A 10-member Chinese team is in Nepal to see the site of the proposed 750-megawatt West Seti hydropower project to take stock of the situation in the area prior to beginning negotiations on project development agreement.

The team, comprising officials of Shanghai Development and Research Institute, a consulting firm of CWE Investment Corporation (CWEI), a subsidiary of China Three Gorges Corporation, which is building the project, was in Dadeldhura to begin onsite inspection.

“During this period, the team will visit Doti and Dadeldhura, where the dam and power house of the proposed hydropower project will be built,” said a reliable source of the Investment Board Nepal (IBN), which is holding negotiations with the Chinese side for development of the Rs 150-billion-project located in the far western part of the country reports The Himalayan Times.

Based on this study, a report will be prepared, which will be submitted to the project developer and the IBN.

During the meeting held in September, CWEI had said it would conduct a study on future energy needs of the country since the project is being built with the objective of selling electricity here in Nepal.

The West Seti project will be spread over four districts of Doti, Dadeldhura, Baitadi and Bajhang. The project, which will be the largest reservoir-type hydro project once built, will have the capacity to generate electricity for 24 straight hours throughout the year, except in dry season when power generating capacity is expected to dip to eight to nine hours a day.