Following the success of the first Himalayan Hydro Expo in 2018, Independent Power Producers’ Association – Nepal (IPPAN) and Expo and Event Management Services jointly announced today that they will be organising the second edition of the exhibition next year in the Capital.

The second edition of the Himalayan Hydro Expo will be organised on January 18-20, at Bhrikutimandap, Kathmandu.

According to Shailendra Guragain, president of IPPAN, the expo will provide a platform for stakeholders in the sector to share the knowledge that they have gained over the years. “We also believe that it will help the government to achieve the targets that it has set in energy sector,” he said.

The exhibition will see the participation of various stakeholders like hydropower developers, solar power developers, equipment manufacturers, financing agencies, insurance companies, consulting firms, contractors and engineers. Since the event will bring together stakeholders involved over a wide spectrum of the energy generation sector, it is expected to synergise the energy development goals of the country.

The first edition of the Himalayan Hydro Expo that was organised in 2018 had received encouraging reviews with a footfall of about 50,000 people. The event included exhibits/stalls from over 100 different national and international companies.

The organisers expect over 150 exhibitors to participate in the expo next year. The second edition of the expo will also feature products related to grid connected solar photovoltaic power systems. Further, to provide an onsite experience of hydropower projects, a special arrangement shall also be made for a short visit to various hydropower plants via helicopter as per the organisers.

The exhibition is also scheduled to host various technical sessions and conduct competitions for engineering students. The technical sessions will encompass a wide range of subjects related to innovation in energy generation engineering, construction technology, project management, project financing solution and the like.

This is expected to provide much needed impetus to the hydropower sector in the country, which is currently at its all-time peak.

Nepal is undergoing an energy transformation with unprecedented activity in hydropower construction, increased power generation, eradication of load shedding and process towards meeting the target to produce 15,000 megawatts of energy in next 10 years. Organisers have said Himalayan Hydro Expo 2019 will be a unique and much needed event concerning all stakeholders in the hydropower sector.

An international Hydro Expo is scheduled to be held in Kathmandu in January 2019, the Independent Power Producers' Association Nepal (IPPAN), a representative body of Nepal's private power developers, said on Monday.

The IPPAN is preparing the "Himalayan Hydro Expo" on Jan. 18-20 where over 150 exhibitors related to hydropower developers, associated technology equipment manufacturers and suppliers, investors, banks, insurance companies, construction companies are expected to participate in the event.

The IPPAN had organized the similar expo in January this year, where around 100 exhibitors including seven from China had participated.

"We expect increased participation of equipment manufacturers from China and India this year because companies from these countries are largely active in supplying equipments to hydropower projects in Nepal," Ananda Chaudhary, treasurer of the IPPAN, told Xinhua.

According to IPPAN, hydropower projects with combined capacity of 3,000 MW are under construction from the private sector. Despite being rich in water resources, Nepal has so far failed to utilize them in developing power.

As of last fiscal year 2017-18 that concluded in mid-July, the Himalayan country has developed just 1073 MW of hydropower projects, according to the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation.

The country has targeted to produce 15,000 MW in the next 10 years and sought both domestic and foreign investment.