Foreign investment needed for development of hydropower:

Minister for Energy Umakanta Jha has said that there is a need for foreign investment for the development of hydropower sector in the country.

Addressing the 28th anniversary of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) in the capital on Saturday, he said that although the government had allocated over Rs. 30 billion for the sector in the new budget, it is not sufficient for the development of the sector.

Similarly, Energy secretary Bishwa Prakash Pandit said that there is a need for long-term plan for the development of the sector and relieve the country from power outage.

Meanwhile, despite a 20 percent hike in the power tariff, the authority incurred a loss of Rs. 4.56 billion in the fiscal year 2012/13.

However, NEA’s managing director Rameshwar Yadav said that NEA has reduced the annual loss by around 50 percent in 2012/13 compared to the previous year