Millennium Challenge Account-Nepal (MCA-Nepal) has called tender for the construction of transmission lines. The  tender was in three packages. Earlier, the government of Nepal and Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) had reached an agreement to implement the project from August 2023. The tender was called according to the same. The tender was called to construct 315 km long 400 KV electricity transmission projects— Lapsiphedi-Ratamate-Hetauda (117 km), Lapsiphedi-Ratamate-Damauli (90 km) and Damauli-Butwal (90km) and three sub-stations.

It will take 180 days to complete the tender process.

After awarding the contract, the company will start constructing the power lines from September, 2023. The government has allocated Rs 9. 27 billion for the construction of transmission lines in the initial phase. Out of the budget allocated this year, Rs 8. 91 billion will be an American grant. According to the Finance Ministry, Rs 365.6 will be recovered from the sources of the Nepal government. The money of this project will be spent for capital purposes. MCC compact is an assistance under which the United States will provide $500 million to Nepal for electricity transmission lines and road maintenance. As per the agreement, the five-year project will come into implementation under the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) Nepal. The government of Nepal signed the agreement with the United States for the MCC project on September 14, 2017. The then Finance Minister Gyanendra Bahadur Karki on behalf of the government signed an agreement with MCC Acting CEO Jonatha Nas in Washington on September 14,2017. The then Finance Minister Yuvaraj Khatiwada signed an agreement for the implementation of the MCC on September 29, 2019, but it got delayed due to the controversy generated by some political parties and a section of society over some of its provisions. The compact was registered in the Parliament Secretariat on July 15, 2019 for the endorsement. The MCC was tabled in the Parliament on February 20, 2022 nearly 20 months after it was registered in the Parliament Secretariat. The Legislature-Parliament held on February 27 had endorsed the MCC Nepal compact with interpretative declaration. Finance Minister Janardan Sharma had proposed a 12-point interpretative declaration incorporating the questions raised about the MCC agreement, which was endorsed by the Parliament. Nepal’s Parliament endorsed the MCC as the Americans wished, but in the run-up to ratification Beijing tried mighty hard to stop it. It sees the $500 million development grant to Nepal as a part of America’s strategy to encircle China.