Indian power developer Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVNL) and Nepal government are hopeful of soon signing development agreement for 900MW Arun-III hydro project on the Arun River, Nepal.
The company is currently engaged in discussions with the federal government on the project development agreement (PDA) that was initiated by Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) and SJVNL.
IBN chief executive officer Radesh Pant was quoted by the Republica as saying that the negotiations with the company had commenced and affirmed the positive progress.
"I am sure the deal will be sealed. But I can’t say whether it will take just a few weeks or around a year to finalize all the terms and conditions of the PDA," Pant added.
SJVNL chairman and managing director R. P. Singh stated: "Now the project is moving. The PDA discussions are on. It is right that the PDA was submitted around two years back. What can we do, this is the way with Nepal, our partners on the project."
Nepal government had granted Arun-III project to SJVNL under a built-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) scheme for 30 years.