GMR Group signs MoU for 300 MW Upper Karnali Hydro Electric Project, in Nepal
By Our Corporate Bureau | 31 Jan 2008
GMR Infrastructure Ltd has announced having been awarded the 300 MW Upper Karnali Hydro Electric Project by the government of Nepal, along with its sister firm GMR Energy Ltd (GEL) and the Italian-Thai Development Project Co. (ITD) of Thailand, with GEL as the majority partner and lead developer.
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in Kathmandu on January 24, 2007, between the consortium and the government of Nepal, after the Nepal cabinet appointed a 4-member negotiation committee to negotiate project details with the consortium.
As per the terms of the agreement, the GMR consortium will provide 12 per cent free power to the government of Nepal, and 27 per cent free equity to the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) in an SPV to be formed to undertake this project.
The project will be developed on a 'build, own, operate and transfer' (BOOT) basis. The power generated from this export oriented project is also expected to be exported from Nepal to the northern grid in India.
The award of the Upper Karnali project marks the GMR Group's first hydro power project through the global competitive bidding (ICB) process.