The Nepal Investment Board (NIB) headed by Prime Minister Sushil Koirala has given its nod to two major Indian groups to invest billions of rupees in cement and hydro power projects in Nepal.
The NIB cleared the decks for the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group to set up a cement plant, with an annual capacity of 2.3 million tonne, worth NPR 40 billion. A report on the downstream and upstream impact of the project will be ready within six months so that other projects or local initiatives would not be affected, according to Radesh Pant, CEO, NIB.
The NIB also approved the Project Development Agreement for the 900-MW Arun III project of Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam. Under this, Nepal will receive 21.9 per cent or 197 MW free energy from the project. Reliance will invest Rs 104 billion on the project.