March 10: British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Minister of State (Indo-Pacific) Anne Marie Trevelyan, has visited the 900 MW Arun III hydropower project under construction in Sankhuwasabha. While observing the power house and transformer bay of the project, she said that Nepal is moving towards achieving great success in clean and renewable energy production. She said that Nepal will gain a competitive advantage in hydropower production and that Nepal has an important role in reducing carbon emissions through regional trade in clean and renewable energy.

On the occasion, Sushil Bhatta, CEO of the Investment Board said that the Arun-III hydropower project is a milestone in the development of Nepal's energy sector. He said that the board facilitated all the necessary steps to continue project implementation even during the difficult times of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Similarly, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Madhu Prasad Bhetuwal said that the large hydropower projects under construction in Nepal will play an important role in addressing the demand for electricity in this region. He pointed out the need to speed up the construction of international transmission lines between South Asian countries to make regional electricity trade worthwhile.

Arun-III hydropower project is being developed by SJVN Arun III Power Development Company, which is mainly owned by Indian developer company SJVN. Arun Dhiman, CEO of the company informed the high-level visiting team about the progress of the project. According to him, the physical progress towards production of the project so far is 61.2 percent. The company is constructing a 253 km long inland transmission line of 400 KV capacity from the project's power house to Sitamarhi in India, which is targeted for completion by 2023.