February 11: Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Barsha Man Pun on Sunday laid the foundation stone for the construction of the 37 Megawatt capacity  Upper Trishuli 3B at Kispang Rural Municipality in Nuwakot. The government has set a target to complete the project in three years.

Speaking on the occasion, he said that the country should be self-reliant on energy to reduce the current trade loss and achieve the government's target of two digits economic growth, according to a news report published by Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS).

Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) executive director and the project promoter Kulman Ghising was of the view that the completion of the project before the deadline would greatly support the country making the power supply reliable and regular. RSS reported that Ghising urged for support and cooperation from every quarter to complete the project before the deadline.

Lawmakers Hit Bahadur Tamang and Narayan Prasad Khatiwada urged the project management not to overlook the contribution of locals who provided their private land for the project. The project is based in the border of Nuwakot and Rasuwa districts in the cascade of NEA’s under-construction 60-MW Upper Trishuli ‘A’.

According to RSS, the main investors of the project are the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and Nepal Telecom. The NEA and Nepal Telecom have a 30 percent share each in the project. The remaining investment is shared by local governments in Rasuwa and Nuwakot, financial institutions, locals, NEA and Nepal Telecom employees as well.

The estimated cost of the project is Rs 7.44 billion. The investment in the project shall be made through the co-financing formed on the initiative of Nabil Bank, RSS further said. The project promoter and the bank had signed an agreement to this end on August 20 last year.