Time extended for DPR of Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project

A time of three months has been extended again to finalize the detailed project report (DPR) of the much-talked Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project. This is a long overdue mega hydropower project in Nepal to be constructed.

The eighth meeting of the governing bodies also known as jury under the constituted the Pancheshwar Development Authority (PDA) held last week in Pokhara which took the decision to give a speed to the project. Dinesh Kumar Ghimire, Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation (MoEWRI) led the meeting from Nepal’s side while Pankaj Kumar, secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources, India, led the Indian side.

Following the meeting Secretary Ghimire expressed that his Indian counterpart consented to the initiatives towards finalizing the project’s DPR. These include extending the tenure of the expert team and preparing the DPR within next three months and deploying permanent staffs at the PDA’s headquarter located in Mahendranagar. He also told that the two sides agreed that the tenure of the expert team will be extended for the next six months and the team should prepare the DPR within three months. He added that the meeting of the expertteam will be held within the next few days.

The bilateral discussion also concluded to reduce the size of the expert teams from 15 to 10 individuals in each of the two countries. The two sides also agreed to make previously appointed Indian consultant WAPCOS Limited to amend the DPR in line with the decision of the expert teams. During Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s visit to India (May 31-June 3), the two countries jointly declared that the DPR of Pancheswar would be prepared in three months. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed his commitment in the line.