India, Nepal hold 10th Line of Credit review meeting in Kathmandu

KATHMANDU [Nepal]: The 10th round of the India-Nepal Line of Credit (LOC) review meeting was held in Kathmandu on Thursday. As per the release from the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, both sides appreciated the strong cooperation in the India-Nepal Developmental Partnership, including through the LOCs extended to Nepal and reviewed the progress of projects which are at various stages of implementation.

In Thursday’s meeting, A Ajay Kumar, Joint Secretary (Development Partnership Administration-I), Ministry of External Affairs and officials from the Embassy and the Exim Bank led from the Indian side. From the Nepal side, Shreekrishna Nepal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Government of Nepal (GoN), and officials from several departments involved in the execution of projects under GoI’s LOCs were present.

Site visits to ongoing road projects being built with GOI’s LOCs were also carried out by the visiting Indian delegation on August 9 and 11 2023. The Government of India’s LOC portfolio is more than USD 30 billion and is spread across more than 60 partner countries. In Nepal, it includes four LOCs: USD 100 million, USD 250 million, USD 550 million and USD 750 million, totalling USD 1.65 billion. “These LOCs are dedicated towards infrastructure development as prioritized by GoN.

So far, these LOCs have financed more than 40 road projects (1105 km completed), 6 projects in hydropower and transmission lines, and several others in housing and reconstruction,” the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu stated in a release. During the meeting, power transmission infrastructure in Nepal has been augmented with major LOC projects, such as Koshi Corridor (220 kV), Modi Lekhnath (132 kV), Solu Corridor (132 kV) and the Dhalkebar-Bhittamod (400 kV) projects.

As of now, upto 452 MW of power export is being carried out through the Dhalkebar-Bhittamod 400 kV line. GoI has also agreed to fund Bheri Corridor, Nijgadh-Inaruwa and Gandak Nepalgunj Transmission lines and associated substations under Indian LOC at an estimated cost of USD 679.8 million.