InvestBank Corp., a US-based investment bank, has acquired a 70 percent equity stake in the 440 MW Tila-1 hydroelectric project and the 420 MW Tila-2 hydroelectric project in Nepal. The 440 MW Tila-1, which has a projected cost of US$649 million, will be followed by the construction of the 420 MW Tila-2, which could cost US$555 million. The two hydroelectric projects will be located on the Tila River in the Kalikot district of the Karnali zone in the western region of Nepal and will together generate power to meet the energy needs of over six million Nepalese households. The country does not have its own reserves of oil, coal, or gas, and although Nepal’s most significant energy resource is water, only 1.7 percent of the potential 42,000 megawatts of economically feasible hydropower resources in the country is being utilised.
