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Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said that there is no doubt ahead in regard to implementing the Budhigandaki Hydropower Project. He pledged to implement it with utmost priority.

While inaugurating the Project's field office at Siurenitar in Gorkha, where the Project's environmental impact assessment, compensation distribution, and rehabilitation unit is located, the Prime Minister said the Project's DPR has already been prepared and it has been followed by the establishment of a company office.

 A significant part of land acquisition has been successfully completed. The government policies and programs accord utmost priority to the project, according to the Prime Minister.

"The project will see steady progress under any circumstances. All necessary documents for the project implementation have been meticulously prepared and executed. Presently, the government is focused on investment management for it. This is deemed a 'ready to go' type project. We are working hard to take it into the implementation phase soon. We have no excuse to delay it under any circumstances. I hereby direct the Energy Ministry, Nepal Electricity Authority, Budhigandaki Hydropower Company and the bodies concerned to deliver proactively for its progress."

Such projects could be a milestone in the development of the energy sector, he said, stating that the 1,200 megawatts hydropower project that provides quality contributions not only to Gorkha and Dhading districts but to the development and prosperity of the entire country is the national pride multidimensional project.

"This is the largest power generation project among the projects developed in Nepal so far. Apart from electricity, this is important also in view of tourism development, fish farming, and the holistic development of the lower coastal area," he said.

The project has carried many potentials be it from freeing the country from electricity crisis during winter to strengthening energy and tourism development, creating job opportunities, increasing the country's economic activities by increasing production in the goods and service sectors, increasing national income growths by connecting multidimensional businesses including fish farming, and requiring less investment in linking with the national transmission line, he viewed. 

The government has established the Budhigandaki hydropower company for the construction of the reservoir-based project.

On 16 July 2023, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Shakti Bahadur Basnet inaugurated the headquarters office of the company based in Kathmandu.

In the Nepali month of Asar, 2079, the government had decided to establish the company with the authorized capital of Rs 60 billion.

The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MoFAGA) has issued a circular to all ministries, commissions, secretariats, and government agencies, directing them to complete their Organizational and Management survey (O&M) by the mid of December this year. This directive follows a ministerial-level decision made on July 14.

In accordance with the circular, the Ministry has instructed all relevant organizations to conduct the survey in compliance with the Civil Service Act- 1993, Civil Service Rules-1993, Organization and Management Survey Directives of 2066 BS, and the Brief Working Procedure Organization Structure and Quota Review of 2076 BS.

The budget for the current fiscal year, 2023/24, emphasizes the urgency of conducting the O&M survey and mandates the respective ministries and bodies to conclude it by the mid of December this year.

Furthermore, the budget stipulates that no new organizational structures or quotas shall be created during this fiscal year, promising to make existing structure and quotas smart and efficient by the review of the existing structure and quota.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal inaugurated the field office of the Budhigandaki Hydropower Project amid a program on Wednesday. Budhigandaki Hydropower Project is a 'national pride' project.

The Prime Minister unveiled a copper plaque to formally inaugurate the office.

Prior to this, the Prime Minister took an aerial view of the areas in Gorkha and Dhading vulnerable to the inundation due to the project construction.

He was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Shakti Bahadur Basnet, former Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai, federal parliamentarians from Dhading and Gorkha, chiefs and chief ministers of Gandaki and Bagmati provinces, the government chief secretary, the energy secretary and the managing director of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA).

The government has already established the Budhigandaki Hydro Electricity Company with an authorized capital of Rs 60 billion to undertake the 1200-MW Project of national pride.

Similarly, the government has distributed compensation amounting to Rs 34.3 billion for land acquisition related to the project. The distribution process is in its final phase of completion. Around 50,000 people in Dhading and Gorkha districts will be affected by the project.

The detailed project report for the Budhigandaki Project was prepared by France-based Tractebel Engineering in 2014. The proposed dam will be 263 meters high.

The government said that the project will be developed through the mobilization of internal resources. 

The NEA has its larger chunk of share in the project, according to Company Chief Jagat Shrestha.

The government has decided to publish a notice regarding waiver and amendment in the fees for company registration and capital increment.

A Cabinet meeting held at the Prime Minister's official residence in Baluwatar this morning made the decision to this effect, informed government spokesperson and Minister for Communications and Information Technology Rekha harma.

The meeting also approved the Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s upcoming visit to Italy to participate in the 'United Nations Food System, 2023 Stocktaking Moment' to be organized by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in its headquarters in Italy.

The meeting decided that the PM Dahal-led Nepali delegation will comprise Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development Dr Beduram Bhusal and others.

Minister Sharma said that the government has appointed Dr Rabi Malla as the executive committee member of the Martyr Gangalal National Heart Centre. 

Dr Malla has been serving the hospital as a medical person.