ADB approves $156m loan to upgrade power grids in Nepal
The Asian Development Bank has approved a $156 million concessional loan to modernize power transmission and distribution systems in Nepal.
The Electricity Grid Modernization Project will finance the automation of grid substations throughout the country, modernize distribution and transmission systems in various areas, complete the installation of smart meters in the Kathmandu Valley, and support sector reform and institutional strengthening of the Nepal Electricity Authority.
The project will, among others, automate 34 existing grid substations, install 220-kv and 132-kV automated grid substations, construct a total of 113km of new transmission lines, upgrade 144km of existing transmission lines with efficient conductors, and expand the installation of smart meters for 350,000 electricity consumers in the Kathmandu Valley. An electricity distribution system command and control center in Kathmandu will also be constructed.
