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Around 168 MW of electricity has been connected to the national transmission system, which was initiated in Rasuwa under the leadership of Chilime Hydropower, a subsidiary of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA). The Authority constructed a 220/132/33 KV substation in Thambuchet, Amachhodingmo Rural Municipality, Rasuwa, where the electricity produced by the three projects is now connected to the national grid. The 111 MW Rasuwagadhi, 42.5 MW Sanjen, and 14.8 MW Upper Sanjen hydropower projects have all been completed and connected to the national transmission line.

Additionally, Upper Sanjen was completed in September of last year and has been commercially generating electricity, selling electricity worth about Rs 300m so far. The construction of the 42.5 MW Sanjen Hydropower Project has been completed, and electricity production began on a trial basis from Friday. The 111 MW Rasuwagadhi Hydropower Project has also been completed and is currently undergoing trial electricity generation. Upon successful trial production and meeting the specified standards, commercial electricity production will begin at both Sanjen and Rasuwagadhi, with commercial operations expected to start within this month. The Upper Sanjen, Sanjen, and Rasuwagadhi hydropower projects, based on river flow, generate only about 80 MW of electricity during the winter.

Four projects, each with a capacity of 270 MW, have been initiated under the leadership of Chilime Hydropower Company. Three of these projects are completed, except for the 102 MW Madhya Bhotekoshi, which is still under construction in Sindhupalchowk.

All the projects faced challenges due to damage from the 2015 earthquake and subsequent aftershocks, floods, landslides, weak geological conditions, difficulties in transporting construction materials and fuel during the Madhes movement, major floods in the project areas every rainy season, continuous landslides on access roads, the Covid-19 pandemic, and issues with the import of goods due to the closure of the China-Nepal border after the pandemic.

NEA Managing Director Kulman Ghising stated that the completion of the Chilime projects, which had suffered delays due to various factors, is a significant achievement after continuous efforts. “When I was the Managing Director of Chilime Company, the construction of all four projects was pursued simultaneously with public investment. Although the projects faced delays mainly due to circumstances beyond our control, three of the projects have now been completed, and electricity production has commenced. The projects, located near the Kathmandu Valley, where electricity demand is high, will help balance and stabilize the electricity system during the winter,” said Managing Director Ghising.

Factors such as the earthquake, blockade, currency devaluation, extended construction periods due to loan interest rates, and increased administrative costs have led to an increase in the overall cost. The estimated cost of the Upper Sanjen and Sanjen projects was Rs 7.35bn, excluding interest during the construction period.

Arpan Bahadur Singh, CEO of Sanjen Hydropower Company, the project promoter, stated that the total estimated cost of the projects is Rs 9.2bn, excluding interest. He mentioned that, based on the cost estimate, the estimated cost for both projects is Rs 22.5m per megawatt. The Employees’ Provident Fund has provided loans to all four Chilime projects.

Chilime Hydropower Company holds 39.36 percent of the shares, the Authority holds 10.36 percent, and the Rasuwa local level has 1.28 percent in founder shares. Employees of the Employees’ Provident Fund and the founding organizations (the Authority, relevant local levels of Chilime and Rasuwa districts), as well as project-affected residents of Rasuwa and the general public, hold 49 percent of the common shares.

Upper Sanjen and Sanjen are expected to generate 1.8bn units of electricity annually. Upper Sanjen can operate at full capacity for 70 minutes during the evening peak, when electricity demand is highest. A peaking pond has been constructed for this purpose. CEO Singh explained that by storing water in the pond, additional electricity will be generated during the evening and winter months, contributing to the stability of the system.

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 2, 600 per tola in the domestic market on Tuesday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow metal is being traded at Rs 148, 700 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 151, 300 per tola on Monday.

Similarly, the price of silver has dropped by Rs 25 and is being traded at Rs 1,820 per tola today.

Consumers were taken by surprise when gold prices in the domestic market dropped significantly on Monday. Gold price had gone up by Rs 1,700 per tola (11.664 grams) to Rs 167,000 on Sunday. It, however, fell by Rs 15,900 per tola overnight to Rs 151,300 on Monday. 

This significant drop in gold price is linked to the government's decision to reduce customs duty on gold imports from 20 percent to 10 percent. A cabinet meeting held on Thursday had taken the decision, which took effect from Sunday, according to the Department of Customs.

The decision to reduce customs duty was primarily motivated by two factors. First, there was a dramatic decline in gold imports through the formal channel during the first four months of the current fiscal year (2024-25). Official data from the Department of Customs reveal that Nepal imported 132.56 kg of gold worth Rs 1.42bn during the review period. This is an 87 percent drop compared to the same period of 2023/24 when the country imported 1,000.5 kg (worth Rs 8.2bn).

Nepal allows only designated commercial banks to import gold. Associations of gold dealers then take the gold from banks and distribute it among its members.

Second, and perhaps more concerning, was the emergence of increased gold smuggling activities from India to Nepal. This illicit trade was fueled by India’s decision to lower its customs duty on gold to six percent from 15 percent, creating a significant price disparity between the two countries. With gold becoming significantly cheaper in India, smugglers exploited this price differential, which led to a significant surge in illegal import of gold from the southern neighbor.

Alarmed by the significant drop in revenue from gold imports, the government decided to lower customs duty to 10 percent. The policy reversal comes just months after the Pushpa Kamal Dahal administration increased the duty from 15 percent to 20 percent in mid-July 2024 through the budget for fiscal year 2024-25.

While consumers have already benefited from the decision to lower customs duty on gold, which immediately made the yellow metal cheaper, the success of this policy adjustment will depend on several factors: the recovery of legal gold import volumes, reduction in smuggling activities and stabilization of gold prices in the domestic market.

It’s still unclear if this policy intervention will be sufficient to combat gold smuggling as Nepal’s 10 percent customs duty is still higher than six percent in India.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 15. 83 points to close at 2,683.24 points on Monday.

Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 1.86 points to close at 473. 06 points.

A total of 12,263,780-unit shares of 309 companies were traded for Rs 6. 34 billion.

Meanwhile, Best Finance Company Ltd. (BFC) was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 9. 91 percent.

Likewise, Ngadi Group Power Ltd. (NGPL) was the top loser as its price fell by 10.00 percent.

At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 4. 27 trillion.