Photo Courtesy: eKantipur

Some ambitious projects have been planned for the development of the hydropower in Nepal. The government announced National Energy Crisis Reduction and Development Decade 2016-2026 while inaugurating the Power Summit 2016 under the theme of 10,000 MW in 10 years by the Independent Power Producers Association, Nepal(IPPAN). The government has been encouraging private sectors to invest in hydropower project. Saying that the investment in hydropower development would bring a number of economic, social, and environmental benefits at home and in the neighborhood, PM Dahal claimed that the government had accorded a high priority in investing in medium and large-scale hydropower projects. Dahal urged the foreign investors to make an investment in Nepal's hydropower sector. Though Nepal is regarded as the second richest country in terms of water resources, it has not been able to utilize its resources. It has been producing less than two percent of technically feasible capacity.  According to Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), demand for the consumption of energy has been increasing by 12 percent every year. There is a huge gap between the energy demand and production in Nepal which needs to be addressed in a short period of time. Our vast resources are lying down idle and latent when a major part of the country is facing the energy crisis. We have potential resources to generate the electricity to meet the demand and export it to the neighboring countries but we do not have the potential to utilize it. Prosperous and sustainable future is possible if we have a strong commitment, vision, and collaboration along with intensive investments. On the Tenth Session of the World Future Energy Summit held in the UAE, the prime minister stressed on the role of the private sector for accomplishing the goal for the hydro power in Nepal.

“I believe that with concerted commitments between governments and private sector we can build the momentum towards sustainable energy, which would be accessible to all the population as well as all the generations to come.”- PM Dahal.

Factors like preparing fake documents and reports, failure to determine the priority based project, and corruption have made the ongoing work in the hydropower sector non-transparent. Though, PM Dahal urged the foreign investors to invest in the Nepal hydropower, the crisis of trust between the private sector and the government, lack of security,  lack of infrastructures, high-interest rate are some of the hurdles in developing the hydropower. The government immediately needs to create investment friendly environment for the private sectors and the government as it is the key to complete the project.