Nepal is set to hold a second power investment summit between Jan. 27 and 29 in Kathmandu aimed at attracting investors and industry leaders as the new majority communist government is poised to take over in the Himalayan nation.
The second edition of the three-day summit will feature world-renowned speakers, financiers, contractors and experts from the energy sector, the summit organizers said Wednesday.
The largest event of its kind in Nepal, the summit will be held at the five-star Hotel Soaltee Crown Plaza in Kathmandu. It will see the world’s second largest company and second largest bank providing training to participants, according to the Energy Development Council, an umbrella organization representing the energy sector in Nepal.
“The summit will consist of high level delegates from SAARC region (South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation), ministers, government officials, ambassadors to Nepal, CEOs, bankers, financiers and developers,” the organization said in its statement.
The summit will be addressed by world famous speakers including Joseph Hoess, founder and managing partner of Dragon Capital, Vandana Gombar, editor of Global Policy at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Ye Xinping, president of China’s Hunan Construction Engineering, Manish Kharbanda, head of Corporate Affairs at Jindal Steel and Power Company and Bhawani Rana, president of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries.
Manjit Singh Puri, India’s ambassador to Nepal, is the keynote speaker of the inaugural session.
Companies organizing training on finance in the power sector include the International Center for Hydropower (Norway), Sino-Sure, the Fortune-ranked world’s second largest company NARI State Grid of China, Hangzhou Regional Center and the Fortune-ranked world’s second largest bank, the China Construction Bank, and the Hunan Construction Engineering Group, the organizers said.
Summit participants will have access to investors willing to provide debt financing ranging between $5 million and $20 million for ‘shovel ready’ projects in the energy sector, including hydro, solar and wind.
The summit will also feature an energy mart for project developers, the launch of books on energy, and investment and solar and hydro assembly teasers, according to the organizers.
Nepal has the potential to generate an estimated 83,000 megawatts (MW) of hydropower, but the current output stands at 900 MW because of political instability, lack of investment and corruption in the sector.
By Deepak Adhikari in Kathmandu, Nepal
Anadolu Agency
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