Government expedites construction of  Budhigandaki hydropower project

KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Sushila Karki has said the government is taking active steps to put forward the construction of the Budhigandaki hydropower project soon.

She said on Wednesday that a company has already been established for the project and that the necessary processes will be initiated to ensure the additional tax levied on petroleum products is transferred to the account each year.

Prime Minister Karki directed the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation and the Ministry of Finance to expedite the related process, according to the PM’s Secretariat.

On Wednesday, she discussed the issue with some former people's representatives from Gorkha and Dhading affected by the project, including former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, and with local stakeholders. Finance Minister Rameshore Prasad Khanal and other officials of the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers were present.

The cost of constructing the 1,200 MW hydropower project was initially estimated at Rs 255 billion in 2079 BS, but it is now estimated to be more than Rs 400 billion. The government has already provided Rs 42 billion in compensation to local people by acquiring their land for the project.

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