfolio Management Unit – ADB |
| Andy Moon | CEO – Sunfarmer |
| Prachin Shrestha | CEO – Shubha Biomass Briquette Pvt. Ltd. |
| Gopal Babu Bhattarai | Deputy Managing Director – NEA |
| Bibek Chapagain | Energy Advisor – Norwegian Embassay |
| Pratik Man Singh Pradhan | Vice President – Butwal Power Company |
| Maha Bir Pun | Ramon Magsasay Award Winner National Innovation Center |
| Rob Fitzgibbons | Senior Associate – Pioneer Law Associates |
| Priyadarshani Sherchan | Senior Associate – Pioneer |
| Deepak Amitabh | CMD – Power Trade Corporation India Limited |
Nepal Power Investment Summit 2016 Presentation
Day One
- Ministry of Energy
- Radiance
- Water and Energy Commission Secretariat, GON
- Panel
- DrukGreen
- SAPDC
- Aggreko
- Infraco Asia
- DFDL
- ERM
- Fichtner
- Panel 2
Day Two
Project Investment Seminar
EDC
Contact us
P.O. Box no. 516,
Heritage Plaza II (Block C & D)
Kamaladi, Kathmandu, Nepal
Phone: +977-1-4169116 / 117
Fax: +977-1-4169118
E-mail: info@edcnepal.org
Website : www.edcnepal.org
