After a long interval, American investment has returned to Nepal’s hydropower sector. According to the Department of Industry, seven large investment commitments have been made in the first two months of the fiscal year 2025/26. Among them is a hydropower project that includes American investment.

A company named “Himalayan Urja Company” has been registered with the Department of Industry in Okhaldhunga, with 55% investment from American investors and 45% from Nepali partners. The company has made a foreign investment commitment worth NPR 1.524 billion (approximately 1.52 billion rupees) to construct a hydropower project with a capacity of 8.6 megawatts.

According to the Department of Industry, although American investment has been coming into Nepal’s energy projects for decades, it has remained limited in scale. In 1998, the American company Panda Energy invested in the Bhotekoshi Hydropower Project, but the company withdrew from the project in 2006. However, around 5% American ownership still remains in the company. The project began electricity production in 2001.

The project has been operating under a 25-year license period and a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA). Electricity has been sold at a rate of Rs. 1.6256 per unit, which is among the lowest rates in Nepal.

The company is currently under the ownership and management of one of Nepal’s leading business groups. Siddhartha SJB Rana, the chairman of the Sipradi Group, serves as its executive chairman.

At present, among the energy projects in Nepal with American investment, Likhu-1 (77 MW), Likhu A (33.66 MW), and Likhu-2 (60.5 MW) are in operation.

All three of these projects were built in partnership between the American company Mogha Energy and Nepal’s Dugad Group. The founder of Mogha Energy, Samrath Mogha, also has family ties with the Dugad family.

According to the latest report from the Nepal Rastra Bank, investors from 60 countries have made foreign direct investments (FDI) in Nepal so far. The total FDI has reached Rs. 332.97 billion, of which American investment amounts to Rs. 13.82 billion.

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