India, Nepal ink $ one billion hydro-power plant deal

KATHMANDU: India and Nepal today inked an agreement to construct a $ one billion hydropower plant on Arun river to generate 900-megawatt of electricity in the power starved Himalayan nation.

Under the pact, India's state-owned Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam will construct the mega power plant which will start generation of power by 2021.

Nepal, which has been grappling with severe power shortage, will receive around 22 per cent of the power generated from the plant free.

Nepal has a huge hydropower resources and India has been showing great interest in exploiting the untapped resources.

Calling for greater cooperation in diverse areas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived here to attend the SAARC summit beginning tomorrow, said, "When we trust each other, we can move forward very quickly."

"While earlier, the implementation of decisions used to take 10 years, now it happens in brief time. I feel very satisfied," Modi said, inaugurating a trauma centre.