KOSEP CEO meets energy minister

Kathmandu January 29- With an aim to monitor the overall progress made on the Upper Trishuli-1 (UT-1) hydroelectric project and accelerate the project development agreement with the government of Nepal, Heo Yup, CEO of Korea South-East Power Co Ltd (KOSEP) held a meeting with Energy Minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi on Thursday. Earlier on January 26, he had also visited the project site in Rasuwa district.

The UT-1 project is located in Rasuwa district with an installed capacity of 216MW. It is being developed by KOSEP, Daelim Industrial Co (Daelim) and Kyeryong Construction Industrial Co (Kyeryong), local sponsor, and IFC through Nepal Water and Energy Development Company (NWEDC).

KOSEP is the lead sponsor in the consortium and also the operations and maintenance contractor.

As part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR), NWEDC is implementing a series of need-based social activities not only in project affected areas but also in Kathmandu Valley, as per a statement issued yesterday.

In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake of April 25 and continued aftershocks, NWEDC rescued 67 injured locals from the project area by chopper, and provided immediate relief materials including food, tarpaulin sheets, blankets and utensils worth $68,000. KOSEP had also handed over $50,000 as support for relief and rehabilitation of quake victims to the Nepali ambassador in Seoul on May 21.

Moreover, to provide short-term relief to the quake victims of Rasuwa district, the company has already distributed 37.7 tonnes of rice to 861 households living in temporary shelters, 1,452 litres of cooking oil to internally displaced persons and supported in construction of 265 temporary shelters by distributing 1,555.73 tonnes of CGI sheets. Also, construction of two schools and a health post in the project area is under process of bidding.

NWEDC has been providing volunteer services to Dail community, who are living on the banks of Manohara River in Kathmandu Valley, since 2014. KOSEP CEO visited Dail Community yesterday, interacted with the children, and distributed cash amount of Rs 500,000 to the community, the statement adds.