KATHMANDU, Sept 25: The 70 MW Dudhkoshi 2 (Jaleshwor) Hydropower Project has accomplished its financial closure with a consortium of banks led by Laxmi Sunrise Bank Limited (LSBL) signing an agreement with its promoter Dudh Koshi Hydropower Nepal Pvt Ltd.
The project is being constructed at the Dudhkoshi River of the Solukhumbu district with an estimated project cost of Rs 15 billion. “This venture will play a crucial role in Nepal's renewable energy landscape,” reads a LSBL-issued press statement.
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The banking consortium has committed to financing approximately 70 percent of the project cost, with the remaining 30 percent to be contributed by the project promoters and the public. The consortium comprises LSBL as the lead, Everest Bank as the co-lead and Sanima Bank as the member. Collectively, the total term loan amounts to Rs 10.5 billion.
The Dudhkoshi 2 (Jaleshwor) Hydropower Project had received the generation license from the Department of Electricity Development on September 23, 2020 and subsequently signed the power purchase agreement with Nepal Electricity Authority on November 22, 2021. The company is being promoted by Aayu Malun Hydropower Ltd, several prominent individual stakeholders and various private equity and venture capital.
Dudhkoshi 2 (Jaleshwor) Hydropower Project is anticipated to generate an estimated 417 GWh of power annually to the national grid and will be one of the large sized independent power producers (IPP) when it comes into operation by July 2029.
