A day after the parliamentary committee on Natural Resources and Means directed the government not to implement the agreement signed with China Three Gorges Corporation (CTGC) for the construction of the 750-MW West Seti Hydro for the time being questioning its legal aspect, energy minister Post Bahadur Bogati Saturday claimed that the agreement did not violate any existing law of the country.

Speaking at a press meet organised in Dang headquarters in Ghorahi, minister Bogati claimed that the parliamentary committee members issued instructions not to start the construction works due to the lack of clarity.

“The instruction is the result of lack of clarity. I will make the committee clear about the legal aspect of the agreement,” he added, “Completion of West Seti will help reduce load shedding problem significantly, So, it’s works should not have been stopped”.

Just ten days after the government and CTGC, a Chinese power developer company, signed an agreement for the construction of the West Seti, the parliamentary committee asked government not to move ahead with the construction work after lawmakers raised questions on the legal aspects and relevance of the agreement.

Saying that the agreement was “anti-national”,  lawmakers from Nepali Congress have demanded that the agreement signed without following proper procedures be scrapped.

The parliamentary committee has formed an 11-member probe committee to conduct a detailed study of the agreement signed by the government with CTGC. The committee has been given 10 days to submit its report.

As per the agreement between Nepal government and CTGC, the Chinese company will hold 75 percent stake of the total cost for the construction of the project while the remaining 25 percent will be taken by the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA).

The company will also issue 2 to 5 percent of its total investment to the locals as a share.

The total cost of the project is US$ 1.6 billion. The Chinese company will provide the amount required for the construction in concessional loans as proposed by the government.

The agreement also states that the financial management should be completed by 2014 while the project will be completed by 2019. Nepalnews.com