Nepal moves to facilitate construction of two Nepal–India cross-border power lines
Kathmandu: The Nepali government has decided to approve an equity investment of NPR 3 billion to construct two major cross-border transmission lines between Nepal and India, which will be jointly developed by the state-controlled companies from both countries.
This marks a step forward in the development of the 400 kV Inaruwa–New Purnia cross-border transmission line and the 400 kV Dododhara–Bareilly cross-border transmission line, which the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) are preparing to build.
The two entities will establish separate joint venture companies in Nepal and India with shared investment to develop the projects.
With India already agreeing to purchase 10,000 MW of electricity from Nepal over the next 10 years, cross-border transmission infrastructure will be essential to achieving this target.
“The Cabinet meeting held on Thursday decided to approve a total equity investment of NPR 3 billion to develop the two cross-border transmission lines,” Nepal Minister for Communication and Information Technology Jagadish Kharel told journalists.
A senior official at Nepal’s Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation said the Ministry had earlier proposed an equity investment of NPR 1 billion for the company to be established to build the Inaruwa–New Purnia transmission line and NPR 2 billion for the company to be established to develop the Dododhara–Bareilly transmission line.
During the 12th meeting of the Energy Secretary-level Joint Steering Committee held in January this year, the two countries had agreed that the Nepali entity would hold a 51 per cent stake in the Nepal-based joint venture company, while the Indian entity would hold the remaining 49 per cent.
Similarly, the Indian entity would hold 51 per cent in the company to be established in India, with the rest owned by the Nepali entity.
The two sides had also agreed to complete the Inaruwa–New Purnia transmission line by 2028–29 and the Dododhara–Bareilly line by 2029–30.
Nearly 25 km of the Inaruwa–New Purnia line will be built in Nepal, while about 100 km will lie in India.
Likewise, around 35 km of the Dododhara–Bareilly transmission line will be built in Nepal and about 150 km in India.
At present, the 400 kV Dhalkebar–Muzaffarpur transmission line is the only high-capacity cross-border line in operation, capable of transmitting around 1,000 MW of electricity.
Another project, the 400 kV Butwal–Gorakhpur cross-border transmission Line, is under construction.
The Dhalkebar–SitNepal, India, marhi cross-border transmission line is also under development by SJVN Arun-3 Power Development Company, with investment from SJVN Limited.
Nepal has exported electricity worth NPR 15 billion (nearly Rs 9.37 billion) since the beginning of the fiscal year 2025–26 in mid-July, as electricity continues to emerge as one of the country’s key export commodities, Nepal’s Energy Ministry recently revealed.