The government has approved an ‘Energy Development Roadmap and Working Guideline’ that talks about generating 28,500 MW of electricity in the next one decade.

The Cabinet meeting on Tuesday endorsed the energy roadmap that talks about injecting US $46.5 billion (Rs 6.231 trillion) to produce the aforementioned amount of electricity by 2035. For this purpose, the energy forecast framework aims to expedite construction of all types of hydropower projects with a target to construct Run-of-River projects in four years, semi-reservoir projects in six years and storage projects in seven years at maximum.

The estimated cost of a Run-of-River project has been maintained at $ 1.6 million per MW and that of a semi-reservoir project at $ 1.7 million per MW. Apart from the power plants, the roadmap has also earmarked the transmission lines necessary to support production and utilization of 28,500 MW of electricity. For this purpose, the government has planned to install 6,431 circuit km of 132 kV, 4,061 circuit km of 220 kV and 6,440 circuit km of 400 kV transmission lines and upgradation of substation capacity to 40,000 kVA.

The roadmap and working guidelines also talk about the government taking prompt action to manage financial sources for the projects it will be starting, while the ones which cannot be materialized will be handed over to the private sector.

Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Dipak Khadka said the roadmap is flexible on allowing private sector investors to implement the model they wish for energy generation. “It talks on facilitating maximum involvement of general people in electricity production, while ensuring maximum benefits to the state,” he said.

Out of the planned production, 13,000 MW is intended for domestic consumption, and 15,000 MW is targeted for export to countries including India. Under a long-term energy agreement between Nepal and India, the goal is to export up to 10,000 MW of electricity from Nepal to India over the next 10 years. In addition, the government has set a target to raise domestic energy consumption to 1,500 MW per capita per year.

To clear the dilemma of investment sources, the framework says the government will be injecting US $6 billion in various power projects. Likewise, a total of $10 billion will be generated from internal sources including Nepali banks and financial institutions, $ 2 billion through climate financing and $ 12 billion of investment has been sought from Nepali diaspora including the migrant workers. The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) will invest $ 8 billion through refinancing and reinvestment plans, while the government plans to generate $ 8.5 billion from foreign direct investment, grants and loans.

The roadmap estimates that the government can generate revenue worth Rs 88 billion from the energy sector after accomplishing its ambitious plan in the stipulated time. The private power producers will be able to earn Rs 3.9 trillion by selling their electricity, while the NEA will also earn Rs 2.6 trillion from electricity business.