ADB approves $60 million loan assistance to support Electricity Grid Modernization Project

KATHMANDU: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a 60 million USD loan as additional support for the ongoing Electricity Grid Modernization Project. 

According to the ADB, the project is automating 34 existing grid substations, completing the installation of smart meters in the Kathmandu Valley, upgrading 144 kilometers and constructing 113 km of transmission lines, and establishing an electricity distribution system command and control center.

“The additional financing will scale up ADB’s support to provide reliable, efficient, and sustainable electricity supply in Nepal,” the ADB stated issuing a press statement on Monday. 

It is stated that this will provide additional investments to expand, strengthen, and modernize the transmission capacity and distribution networks so that the country can reach its electricity consumption target of 700-kilowatt hours per capita by 2026.

The additional loan assistance will help construct 16 kilometers of 132-kilovolt transmission lines from Nepalgunj to Kohalpur and from Chovar to Lagankhel. It will introduce an additional 477 mega volt-amperes of substation capacity through the construction of substations in Dumkibas, Lagankhel, Mulpani, and Nepalgunj.