Kathmandu, Jan 9 (PTI) Nepal and India have reached an understanding to take forward the procedural activities of the 6,480-megawatt Pancheshwar Multipurpose power plant within a month, Foreign Minister N P Saud said on Tuesday.
The Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project (PMP) is a hydropower project to be developed on the Mahakali River.
A ministerial-level discussion was held about the project during the recent visit of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Saud said, adding that it was decided to expedite the project’s activities within a month.
Speaking at an event, the minister said that the prime ministers of both countries also discussed the project during the India visit of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ last year.
“There will be improvement in Nepal’s economy while selling the power produced from this project to India,” he said, adding that the project will create employment opportunities.
Noting that an agreement was signed to sell 10,000 MW of electricity to India over 10 years, Saud said that agriculture, tourism and power production could uplift the landlocked country’s economy.
The development of the PMP is covered under the integrated Mahakali Treaty signed between Nepal and India in 1996 during the tenure of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, under which equal sizes of underground powerhouses of 3,240 MV will be constructed on each side of the Mahakali river in India and Nepal.
Apart from generating electricity, the project will provide irrigation to 130,000 hectares of land in Nepal and 240,000 hectares in India in addition to other incidental benefits, including flood protection. PTI SBP GRS ZH GRS GRS
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