China Eximbank pledges to finance 1200 MW Budhi Gandaki Hydropower Plant Project

On May 24, 2017, the Government of Nepal approved a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between its Energy Ministry and China's Gezhouba Group Cement Co. Ltd., to construct the 1200 MW Budhi Gandaki Hydropower Plant, which costs $2.5 billion. Gezhouba Group signed the contract on an EPC + F (Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Financing) model, meaning that the company is supposed to lead the financing. China Eximbank reportedly pledged to finance the project but the specific amount of financing that it pledged is unknown. According to the MOU, Gezhouba Group would have one year to assess the project and arrange the necessary funds. On November 13, 2017, the new government of Nepal led by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba scrapped the project, claiming that it did not serve national interests and was awarded to Gezhouba Group without open bidding by the previous administration due to alleged lapses in the award process.. On September 21, 2018, the cabinet led by Prime Minister Oli revived the project and awarded it again to Gezhouba Group. As of September 24, 2019, the Government of Nepal was preparing a new memorandum of understanding with its contractor.

Additional details

This project is sometimes referred to as 1,200MW Budhigandaki Hydropower Project. The contractor responsible for project implementation may be a subsidiary of the China Gezhouba Group. For more information on the location, see https://bghep.gov.np/en/page/44/project/about_the_project.

Number of official sources

4

Number of total sources

25